How to Plan a Beautiful Wine Tasting Weekend in Los Alamos
Photo: Skyview Los Alamos
If you’re looking for a charming, small-town getaway in the wine tasting hills of the Southern Central Coast of California, Los Alamos should be on the top of your list.
Just a 30 minute drive from the robust winery destination of Paso Robles, Los Alamos is a small town with a Western history in the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley. While the whole town is pretty much able to be easily explored within a day, they still offer award-winning restaurants, beautiful hotels, and grounding nature everywhere you turn.
Read on for recommendations on all of the most aesthetic, Opulist-approved places to stay, eat, and drink at in Los Alamos, and get ready to want to book yourself a getaway as soon as possible.
Stay
Skyview Los Alamos, Los Alamos, CA
Photo: Skyview Los Alamos
Perched on top of the hill above the downtown area of Los Alamos rests the retro-inspired, refurbished Skyview Los Alamos. A sufficiently delightful and enjoyable spot to call home for your visit, they have beautiful rooms and offer luxurious amenities such as a pool, rental bikes and a full-service restaurant - Norman - serving locally sourced cuisine, providing guests with a complete and immersive experience.
You could easily spend hours of your trip here posted up by the pool, grabbing drinks at the indoor/outdoor bar, sipping coffee around the courtyard fire pits, or relaxing on your patio with beautiful views of the surrounding hillsides. But if you’d like to venture out, you can either borrow one of their cute Linus bikes, or take the short drive into town from up the hill.
Photos: Skyview Los Alamos
Alamo Motel, Los Alamos, CA
If you’d prefer to stay in town, consider the more rustic, equally charming spot of the Alamo Motel. With nods to the Southwest incorporated into their design, this transformed motor inn includes lovely details like exposed wood beams, clawfoot bathtubs, cactus foliage, and interesting and updated light fixtures.
Conveniently located in the middle of town, you can relax outside in the courtyard around a fire pit, , grab a drink at their own Bar Alamo, and also head into the tiny and quaint main drag of town to explore restaurants and wine tasting rooms steps from your hotel.
Photo: Alamo Motel
Eat
Pico, Los Alamos, CA
Photos: Pico
At the Los Alamos General Store, lies the incredible restaurant Pico. Pico’s mission is to create innovative food from local ingredients, carefully sourced from farmers who are committed to sustainable, regenerative, and humane practices. Their food is fresh and delicious, and the restaurant is historic, rustic, and charming.
Photo: Pico
Norman, Los Alamos, CA
Photo: Norman
Located in Skyview Los Alamos, Norman is the hotel’s signature restaurant and offers locally-sourced, delicious food, wine, and cocktails, has a lovely and inspiring indoor area, and a gorgeous patio with views of the surrounding landscape.
Bell’s, Los Alamos, CA
Photo: Bell's
Drinks & Wine
Bar Alamo, Los Alamos, CA
Photo: Bar Alamo
Bar Alamo is the on-premise bar for Alamo Motel. A standalone structure surrounded by lit-up trees, indoor and outdoor seating, and access to local beers and wines, this bar is absolutely a vibe.
Bodgea, Los Alamos, CA
Photos: Bodgea
Bodega is an open-air wine & beer garden featuring natural and organic wines from near and far and unusual, hard to find beers and ciders. A place to gather, picnic, and enjoy a leisurely afternoon. Complete with places to play games, cozy fire pits, a tiny market, and a beautiful, sprawling patio to eat and sip to your heart’s delight.
Photo: Bodega
Presqu'ile Winery, Santa Maria, CA
If you feel like venturing out of town a bit, just 15 minutes up the road is the beautiful Presqu’ile Winery. Situated on a hilltop to accommodate sweeping views of both the distant ocean and the vineyards surrounding it, Conde Nast Traveler deemed it as “one of the ten most beautiful wineries in California.” Enjoy both the wines and the beauty of the location when you visit this place.
Photo: Presqu'ile Winery
The beauty of Los Alamos is not only how literally beautiful it is, but that it’s such small town you can enjoy at a slow, leisurely, and expansive pace no matter how long you’re there. Pleasing to all your senses, this town will recharge you and allow you to soak up all magic this part of California has to offer.
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