It’s hard to resist a smile when you’re offered spiked lemonade in a plastic pouch presented by servers on a silver tray that also holds inflatable pink flamingos. And so there were grins all around last week when Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica kicked off their summer dinner series at The Kitchen, the new poolside dining and entertaining space located at The Miramar Pool Club. Executive chef Yousef Ghalaini of the hotel’s signature restaurant FIG was working the state-of-the-art Kalamazoo grills, turning out finger-friendly versions of his seasonal Mediterranean fare. On a lower pool deck, a picnic table offered wood-fired pizzas, gorgeous charcuterie and platters of roasted veggies.
The Fairmont Miramar, which has 25,000 square feet of meeting space and the largest ballroom in Santa Monica, has expanded its outdoor offerings, with weekly poolside movie screenings, as well as the weekly Kitchen dinners, beach butlers and super-sized board games including checkers, chess and jenga on the Sunset Terrace. All are available for groups. The hotel can also arrange offsite excursions, such as visits to the Getty Villa in Malibu that includes a gourmet packed lunch, and half-day giving-back teambuilding activities like beach cleanup, volunteering at a local food bank or working with Habitat for Humanity to complete the final steps in creating a new home for homeless families.
