Paso Robles, CA January, 2012 – Fodor’s, the leading name in travel information, announced that Adelaide Inn has been recognized as a 2011 Fodor’s Choice selection. This distinction designates Adelaide Inn as a leader in its field for service, quality, and value in the 2011 year.

Fodor’s travel, founded in 1936 by Eugene Fodor, is currently celebrating its 75^th anniversary. The editors and experts of Fodor’s have been selecting only the top fifteen percent of their listed properties and activities as Fodor’s Choice award recipients since 1988. Every year, Fodor’s writers experience, examine and evaluate thousands of hotels, restaurants and attractions in their travels across the globe. While every business included in a Fodor’s guide is deemed worth a traveler’s time, only those offering a truly remarkable experience are given the Fodor’s Choice designation.

For 75 years Fodor’s has presented travelers with the very top recommendations from hidden-away restaurants to can't-miss museums, to make sure they’re making the most of their travels. The 2011 Fodor’s Choice recipients are the best of the best, providing a remarkable experience in their price range or category.

 As a 2011 Fodor’s Choice property the Adelaide Inn will receive special recognition in the next Fodor’s guidebook to this area and on www.Fodors.com.  

Adelaide Inn has won a 2011 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence! TripAdvisor awards this certificate to properties who consistently receive excellent ratings from our members.

"We think your 4.5 rating is something to be proud of and we hope you do too.”

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features (including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and TripAdvisor Trip Friends) with seamless links to booking tools.

Gayot.com  has ranked the Adelaide Inn as one of the "Top 10 Central Coast, CA Value Hotels."“Are you looking for an affordable getaway? We have spent the time and crunched the numbers to come up with the places that offer you the most bang for your buck….”

Gayot "The Guide to the Good Life" "Since 1969, restaurant, hotel, travel & other witty reviews by a handpicked, worldwide team of discerning professionals—and your views, too." The GAYOT.com website serves as a serious, honest and professional resource on dining, travel and lifestyle for an international readership in search of the best.

André Gayot, who with his friends Henri Gault and Christian Millau coined and promoted the term "Nouvelle Cuisine" in the early 1970s, has been directing sophisticated travelers to the world's best restaurants, hotels, shops, sightseeing and cultural attractions for more than 45 years. His expertise provided a foundation for Gayot guides in the United States, beginning in 1981.

Independently, family owned and operated for over 45 years, the Adelaide Inn offers guests a friendly, attentive staff that has been with the Adelaide Inn for over 12 years. At the Adelaide Inn, we are always striving to make our guests stay in Paso Robles as pleasant and seamless as possible. Our front desk staff is very knowledgeable about the Paso Robles area and shares our secrets with our guests. Customer service is a top priority at the Adelaide Inn.

 The lush landscaping and special amenities keep guests coming back. This Paso Robles motel offers amenities such as complimentary high speed Internet, refrigerators, microwaves, complimentary in-room coffee and tea and complimentary Tarocco bath amenities. The rooms are decorated with local art and photos of the Paso Robles area. There are even books in the rooms for the guest to browse through. Stop by the lobby in the afternoon for freshly baked cookies.

 “We would like to thank our guests for all of their reviews and comments. These accolades would not be possible without them.” Debbie Nagle, the Director of Marketing stated.

 Conveniently located near Hwy 101 and Hwy 46 East, the Adelaide Inn is a short drive to many Paso Robles Wineries. This Central Coast hotel is the perfect choice for leisure or business travelers when visiting the Paso Robles Wine Country.

Join the Adelaide Inn for February Hotel Month 2012. Stay 2 nights and the 3^rd night is free.

Restrictions apply. Call 800 549-7276 and ask for the February Hotel Special.    

Did you say beer scene in Paso Robles?

I sure did and I’m happy to report that we certainly do have a growing beer community on the Central Coast of California. The anchor of that community would be Firestone Walker Brewery which started back in 1996 and is located a few minutes south of downtown Paso Robles by car.

I’m not going to do the typical article in which I give you all the general facts about them because those are easily found on their website (which is awesome, btw). Instead, I will come at you from a local’s point of view.

Simply put they take their beer very seriously but have a lot of fun doing it. It shows in their tasting room and in the brewery which I got to tour. The brewery operates 24 hours a day, six days a week and the tour is a must if you stop in the tasting room (you also get a taste of the unfiltered DBA on the tour).

Other notable things when visiting the brewery is the tasting room itself - it’s has a fun and funky vibe which makes it a great place to just hang out. There’s Firestone Walker merchandise to look through, a couple of televisions to watch a game, an amazing staff of people which we all know makes or breaks a place, AND…

…THE BEER! They have a great selection and it’s always changing. During our visit they were pouring Honey Blonde, California Pale Ale, Hefeweizen, Double Barrel Ale (DBA), the unfiltered DBA, Hemp Ale, Walker’s Reserve (Robust Porter), Nectar IPA, Double Jack IPA, Velvet Merkin (Oatmeal Stout), and Velvet Merlin (Oatmeal Stout) as well.

