All Around Gem

Having stayed at multiple FRHI hotels and resorts I understand the Fairmont Brand fairly well.  I recently had a reason for work + pleasure to stay three nights in the San Diego area and intentionally selected the recently minted Fairmont Grand Del Mar, in Del Mar, California (North of San Diego).

With an average nightly rate hovering around $550 this is one of the more expensive Fairmont's in the portfolio (Exceptions Savoy, Plaza, and Banff in High Season) Standard rooms are 560 sqft and all have verandas or patios on the ground floor.  There are also a multitude of suites available.

While Raffles Seychelles, Pacific Rim, and The Palm all stand out as exceptional resort style properties in the portfolio, The Grand Del Mar is the finest Fairmont in the United States perhaps the Western Hemisphere.  As all recently built resort and tower properties are doing to varying levels of success Grand Del Mar is selling resort fractionals. There is a listing for 5 weeks @ $325,000, with golf club membership, and Heritage Place portfolio access.  While pricey, this is not unreasonable for those with means.

The hotel was built in 2007 by Doug Manchester for 270m and in 2015 sold 88% stake to Blum Capital for 230m (Richard Blum, husband of Diane Feinstein) who also purchased the recently restored Claremont in Berkeley.

The resort is nestled into an valley and noise from CA 56 or Interstate 5/805 are non existent, yet access to UCSD and Westfield UTC are a very quick 5 min drive away.

The interior resort layout can seem to be a bit of a maze and isn't in a traditional tower or wing format with many hallways branching out from the main lobby and forming courtyards with lush planting or pools.

Doug Manchester retained local architects and landscape architects to work with an interior designer with intimate knowledge of Italian, Moroccan, and Spanish Architecture to develop a unique style of architecture.  The property is a shout out to the late great Addison Mizner. While this specific Tuscan/Moorish mash up is not a personal favorite, it is done with great care and effort. The Moorish themes read uniformly throughout all spaces, from the lobby to the tennis pavilions to the monuments along the entry drive and the Italian landscapes give the building a great backdrop and setting.

Check In

Check in begins as you enter the gated resort, if you are a registered guest, they will have a valet ticket for you.  You then make your way up a boulevard to the main resort and golf grounds. After dropping bags with a well-staffed bell desk, I asked to self-park, which is 100m away from the entry and is complimentary.

Amenities

As this is a resort the amenities are abundant and well thought out.  There is a weekly schedule that identifies activities and events.

The resort has multiple dining venues; I will cover that under dining

Here are just a few of the services offered on and off property:

Architectural tours, Fitness Center*, Spa, Tom Fazio Golf Course*, Gym, Adult Only Pool, Family Pools, Hiking Trail, Resort Walking Loop, Horse Back Riding*, Tennis, Wedding Chapel*, Off Site Beach access, Complimentary shuttle rides within 14miles, Complimentary Porsche test drives (limited time). *Service Fee

Room

The rooms are large and goregeously appointed.  The use of the word goregeous is entirely appropriate because as the amount of detail and pomp is unparalleled. The bathroom has a portal over the giant soaker tub into the bedroom. There is a large shower and private commode with a nicely hidden closet. All rooms can be setup with a microwave, mini fridge, and dvd player if your stay warrants these tools.  The sheets were perfect, I don't always experience crisp lush sheets even in 4 and 5 star resorts, but here they were heaven.  Our room walked out to the gardens with quick access to the nearby family pool and Aria event lawn.

Dining

This is an forth coming section. 7 outlets on property.

Cent Anni - Bakery Cafe,

Lobby Lounge,

Amaya (Southern Italian Cuisine)

Addison (White Tablecloth French)

Clubhouse Grill (At Golf Club)

Club M (Vegas Style Night Club)

Pool Grill

Addison is the crown jewel of the property and possibly all of San Diego. While it is either love or hate Addison is compared to French Laundry and Per Se, and it certainly has prices to match.  If Michelin rated this venue 3 stars would be a given.

Porsche Test Drive

Fairmont Grand Del Mar is 1 of 12 hosts across the country that Porsche is providing test drives of their ehybrid model cars.  That was fun. ;)

Overall

This is a fantastic resort and has exceptional hard and soft product.

I will provide a closing summary shortly.