Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa: Local Color and Quiet Luxury

Any night that ends in a hot tub is a good night—and even better when it’s with a cold beer. I finished my recent one-night stay at the Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa in Rancho Santa Fe, Cali., with a dip in the private Jacuzzi in the secluded backyard of my casita, cold one in hand, reflecting on the luxury and comfort of this five star property north of San Diego. I’ve been privileged enough to stay at a remarkable number of world class hotels in my life, and Rancho Valencia is right at the top alongside the best of the bunch. It’s the kind of place you’ll never want to leave once you check in, and that you’ll long to return to whenever you have the chance.

I say this despite having no interest whatsoever in what Rancho Valencia might be best known for. Rancho Valencia isn’t just about tennis, but tennis is its main bag; Tennis Magazine has called it the best tennis resort in Southern California every year since 2008, and across its 45 acres you’ll find 16 tennis courts to play on, both Plexiplave and red clay. And if you’re more partial to the other net-and-ball sport that’s been sweeping America, there are also four pickleball courts to dink on. If you’re a tennis fan, you’re probably already aware of Rancho Valencia and its world-class facilities; if you aren’t a tennis fan, don’t worry—there’s more than enough to do here without racket in hand.

For me, that meant drinking. A couple of cocktails at the bar of the Pony Room, Rancho Valencia’s excellent restaurant, was the perfect start for my one-night immersion into the high life. Its menu is rich with enticing margaritas, built around both tequila and mezcal, and the La Pinata, with its charred pineapple mezcal and serrano tequila, was a perfect first drink—sweet, spicy, and smokey, all at just the right amount. The seasonal cocktail list for late summer included a couple of other tequila concoctions, along with a handful of inspired vodka, gin, and whiskey drinks. I inevitably wound up off-menu with a classic Old Fashioned, and hey: it did the job way better than it needed to.

You can drink almost anywhere, of course. (Although, obviously, there are many places you shouldn’t.) What you can’t do at most bars is walk idly through pristinely manicured lawns and gardens surrounding adorable casitas. After my brief sojourn at the bar I toured Rancho Valencia’s gorgeous grounds, admiring the scenic views and rolling hills of this region of Southern California. Near my room was a decent-sized garden that provided the Pony Room with much of its produce; as I checked out the greens on display I oversaw a wedding party getting their photos taken overlooking a small valley below. If you can make the money work, I imagine a wedding at Rancho Valencia would be something truly special.

During my stroll I came upon both the property’s main pool, which is open to all ages, and, amid a cluster of olive groves, the hotel’s spa. Home to a fitness center, a salon, and various relaxation spaces, the spa also offers a variety of treatments by reservation, from massages and facials, to trendy procedures like body sculpting, hydrotherapy, and injections. The spa also has its own private pool for adults, which is available to anybody staying on property. Except kids. No kids allowed. They get all the fun stuff anyway. Kids are more than welcome to enjoy the main pool on property, which is more fun than that stuffy old spa pool anyway (at least that’s what I would tell my kids, if I had any, as I went and swam without them in the spa). Even if I’m only at a hotel for 24 hours, I’ll almost always make time to hit the pool—except I didn’t have to at Rancho Valencia, as I knew I had my own hot tub waiting for me at the end of the night.