When you look through the list of “Hotels we Love,” there are certain aspects that surface in every piece — the scenery, the scene, the food and beverage program, the “bed game”… standard hotel stuff. But the goal is always to highlight places with an x-factor. Spots that subvert expectations and surprise us a little by bringing something fresh to the table.
The Ranch at Laguna Beach is just that sort of place. Mostly because it’s nothing like what you likely expect from a Laguna Beach hotel (eg. all beach everything), while still doing the beachy thing pretty wonderfully.
Much of what’s so cool about the hotel has to do with its setting, which I’ll elaborate on below and is sure to be the star of your stay. But coming in a close second are the guest offerings — which are innovative yet intuitive. Or, to put it another way, creative without trying too hard. Check out why this stunning hideaway deserves your attention the next time you head to Laguna Beach, CA, below.
WHY IT’S AWESOME
A big part of the magic of Laguna Beach is that it’s relatively inaccessible, especially considering it’s a coastal town in the 5th most populous county in the United States. This is due to the fact that there’s no direct freeway access. Newport Beach to the north and Dana Point to the south both have major arteries that dump out within a mile of the sand. In Laguna, you have to either drive along PCH from one of those aforementioned neighbors or travel 15 minutes down the CA-133 and another five minutes down Laguna Canyon Road.
Driving into town via the 133 offers a stunning view of the rugged canyons that have buffered Laguna, relatively speaking, from the outside world. Right now, after an incredibly wet spring, the vegetation is Hawaii-level lush — making the name of the conservation project that protects this land, “the Laguna Green Belt,” feel very fitting. The Ranch at Laguna Beach sits nestled at the south end of this green belt, nestled in these exact same sorts of creek-carved canyons. Having lived for quite some time in town and taken plenty of visitors to the property, the first thing you hear is “I had no idea Laguna Beach could look like this.”
Which… I get it. Even for me, a verified local, the hotel grounds feel like a portal to another time and place. Giant sandstone boulders pepper the hillsides, surrounded by bougainvillea and California poppies. A creek slips gently toward the sea. Deer and birdlife are abundant. It is the most un “SoCal” scenery in Orange County and, as such, a truly welcome surprise.
As you can see above, The Ranch is home to a golf course that winds through the canyon. To be perfectly honest, I’ve spent my career being very resistant to golf and have declined to play at famous courses all over the world. But this course drew me in with three factors: 1) the fact that it’s GEO Certified, meaning that it’s had an outside party score its water usage and other environmental impact elements for sustainability, 2) it fits naturally into Aliso and Wood canyons, which is more like the golf courses I observed in Scotland and less like the “pave paradise to put in 18 holes” approach that I’ve often witnessed on my travels, 3) it’s only nine holes made up of all par 3s and 4s, meaning that being terrible is a lot less miserable than playing 18 holes full of par fives, where a bad player might need ten strokes and leave people waiting.
The result is golf that is fun for everyone — not a selling point that many courses I’ve ever visited lay claim to. I hadn’t touched a club in 25 years and managed to get par on one hole, which is saying something.
There there are The Ranch’s new “cultural offerings” — which they just rolled out this spring and I had the chance to experience firsthand. The first is the opportunity to create a plein-air painting with John Cosby, one of the icons of Laguna’s plein-air painting community. The term mostly just refers to painting outside — which doesn’t really seem like it needs a term — but the result is a genre of landscape paintings that conjure those unforgettable beach days while still being figurative enough to inspire the imaginative viewer. Cosby’s work has been incredibly well-regarded in the local scene for decades, so the chance to have him as an instructor is truly a next-level get for the right sort of guest. It’s also sort of puts the “hey, I could paint that!” knee-jerk reaction people have when they see figurative artwork to the ultimate test.
But for me, even painting with someone as esteemed as Cosby can’t compete with the second new offering: shaping a surfboard from scratch (or “from foam,” to be more accurate) with Gary Larson of Hobie, who trained under shaping legend Terry Martin and shapes the majority of Hobie’s boards. After my most recent visit to The Ranch, I met up with Larson at his nearby shaping bay (built into Hobie’s Dana Point location). We spoke for a long time about what sort of surfer I am, what sort of board I’m looking for, what I want out of a ride, etc.
Then, gradually, Larson started offering ideas for how we could create my perfect board. He set a blank on his shaping table and laid out a few different templates. Before long, he flipped on the planer and began dancing forward and back along the length of the board, shaving away foam to get a general shape to work from. He even let me have a go at it. I was terrible, naturally, but just the idea of actually working on my own surfboard was truly a life goal unlocked.
