Rancho Bernardo Inn

About the Rancho Bernardo Inn:

History: The Rancho Bernardo Inn opened its doors in 1963 with only 30 rooms and a nightly rate of $8!  One of the draws for guests was to get to view “color television” for the first time.  Their other main appeal was their resort golf course with 18 championship holes which is still very popular presently.

Today there are over 80,000 sq. ft. of lush landscape and beautiful pockets to be discovered all over!  We had so much fun walking the grounds.  You can tell they really put attention into every detail including their magnificent landscaping. There are so many fragrant, flowering plants throughout the resort.

Their beautiful golf course is one of their most distinguishing features and has hosted both PGA and LPGA events. Even if you do not golf, both of the Inn’s restaurants offer front-row seats of the spacious course so you will get to enjoy its views regardless.

Stay

The rooms were designed to blend in with the natural landscape giving them a feeling of seclusion. The interior has an open concept with large, ultra-comfy beds and includes both chairs to relax in as well as a desk to get work done.  The bathroom has an deep soaker tub and also a spacious-standing shower. Even if you don’t get a treatment at the Inn’s spa, you can still get a spa-like experience in your bathroom alone!

Spa

The Spa at Rancho Bernardo Inn is an award-winning, 10,000 square ft. oasis. It has its own private casitas and a lounge area with features such as a hydro-therapy pool, saline hot tub and glamourous cabanas to lounge at. There are also individual treatment rooms, a full-service locker area with steam and sauna amenities.

The Spa offers a full menu of premium services including massages, body wrap facials & treatments, advanced skincare, hair removal, pedicures & manicures and more!

Dining 

There are two restaurants to choose from when dining here: the Veranda and Avant, on top of a bar and café and the grounds.

The restaurants offer both indoor and outdoor dining, spacious views of the golf course and incredibly fresh food.  Many of the ingredients are harvested from their own Chef’s Garden on the grounds!

While you’re in the area, make sure to visit the Bernardo Winery nearby!

Frequent A-List guests include Maria Bello, Leanne Rimes, Phillip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, Valerie Bertinelli, Stedman Graham and many more! Make sure to look for the scene in the movie ‘Traffic’ where actress Catherine Zeta Jones is dining in the Veranda!

Personal Experience

The Rancho Bernardo Inn is a place I have had connections to dating back almost 2 decades ago!  I was once a server at the Veranda and can vouch for this being an incredible place to work at.

From what I witnessed while working here, it was an enjoyable environment, the employees were taken good care of and even fed!

Finally getting to experience the Inn from a guest’s perspective was such a treat.  We got top-of-the line treatment from everyone we encountered.  They really know how to make you feel special here.

Even if you don’t choose to spend a night (or two or three) here, I highly recommend dining at one of their restaurants one day. They make memorable food and drinks here that will make you keep wanting to come back for more!

We stayed in the Greens wing which put us right alongside the golf course.  It was pretty magnificent!  The bed and pillow were soooo comfy by the way.

The bathroom was so beautiful too!

One of the first things I noticed when we entered the room was a charcuterie board and champagne!  It was the sweetest touch ever and so tasty!  It was perfect because we were starving and this was such an exciting and unexpected way to start our stay!

We had a view of the golf course literally right outside our patio doors: It was scenic indeed and I imagine if you’re a golfer even more exciting!

The award-winning Spa at Rancho Bernardo Inn is something you should definitely experience if you choose to stay here. .

After my facial we grabbed some appetizers from the Veranda restaurant during their happy hour to hold us over before our dinner. As expected, the food was on point! We had brussel sprouts and guacamole:

After our snack we took a dip in the spa’s exclusive pool since we had the key for the day.  We ended up having the entire area to ourselves!

Make sure to take a dip in their saline hot tub!

One of my favorite areas to stumble upon was the Chef’s Garden.  It was pretty vast and filled with all sorts of fresh herbs and produce.  Very invigorating to walk through:

There is SO much to see here!  Don’t do what I did and only bring heels because you will regret it!  Put on some walking shoes and explore!

At sunset we had dinner at their restaurant, Avant.  Look at that view from the balcony!

I love that this entire trip was dog-friendly.  It made it so much easier on us getting to bring our dog. She was a rescue and even after 7 years of owning her, she still has a lot of separation anxiety.  Instead of howling at my parent’s house most of the time, she got to have a blast with us instead!

One of our drinks came in its own box and was smoking!  Talk about a unique presentation!

Each plate was truly a work of art and so many different flavors playing on our tongue at one time.  It was a highly memorable experience.

One of the appetizers we had was a sashimi plate. It included delicacies such as green almonds (which are only available for 2 weeks out of the year), pickled lemon curds and a cultured cream that we were told was the earliest stage of how butter is made:

Huge props to their chef, Chris Gentile, for busting out dish after dish of spectacular flavors.  He brought each one out to us and explained in detail what we were about to eat too!  This entire trip felt so special! 

Strolling by the Veranda on the way back to our room: