Oregon's newest beachfront hotel—the Headlands Coastal Lodge & Spa—is now set to open in Pacific City in mid-January. The project broke ground in November 2016 and experienced delays that pushed its open date well past the original summer 2017 timeline. Now, the reservation system is live, and booking guest stays starting on Friday, January 19.

The new lodge, which Headlands spokesperson Meridel Prideaux claims is "the first luxury hotel on the Oregon coast in over a decade," is sandwiched between Pacific City’s beachfront Pelican Brewery and Cape Kiwanda Natural Area (one of our 2017 best beaches). Its target clients, says Prideaux, are outdoor enthusiasts with the means to spring for a sweet private soak and fine dining after the day's adventures.

"We're calling it luxury hospitality, Oregon-style,” says Headlands spokesperson Meridel Prideaux. “That means you can walk in there with sand on your boots, and nobody is going to look at you."

Headlands' emphasis on outdoor adventure is serious; each room has bike and surfboard racks. Don’t worry if you forgot your own bike: loaners are available in the lobby, neighboring the lodge's “Adventure Coach”—a concierge, of sorts, tasked with helping guests plan specialized outdoor adventures. According to co-owner Mary Jones, if a guest wants to kayak, the Adventure Coach will obtain the kayak from a local business. If a guest wants to go hiking, they'll design your route (from short, easy strolls to long, tough expeditions), tell you when to leave, and even pack you a lunch from the hotel restaurant, Meridian.

In an email, Jones emphasized the "mind/body connection" she hopes Headlands will facilitate: "like yoga on the beach or a meditation class in our ocean-view instruction room."

That meditation class is part of the hotel's Tidepools Spa, which also offers amenities including an outdoor ocean-view hot tub and fire pit, complimentary Pilates and TRX classes, three rooms for facials, body treatments, and massages, and men's and women's steam rooms. 

Headlands is also hyping its full-service restaurant Meridian, which will be run by chef Andrew Garrison, formerly of Newberg’s Allison Inn & Spa. Garrison says that the new restaurant will focus on locally sourced Pacific Northwest cuisine, prepared in an exhibition kitchen.

“In my opinion Northwest coastal cuisine should be a constant conversation about the area and our interaction with it,” Garrison said in an email. “It’s a diverse area with a diverse cultural heritage."

Among the local purveyors Garrison plans to feature are Nevør Shellfish Farm in Netarts Bay, and Tillamook-based DeNoble Organic Farm—the latter for fresh produce, including artichokes. Oregon wines will be front and center on the beverage menu; classic cocktails will be prepared at the hotel's 16-stool horseshoe bar.    

Garrison also plans to reach out to local fisherfolk, mentioning dishes like rockfish bisque with clams and mussels, and an albacore confit sandwich with preserved lemon aioli, tapenade, arugula, and pickled red onion.

Jones cites Pacific City's active dory fleet as a potential local source: “Dories are the unique boats which launch and land right in front of Headlands at Cape Kiwanda.”

Headlands offers 33 oceanfront rooms as well as 18 two-to-three bedroom cottages ($400–700 per night).  Lodge rooms feature a private balcony with views of Haystack Rock, and touches including custom Pendleton blankets and a pantry stocked with snacks like Tillamook ice cream and Tom Bumble chocolates.