For my personal board, I actually visited Larson’s shaping bay a half dozen more times and then worked with the glasser directly to plan how it would look. But for the typical hotel guest, Larson will take over the shaping after that first meeting. In a month or so after their stay, they’ll have a brand new, custom-made, hand-shaped surfboard out of it. It’s an amazing opportunity and a true chance to understand the sport in a new way (I know superb surfers, way better than me, who have only ever bought boards off the rack).
The fact that The Ranch is offering it to guests and integrating it within their hotel stay is pretty brilliant. It’s not cheap — $2500, to be exact — but for the right surfer, it’s most certainly worth it (for me it definitely was). Because it’s not just a board, it’s a piece of art. Best of all, it’s one you get to ride.
IN HOUSE FOOD + DRINK
Every cinnamon roll on earth is judged against Cinnabon. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. And the fact of the matter is that 99% of all cinnamon rolls I’ve ever eaten have left me saying: “I wish I’d just gone to a mall or airport and gotten a Cinnabon.”
But the cinnamon roll at The Ranch’s in-house restaurant, Harvest, is the exception. I’m sure that will annoy the team at the restaurant because everyone talks about the cinnamon roll when they actually boast an incredible farm-to-table* dining program that composts waste and grows food on-site. But still… that cinnamon roll is lit. It’s layered — soft on the inside, crunchy around the rim — and the flavors balance sweet and salty in a wonderfully gaudy, maximalist-type way. Unlike most sweet breakfasts, which are just disappointing enough to leave you feeling regretful that you scarfed down so many calories at 10 am, this treat leaves you very happy with your life choices.
With that out of the way, there’s actually a lot to love among chef Kyle St. John’s dishes. A few highlights for dinner:
- Duck Wings: Ever since Pok Pok, chefs have played with their own versions of fried wings, caramelized in a pan with sticky, Asian-inspired sauce. Often, the result is out of balance with many a wing ending up overly sweet. But Harvet’s wings, which you can get at the restaurant and on the patio, are savory and have a perfect degree of warming spice. At a recent meetup on the patio to see live music, my table of eight ordered three rounds of wings, at three different times throughout the night.
- Braised Short Rib: Short rib is often rich and this one is rich AF. But that’s not to its detriment. In fact, it’s a perfect representative of the farm-to-table comfort food that Harvest is known for. The whipped potatoes that come with the dish are a must anyway, so consider this your way to ensure you get to try them. That said, I would make your starters ultra-light if you plan on ordering this. It’s not so heavy to leave you feeling like going to bed is your only logical next option but veers dangerously and deliciously close.
- Sweet Corn Agnolotti. Corn or squash agnolotti or ravioli have become seasonal standards among SoCal Italian-leaning restaurants. I’m good with that proliferation on the dish — it’s one of my favorites. What I’m not good with is how overly sweet this dish often ends up being. It’s supposed to be sweet, not a dessert. Harvest’s version is sweet, to be sure, but doesn’t cross the line. The basil oil helps keep it tasting garden fresh and balances things out. A wonderful starter.
I’d also wholeheartedly recommend the salmon, oysters, and scallops. Across multiple visits, I’ve tried most of the menu — the only item I really didn’t care for is the Forbidden Fried Rice, which was busy and bursting with ingredients in a way that didn’t do it any favors. The berry butter cake is my favorite dessert but the whole dessert menu is great. With that said, you might want to save your sugar for another cinnamon roll the next morning.
A fair bit of Harvest’s menu is available at The Porch, outside, where musicians play nightly and golfers unwind after finishing their rounds. The flatbreads are surprisingly good, as is the hummus, but it’s hard to deny the aforementioned wings. This is the closest the property has to a true hangout spot. The bar inside is beautiful and has a great staff but since a fair number of people eat at the bar, it doesn’t necessarily feel like a spot to linger.
The real move, if you’re looking to hang for a while, is to start at The Porch, move to Harvest for dinner, then slide over to the couches in front of the roaring fire for a nightcap.
*I haven’t had a chance to talk a lot about the farm at The Ranch, but truly it is so cool. I saw them using compost that came from bar waste to fertilize veggies that would later go to the restaurant — one of the most “closed circuit” foodways I’ve seen in recent memory. The Ranch allows you to stroll down and take a farm tour, so one great play is to do exactly that, find out what was sent over to the restaurant, and then impress your group at the table by sharing that insight and letting it shape your meal.
AMENITIES
- Beach access
- 15,000 acres of local trails
- Farm-to-table on-site restaurant
- Beach cafe
- Free summer trolley to Laguna Beach
- 9-hole golf course
- On-site spa & fitness center
- Sauna
- Daily free live music
- Outdoor pool & hot tub
Plus the cultural experiences I shouted out before. It’s a great lineup and also not so over the top that you’d want to stay on the property for the whole weekend. That’s a good thing — the town is right at your fingertips and you should explore it!
