The Darling Hotel
Hotel · Visalia ·
Art deco hotel in converted courthouse, rooftop dining
Art deco hotel in converted courthouse, rooftop dining
"Visalia is a town more known for its orange and almond orchards than its Art Deco hotels, but The Darling has set out to change that. After nearly two years of construction, the space transformed from a dilapidated courthouse to a sleek, 1930s-inpspired hotel, opening to the public in July 2020. Complete with high ceilings, velvet couches, plush bedding, and marbled walk-in showers, the site is a welcome shift from Sequoia’s more rustic in-park lodging. Just don’t forget to grab a Oaxacan Old Fashioned at the rooftop bar, Elderwood, before check-out." - Emily Pennington
"Pre-pandemic, we’d go to The Darling in the West Loop for drinks, live performances, and to sit inside a space designed to look like Luigi’s Mansion. Now you can come here to have cocktails and small plates in their “rose garden.” That’s the name of their outdoor patio area that’s filled with private greenhouses that you can reserve for two to four people. And while the little shelters are actually pretty warm (like a....greenhouse), they do have blankets in case you get cold." - adrian kane
"For an experiential delivery, there’s “Darling To Go”, a dinner-and-drinks kit from The Darling that includes flowers, links to musical performances, candles, and an LED projector. It’s $65 per person (minimum two) and comes with a four-curse meal." - adrian kane
"If you’ve watched Downton Abbey, you might suspect that winter would be a lot more charming if you lived with the Crawleys. And you’re probably right, which is why you should head to The Darling in the West Loop. This two-floor cocktail bar is designed to look like an old English manor, so you can have drinks and small plates by the fireplace while surrounded by old-timey bookshelves and elegant leather couches and chairs. Don’t think too hard about the fact that in real life, you’d probably be one of the servants." - adrian kane
"I remember it as a bar that featured burlesque performances in the warehouse space next to Graziano’s; it closed in June 2022." - Ashok Selvam