The Resort at Pelican Hill

Sometimes the best vacations are the quick overnight ones that happen spontaneously and then leave you wishing you were spontaneous much more often. It started as a round of golf and it turned into a mini vacation with a one night stay at the Resort at Pelican Hill nestled just above the Newport Coastline.

Pelican Hill is one of those truly magnificent and special places. The stunning palladium-inspired architecture is noted across the entire resort, from the expansive front drive to the coliseum pool that is notably the largest circular saline pool in the world with over 1 million glass tiles pieced together across the bottom floor.

After a great morning of golf at Strawberry Farms, we stopped at Javiars over by Crystal Cove State Beach for a couple of margaritas and then over to the resort to check-in and relax before dinner.

I don't even know where to begin when describing the bungalow suite that we stayed in except to say that I simply wanted to move-in...permanently.

Upon hearing that we had plans to enjoy dinner at Mastro's Ocean Club, the guest services manager kindly offered to provide us with their house car (a Bentley) and a driver to take us to and from dinner. World-class service? I think so. 

After returning from dinner we poured a glass of wine and walked down to the pool area where we had the entire place completely to ourselves. If you've never gone night swimming in a heated saline pool, remember to never pass up the chance if offered. It was perfect way to end our day.  

The following morning we enjoyed breakfast on our private patio (might have been the best in-room dining experience I've ever had) and then lounged in the sun a bit with some coffee and The LA Times before checking out and coming back to reality feeling more refreshed than ever.