ROOM TYPES
The Ranch at Laguna Beach offers 97 rooms and covers 87 acres, but it doesn’t have an excess of room breakdowns like so many properties these days:
- Canyon Room – King bed with an outdoor furnished patio.
- Creekside Studio Suite – King bed + full-size sofa bed, outdoor furnished patio or balcony, creek + canyon views.
- Creekside One Bedroom Suite – King bed + full-size foldout couch + separate living space, outdoor furnished patio or balcony.
- Cottage Two Bedroom Suite – Two-level, upstairs bedrooms (king and queen), downstairs patio, upstairs balcony.
- The Treehouse – Two bedrooms, three bathrooms, wraparound deck, full gourmet kitchen, living and dining space, floor-to-ceiling windows, Treehouse Gazebo, dedicated butler.
The selection of rooms and suites highlights the property’s signature bedding and Italian linens paired with Tuvalu-designed coastal ranch furnishings. All of which I’ll cover shortly.
BEST THING TO DO WITHIN A 15-MINUTE WALK
The crazy thing about The Ranch’s property is that though it feels very much outside of the typical Laguna Beach hustle, the sand is just steps away. Just a short walk down a creekside path. And it’s not just any beach — it’s one of Laguna’s best: Aliso Creek. Our last remaining beach with firepits. One of the best skimboarding spots on earth. With plenty of real estate to spread out a blanket on (one of the wildest phenomena of this region is that you can have a whole lot of space to yourself if you’re only willing to walk 200 feet away from the beach access point).
So do that. Take a stroll, hang out on the beach, and when the sun or crowds overwhelm you, retreat to your shady canyon hideaway. The Ranch also operates Lost Pier Café at Aliso Beach and the food is excellent. Far better than you’d ever expect from on-the-sand dining. Try the chowder fries or the churros or the short rib burrito — there are some real crowd-pleasers on the menu.
THE BEST THING TO DO/EAT/DRINK WITHIN A $20 CAB RIDE
Literally, all of Laguna Beach is at your fingertips for a $20 cab ride so… you have options. With that said, I have to highlight the incredible work that local creative Scotty Wise and his crew are doing with Club 222 Productions. Wise and his partners are Laguna’s first club promoters in at least 10 years and they are truly crushing it — allowing residents a spot that’s legitimately popping while also attracting attention from wider Orange County and some of LA’s more committed club kids.
For the past six months or so, Club 222 has had a standing Friday and Saturday night engagement as “Club Sueños” at the restaurant of the same name, right downtown. With the property undergoing a quick revamp they’ve been roving but are likely to settle back there when the dust clears. Check their IG for updates.
BED GAME
Italian linens? I’ve very into it. The best are big and the blankets aren’t heavy and the pillows are strong. The sheets are excellent for cooling you off if you’re a little sunburnt from the beach or a little sweaty from your post-party activities.
Rating: 9/ 10
SEXINESS FACTOR
The Porch is very sexy. Seductive even. The pool and hot tub are open relatively late — 10 pm — also very sexy. The hideaway feel of the entire property is definitely sexy. The only downgrade is that the rooms aren’t necessarily sleek in a way that screams sex. And of course, by allowing kids every property loses a point.
Rating: 8/10
THE VIEWS & PICS SPOTS
This isn’t an influencer haven. The pics coming out of the many on-site weddings are superb but it’s not a place that people are constantly filming themselves at. That’s a good thing — it feels more private this way. Plus there are literally endless IG spots in Laguna Beach for #content.
With that said, get a pic of yourself playing golf — it might be the best way to fully encapsulate the beautiful scenery.
Rating: 6/10
BEST SEASON TO VISIT
You want the real secret for Laguna? September 7th to October 7th. Kids are back to school. Summer is over. But no one has told the weather that.
With that said, if you’re not going in the ocean, year-round is great. Be warned, Laguna Beach is famous for a dense marine layer from May to July — “June Gloom” — which keeps the sun covered most of the day.
IF I HAD TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ONE THING
The room decor is new and well done and fits thematically within the setting. But if they consulted me, I’d have gone more ’70s Cali BoHo. It just feels cooler and younger to me. That said, it’s certainly not a major distraction.
BOOK HERE
Rooms start at $599 per night. The resort is currently offering two special offers, both valid through September 4th.
Arrive Sunday through Wednesday and stay three or more nights to save 20%. Or stay two nights and receive $50 resort credit towards dining or golf and waived overnight parking.