Carmel Magazine

while Camp Hyatt provides children aged 3- 12 with activities such as learning about local wildlife and beach play. Those with infants and toddlers can take advantage of the hotel's Babies Travel Lite program, where cribs, strollers, high chairs and even formula and dia- pers are waiting for tired parents upon arrival. Dogs are also allowed at the hotel, and furr y guests are greeted with pet food bowls and doggie beds. The surrounding area evolved from a sleepy beach community to an oil-boom town in the 1920s, to a famous surf area, now the official town of the USA Surf Team and the Association of Surfing Professionals-Nor th America. The resor t provides beach chairs, towels and umbrellas to guests, and the onsite Surf City Grocers sells casual meals, coffee drinks, and items like sand toys and sunscreen. "Huntington Beach is small enough that you don't feel swallowed up by a huge city," Fairchild says. "The area has changed so much. We want to let people know it's a destination. There has been development but it's not overdone." Only about 16 miles from Disneyland, with a seasonal shuttle ser vice, the proper ty offers guests access to major Los Angeles and San Diego area attractions like Knott's Berr y Farm, Universal Studios, SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo, with a cozy retreat to return back to after a big day's adventure. Firepits through- out the proper ty allow guests to sip drinks and toast s'mores, while hot tub grottos, three Pete's Sunset Grille is inspired by surfer Pete Mallory's Surfboard Factory, formerly located on the site of the casual restaurant. The resort features several swimming pools, including Slyders water playground and a lagoon-styled pool. Adjacent restaurants offer up cocktails and smoothies, salads, sandwiches, s'mores roasting, and in the summer, "Dive-In Movies." 154 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 152-155 DEST Hyatt Huntington Beach_SU07 1/24/14 7:56 AM Page 3

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