September 7th, 2007
An artful lodging: San Diego’s famous pines get an elegant new neighbor - Travel
Walking along the windswept bluffs of Torrey Pines State Reserve, you get an unmistakable sense of having arrived at a special place. The reserve, after all, is home to one of only two natural stands of its namesake trees, the rarest pines in North America.
A newly opened hotel located near the reserve, the Lodge at Torrey Pines, draws its inspiration from this setting and offers another reason to visit the area. Meticulously constructed in the Craftsman style popular in Southern California a century ago, the lodge manages the difficult task of building soul from scratch.
“There’s never been a more complex hotel,” says William Evans, the vice president of Evans Hotels and a driving force behind the lodge’s design. “We used construction techniques done for wealthy Americans 100 years ago. And built it to code.”
As soon as you see the lodge, you will understand what Evans is talking about. The porte cochere was based on Henry and Charles Greene’s design for Pasadena’s landmark Blacker House. The hotel’s stained-glass doors depict a Torrey pine on an oceanfront bluff; designed by the Judson Studios of Highland Park, fourth-generation glassmakers, they were inspired by the entrance of Pasadena’s Gamble House.
With the large, tastefully decorated rooms starting at $375, the lodge is a splurge. But day visitors can enjoy many facilities too, including the spa, which offers familiar treatments like hydrotherapy along with more exotic ones like the Indian-inspired foot and hand massages of the Ayoma Ritual. The lodge’s restaurant, A.R. Valentien (named for an early California impressionist painter, whose works decorate its walls), features contemporary California cuisine: the menu changes daily, but try the delicately prepared butterfish if it’s available.
A sense of natural integrity
The lodge sits just south of Torrey Pines reserve, which has an extensive network of trails. They lead into pine forests as well as impressive stands of coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities notable for Mojave yuccas, prickly pear, and agaves.
The interaction of the desert and sea lends the reserve a distinctly Southern California aura. It is that regional identity that the lodge strives for, an authentic sense of place.
“We all know when someone is lying,” says Evans. “But everything here is what it appears to be. It’s real. That’s what people are responding to.”
RELATED ARTICLE: Luxury amid the pines
Torrey Pines is located between La Jolla and Del Mar in San Diego County. From 1-5, take Carmel Valley Rd. west, then turn left on N. Torrey Pines Rd.