About a month ago, a coworker of mine recommended a place called Stonehaus for coffee. I looked at her weird because I knew that was a winery down the road from our hotel, so why would they offer coffee, or any special kind of coffees, at that. To prove her wrong for suggesting it, I hopped onto their website, but the first page had a huge cup of coffee on it and was directing you to either their coffee page or their wine page. Oops, she was right. So while in Westlake, I remembered that day and told the husband we should head to Stonehaus and check it out.
As a kid, my dad worked at the Westlake Village Inn. A beautiful property with villas instead of buildings for their rooms, a gorgeous golf course and a restaurant to the side. Today we encountered the same Inn but they have added a few things. There is a new restaurant, a club, and Stonehaus; the winery, complete with vineyard. They also had mandatory valet parking on the side of the hotel with the restaurants, but we chose to park hotel side for free and walk over. I hope that valet is only for the weekends.
All the aspects of the property being beautiful still hold true. They kept the same style when adding the new dining options so it looks as though it's always been there.
We entered the Stonehaus main building through the front patio that was crowded with people listened to the live jazz performance going on. In front of us was a small deli case with pastries, cold salads, and about 6 flavors of gelato. Behind that looked like a Coffee Bean, with its menu above, coffee makers on the counters, and too many baristas running around in a tiny space. Seamlessly attached to the coffee shop is a place to order wine and a curved mini bar at the end of the counter. Behind us was a wine tasting table. The decor was nice but it was just too crowded. Adjacent to this area was the large wine tasting room. No wine tasting was going on so it actually just looked like a Starbucks dining room. People were sitting in the room on their laptops with coffees, not talking to anyone. Then I had to remind myself that this was still a hotel property, so these were probably guests working while trying to relax.
We got our drinks and went outside to enjoy them but there was not a single available table in sight. I understood the single girlfriends catching up over a glass of wine. I understood the double dates laughing and having a great time getting to know each other. What I didn't understand was table after table, there were children. This is a bar/winery. I could understand a couple of kids here with their parents as guests of the hotel, but this was a winery that sounded like an amusement park. Herds of children were running around the patio, playing in the fountain, unsupervised in the roped off vineyards playing hide and seek. I think I saw a kids graduation party in one section of the patio as well.
The husband and I went down a short path to find a quiet spot to enjoy the lovely views. We found a stubby stone wall to sit and find peace for a moment. Then, right away, some children came running down the dirt path chasing each other, one in his filthy socks.
My hazelnut latte was terrific. I ordered with whole milk, because I knew I could walk it off heading back to our car. He got a scotch and enjoyed that as well. All the stunning landscape calmed my mood and the rich colors in the flowers made me think of my mom. She would think this place was great.
Maybe a Friday night during wedding season was not the best time to come. I assume it was crowded due to that. The part with the out of control, disrespectful children really soured my spirits but I tried not to let it hinder my opinion of this place and it's coffee. There was ample options for coffee choices and even a full tea display right at the counter. The website boasts that you can buy their coffee by the pound for home brewing as well.
I will try to revisit this place but maybe on a different day of the week or maybe around brunch time. Perhaps I'll look into a wine tasting session for a group of friends, with reservations ahead of time. I won't give up on it totally; the coffee was too good.
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