In addition to all that liquid gold, they have a few different small pizzas or a warm pretzel to buy. A cool thing we learned is that they will be opening a restaurant right across the street from their Paso Robles tasting room, which will be a must visit!

So put the wine down for a moment, get online and check them out and then make your way to their tasting room. You won’t be disappointed!

Things you should know:

1. It’s the only brewery in the U.S. that does initial fermentation in American oak barrels.

2. It’s in the mid-size category for breweries.

3. They’ve won numerous awards over the years, most recently the 2011 GABF (Great American Beer Festival) Brewery of the Year.

4. California state alcohol laws do not allow them to fill growlers that are not from Firestone.

5. You have to wear closed toed shoes to take the brewery tour (my wife Annie couldn’t do the tour because she had flip flops on, lesson learned) and the tour lasts roughly 20 to 25 minutes.

6. The new restaurant across the street from the Paso Robles location is set to open in spring 2012

 Bottoms up!

 Matt is a 10-year Paso Robles area resident. He and his wife Annie love exploring the Central Coast looking for food, drinks, and adventure.  You can follow their adventures on their blog at HootnAnnie.

  

So it’s no surprise that the growth of the Paso Robles wine industry has been matched by a corresponding emergence of local art galleries—and that wineries and artists are joining together to offer collaborative experiences.

One such experience is “First Saturdays: Wine & The Arts” on the first Saturday of every month in downtown Paso Robles. On these evenings, numerous downtown wine tasting rooms open their doors from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to share their wines, showcase individual artists and offer other special treats, such as live music or appetizers.

The origins of “First Saturdays: Wine & The Arts” date back to August of 2008, when the Paso Robles Main Street Association staged a Saturday series of “Art, Wine & Song” open houses across downtown. Ortman Family Wines and our peers in the Paso Robles Downtown Wineries organization enjoyed it so much that we decided to launch our own ongoing monthly series. The atmosphere of these evenings is casual and festive. There is no formal route or itinerary. You can simplystart at the City Park and go where your feet and your taste buds take you!

At Ortman Family Wines, we open up our back patio, which we call the “O”asis. We typically feature live music,and we offer our wines by the glass, as well as in the regular tasting format. We also unveil a month-long showcase for a local artist in our tasting room. Recent featured artists have included Lynn Duron, who paints on silk canvasses, and Etty Klinger, who specializes in watercolors. We feature numerous works for viewing and purchase, and the artists join us to discuss their craft.

Of course, you don’t have to visit on the first Saturday of the month to enjoy wine and art in downtown Paso Robles. More than a dozen tasting rooms are located within a few blocks of the park, as are several galleries,including the popular Studios on the Park featuring nine studios and 40 working artists.

 I hope that you will join us in downtown Paso Robles soon to partake in this classic pairing!

by Guest Blogger Sasha Irving, Studios on the Park

Greetings Art Lovers! 

 "We thought they were just coming for the wine but Paso Robles is now changing the lives of its visitors through Art." Yes, Paso Robles offers a one of a kind destination experience for tourists from around the world. They come for the world-class wines, innovative cuisine, pastoral scenery, and charms of our small town. And now they are also coming to change themselves from the inside out!

Fine art workshops are the latest attraction drawing out-of-state and international visitors to the heart of the Central Coast. Since opening in May 2009, artists at Studios on the Park have offered more than 300 classes and workshops. One such artist is Heidi Franscioni.  Best known for her encaustic photographic paintings, her sought-after encaustic workshops teach the art of applying layers of hot molten beeswax with photographic images.

I recently stopped in and spoke with two of her visiting students and asked them about their experience. Like many visitors, Elizabeth Marks from San Fernando Valley originally came to wine taste in Paso Robles and the two day encaustic carving and painting workshop motivated her to return.  During her three-day stay, she enjoyed complementing her “relaxing and inspiring” art studies with meals at Artisan and Robert's and shopping downtown, to rave reviews. But best of all for Elizabeth was that  “when class ends at 4 pm, you can go and taste wine to your heart’s content!”

It was Heidi’s status as one of the premier encaustic instructors in the nation that appealed to Becky Collinsof Cincinnati, Ohio. She signed up for a six-day course to jumpstart her adventures in beeswax.  Of her firsttrip to California and time in Paso Robles, she said “It was very impactful… I enjoyed every moment.” She gave beaming reviews of Heidi’s skill as a teacher and the soulful experience her workshop provided.

 Becky is not alone in her sentiments. The life-changing quality of destination art education is a frequent result of the student experience at Studios on the Park. And that is Heidi’s intention. The space and serenity of Paso Robles motivate an introspective creative journey. Heidi explains, “Within the context of a beautiful environment where they are exploring the beauty of what our town has to offer, my students are also able to discover the beauty within themselves.”

A few spaces still remain for Heidi’s October workshops. Students can pick from workshops emphasizing carvingand texture or photography and collage. They can also participate in a mixed media studio day or a brand newworkshop in Encaustic Monotyping. Remember no experience is necessary. All that is needed is your creative self!