Rancho Santa Fe, CA City Guides



1. Rancho Valencia Resort

City: Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (858) 756-1123, (800) 548-3664
Address: 5921 Valencia Circle

Description: About 30 minutes from downtown San Diego, Rancho Valencia is elegant and a top choice for spa and resort fans (see our Spas and Resorts chapter). The only Relais & Chateaux property in Southern California, Rancho Valencia has been ranked as a favorite North American resort of Tennis, Wine Spectator, Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report, and Travel & Leisure. The resort was also listed on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2006 Gold List. You’ll find upscale touches throughout the 49-unit resort. The centerpiece is the Hacienda, a restored adobe brick home that was built in the 1940s. There are three suites in the Hacienda, and the entire building is often booked by such power players as Michael Jordan and Bill Clinton. Luxurious villas with whirlpool tubs inside and out and plasma-screen TVs are scattered around the lush grounds. Even the most modest suites have fireplaces and private gardens. There are several pools and hot tubs, spa services, and fine dining at the resort’s signature restaurant. You may want to venture out onto one of the 18 tennis courts, since the resort was recently designated by Tennis magazine as one of the nation’s top tennis resorts. There are also great hiking and biking trails right outside the hotel’s door. You may become addicted to the ambience of Rancho Valencia. It’s that lovely.

2. Rancho Valencia Resort

City: Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (858) 756-1123, (800) 548-3664
Address: 5921 Valencia Circle

Description: About 30 minutes and seemingly 3 million light years away from the city of San Diego, Rancho Valencia is elegant and secluded. Located in the North County Coastal area, it is a neighbor to the elite Rancho Santa Fe community. The resort’s Hacienda, a restored adobe brick home built in the 1940s, has hosted countless notables such as Bill Blass, Merv Griffin, Kelsey Grammer, and Ted Danson. Guests choose from the 49 luxurious suites and villas spread around the lush grounds; returnees usually have their favorite rooms. The two-night package ranges from $1,575 to $2,575 per couple.The Spa at Rancho Valencia, which opened in the summer of 2006, is a blissful spot with 10 treatments rooms, a steamy rain room with Vichy shower for wet treatments, and a Watsu pool for one of the most awesome mind and body treatments you’ll ever experience. Hour-long massages start at $130; the 90-minute signature massage costs $200. Scents of the surrounding countryside are used in almond and orange oils and essences. Day spa packages start at $325.  

3. Mille Fleurs Restaurant

City: Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (858) 756-3085
Address: 6009 Paseo Delicias

Description: Here’s the benchmark for all French restaurants in the county and a venerable leader in the romance category. Mille Fleurs, in the upscale area of Rancho Santa Fe, attracts national attention and constantly wins culinary awards. Food and Wine magazine has named it one of the top 25 restaurants in the country, and the James Beard House has named chef Martin Woesle one of the great regional chefs. Owner Bertrand Hug created this cozy cottage restaurant in 1984 and has made it one of the finest French restaurants in the country. Notables, celebrities, and the wealthy gather here when they want superb service and great food. In fact, your chances of spotting visiting celebrities are excellent here. People become hooked on Mille Fleurs and often try to think up special occasions so they can come here to celebrate.The cuisine is fine dining at its best. The menu changes daily, as Woesle collects his ingredients from gourmet produce farms and other top-notch purveyors. Chances are you’ll find sweetbreads, duck liver, partridge, and other treats you don’t normally see on San Diego menus. The extraordinary wine list (with prices to match) makes connoisseurs swoon. Open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner nightly. Be sure to dress up for the experience. If you come by on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night, you can join the patrons singing show tunes at the piano bar. And if it couldn’t possibly get any better, they’ve now added Bistro Night every Wednesday, featuring a casual atmosphere and a reduced price bistro menu.

4. Mcnally Company Antiques

City: Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (858) 756-1922
Address: 6033 Paseo Delicias

Description: McNally’s is the place if you’re looking for 18th- and 19th-century furnishings or just love to browse through classic furniture. Here you’ll find estate pieces, objets d’art, and investment collectibles. They also carry quality items in silver. The store isn’t open on Sunday or Monday; other days of the week the hours are 10-ish to 5-ish. Really, that’s what the sign on the door says.

5. San Diego Polo Club

City: Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Category: Spectator Sports
Telephone: (858) 481-9217
Address: 14555 El Camino Real

Description: For pure primal excitement, nothing compares to the thrill of eight mounted riders thundering downfield in pursuit or defense of a goal. The object of polo is to move a ball through the goal in six periods of play called “chukkers.” Each chukker is seven minutes long, and there are no time-outs except for injuries or penalties.The San Diego Polo Club holds its matches on Sunday from June through September with a summer break in late July. The fall season in October sees play on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Admission is $10.00, with parking $5.00.Pre-match festivities include picnics, tailgating, polo demonstrations, kids’ activities, and complete food and beverage service. Spectators have one responsibility—during the intermission between the third and fourth chukkers, fans are asked to make their way to the field and stomp down the divots unearthed by the ponies. It’s a great tradition and a chance to meet other polo aficionados, too.
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