Rooftop bar serving stylish Mexican food next to a pool. Lobby bistro with full bar and trendy breakfast dishes. Chef-directed restaurant with moody lights and metropolitan mood. This combination of extravagances in one place was not on the Paso Robles menu until the Ava Hotel opened last fall, bringing to this Central Coast wine country downtown a recognizably big-city hotel experience.
The region’s evolution from drive-through cow town to must-stop on California’s wine circuit continues to move at lightspeed, as the rapid development that’s changed the scene dramatically over the past two decades does not cease. But the 151-room Ava hits a new benchmark, bringing the inclusive, all-you-want style of lodging right to the edge of Paso’s central square.
I can say as much with some confidence because I stayed there three times in its first six months. It’s where wineries are sending their guests, where conferences are converging, and where locals are gathering to check out the latest menu by Julien Asseo , whose Levant-leaning Emre is the third offering he’s created since opening Les Petites Canailes in 2019 and S’Aranella in 2025, both only a five-minute walk away.