What to Do in Los Gatos | 48 Hours in Los Gatos

Last weekend I spent a little over 48 hours in Northern California for a little girl’s getaway. The trip was short but packed with lots of fun, so I wanted to share what to do in Los Gatos.

If you live in Los Angeles, I can’t recommend this trip enough. It’s a short 45ish minute flight from LAX to the San Jose airport, and the hotel we stayed at, Hotel Los Gatos, is about a 20-minute car ride away.

If you make it up there, here’s a quick list on what to do:

Where to Stay

Hotel Los Gatos was gracious enough to host myself and my three girl friends for the weekend. (BTW, be sure to check them out: Abby, Crystal, and Amanda.) It’s a Tuscan-inspired hotel complete with a pool, covered patio, restaurant, and spa. 

We stayed in double rooms which I found to be quite spacious thanks to a living room the size of mine in LA. The bathrooms were also super spacious and had the tub separated from the shower which, even though I didn’t take a bath, I liked. 

I forgot to take a full photo of our rooms because once we got there we went straight to dinner, but they were charming and clean which in my opinion, is really all that matters. Plus they set out robes and gave us chocolate coins each night, so that’s a win for me.

Abby and I stayed on the first floor which had double doors that opened up to the courtyard and pool, but if you get the second level then you have your own terrace/balcony situation.

Where to Eat

Attached to Hotel Los Gatos is an amazing Greek restaurant called Dio Deko. And I’m not talking like gyros Greek food, I mean fine dining with spread assortments, pits bread that is so good it’s basically crack, and full entrees from fish to meat. We ate there on Friday night and it was absolutely delicious.

Here’s what we ordered to share:

• The assortment of spreads (MY FAVE OF THE APPETIZERS)
• An heirloom tomato and watermelon salad (I don’t like watermelon but the tomatoes were delicious)
• Grilled Octopus (I didn’t eat because I’m not a fan of seafood)
• A peach salad with frisee and cherry tomatoes that was super yummy

A couple of the girls got fish and they loved their entrees. I, however, went for the meat – the filet to be exact. Holy yum. It was cooked perfectly and had some amazing magical demi-glaze sauce on it.

For dessert, we tried the baklavas, flourless cake, and beignets. All I’ll say about this is there wasn’t much left on the dessert plates when we finished.

I for sure would go back here as our server was beyond amazing and attentive, and the food was delicious. (I am sure it helps that in 2011 and 2012 this place earned a Michelin Star.)

What to Do

Like I mentioned above, there’s a spa within Hotel Los Gatos called Verde Touch. There are a couple of locations in the area, and I absolutely LOVED this spa and the massage I got there. 

Before our massages, we got to pick the essential oils that we wanted for our treatment and mixed it into the cream they’d be using on us. Get this: the salve they use is made in-house from a mixture of 100% organic coconut oil and beeswax. (Yes, you can buy it if you want.) 

Maybe this is FYI but for all you ladies, I appreciate this touch: the massage table has cups carved out to make it easier to lay chest down on it. It’s the little things in life, am I right?

There’s also a winery an easy 5-minute drive from Hotel Los Gatos called Testarossa Winery. It’s at the top of the hill and super darling. You can do anything from just enjoying a glass of wine under their umbrellas all the way to a food pairing in a private tasting room.

We hung out here for about 30 minutes prior to our tasting to just enjoy the greenery (something I don’t get much of here in LA) and hang out. I definitely recommend spending some time around the winery before of after the tasting; there are plenty of tables and chairs to sit and chat.

On Sunday morning, two of the gals had to check out, but Abby is local to San Jose so she took me to a classic diner called Bill’s and it was everything I need to end the weekend: comfort food. Eggs and bacon, no frills, and just really good. 

If you make it up to Los Gatos, let me know! I’d love to hear about your trip.