Experiences
Days around the house.
Los Gatos sits where the valley meets the mountains, so a day can go either way. Vines to the west, redwoods to the south, dinner six minutes on foot. Tell the desk what kind of day you want and it gets booked.
Pick a day
Four days we know by heart.
Swipe for more
01 / Vineyard afternoons
Small wineries, no bus.
The hills between Saratoga and the Summit hold a dozen wineries that make a few thousand cases a year and pour for whoever shows up. We work with three. Each takes four to eight people at a time, sits you down, and talks for an hour. Tastings run $25 to $45 a person and are usually waived if you buy a bottle.
How it works: tell the desk the night before. Priya books the slots for noon, two and four. You drive, or we book a driver at $180 for the afternoon for up to four people, $450 for the van of eight. Pack a lunch from the kitchen ($18 a head, ordered by 9am) or eat at the second stop, which has a kitchen on weekends.
Best months: April for the mustard in the vines, September for harvest, and any Tuesday for having the place to yourself.
02 / Redwood hikes
Two loops we have walked a hundred times.
The short one is the creek trail, fifteen minutes from the house by car. Four miles, mostly flat, under second growth redwoods with the creek on your left the whole way. Dogs on leash are fine. Two hours, including the stop at the big stump.
The long one is up at Castle Rock, thirty minutes up Highway 9. Six miles with real climbing, sandstone outcrops, and a view back across the valley to the bay on a clear day. Four hours. Not a winter trail after rain.
We lend boots in sizes 6 to 13, poles, a day pack and a map with the turns marked by hand. The kitchen packs lunch if you order by 9am: a sandwich, fruit, something sweet, and a thermos. Boots go back by the door at four and Sam hoses them off.
If you want a guide, a naturalist we trust runs a three hour walk on Saturdays at $60 a person. Book by Thursday.
03 / Downtown dinner
The tables that are hard to get, held for you.
Downtown Los Gatos is six minutes on foot from the porch, down Bachman and left on N Santa Cruz. There are twenty places to eat on that street and the two cross streets, from a counter that does one kind of noodle to a dining room that books out a month ahead. We know which is which this season.
Tell us what you feel like and roughly when. Luis makes the call, confirms by text, and if the weather is good he walks you to the door at the start of his evening round. Dessert, if you want it, is back on the porch. Teo leaves a plate under a cloth and the fire is lit in winter.
On Friday and Saturday there is also dinner at our own long table, sixteen seats, four courses, $85 a head. Book by Thursday noon.
04 / A quiet day
The day where nothing is booked.
Most of our guests take one of these, and the regulars take two. Breakfast late, a swim when the pool opens at seven or whenever you get there, a bath at eleven because the tubs are good and the water is hot. A book from the library shelf. The porch swing in the shade after two.
The staff are good at leaving you alone. Housekeeping comes when you are at breakfast or not at all, your call. Lunch can appear on the porch at one if you ask at breakfast ($22, whatever Teo is making). A massage therapist from downtown comes to the house with a table on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 60 minutes for $150, booked a day ahead.
By five the string lights come on, Luis opens a bottle on the porch, and you decide whether to go out or not. Usually not.
What we book for you
No planning fee, ever.
We charge for the things that cost us something: the driver, the packed lunch, the guide, the massage. Making the calls is part of the room.
- Winery tastings and the driver, $180 to $450 for the afternoon
- Dinner reservations downtown, no charge
- Packed trail lunches, $18 a head, ordered by 9am
- The Saturday naturalist walk, $60 a person
- In room massage, Wednesday and Saturday, $150 an hour
- Bikes for the valley trail, no charge, helmets included
- A car to the San Jose airport, $70, booked the night before
Staying in the Pool Cottage with a dog? The creek trail and two of the wineries take dogs. Staying in an Oak Suite or Garden Room for a week? Ask for the seven day plan and we will lay it out.