In the early 1900s, millions of eucalyptus trees were planted in the hills just north of San Diego to supply timber for the Santa Fe Railway, whose holding company had purchased the land.
Eucalyptus proved to be poor wood for the purpose, so the company planted citrus groves to encourage "gentlemen farmers" to move to the area. In 1924, they built La Morada, a guesthouse in the new village, Rancho Santa Fe. The town and the hotel were designed by pioneering California architect Lilian Rice.
Rancho Santa Fe consistently ranks in the top 10 most expensive housing markets in the country, according to Realtor.com. Ten minutes from SoCal’s best surfing beaches, and 30 minutes to the San Diego Airport, it nevertheless feels secluded.
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Ranch estates line the winding roads, but the intimate downtown retains Rice’s original white stucco structures and red tiled roofs, and echo the guesthouse that became, in 1941, the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.
The hotel’s front walkway flows right into the village. During Hollywood’s Golden Age, the Inn became an escape for stars in search of R&R, including Bing Crosby, a founding partner of the nearby Del Mar Racetrack.
In 2023, the 84-room property underwent an estimated $40 million renovation, maintaining the original Spanish colonial architecture, with added aspects of a traditional equestrian homestead and elements of old Beverly Hills (rattan furniture and potted palms).
Some floors in the common areas came from French chateaus, and the modern furniture, covered in warm, soft fabrics, make the rooms feel fresh. As does, for example, an antique marble fireplace under a colorful print based on Andy Warhol’s Flower series in the lobby. Hand-painted murals pay homage to California flora, and appear throughout, including on the curved fireplaces in the rooms, one of many features that retain architect Rice’s original designs.
Laid-back glamour, California history, and modern luxury is the ambiance here, and the Inn was a delicious soul reboot after a tumultuous year for me. Here, I got exercise and caught up on much-needed rest. I walked through a golf course in town, and hiked a slot canyon (unfortunately, I did not rent a car at the airport, and it took three Ubers to finally find the trailhead). I had a terrific massage at Mila Moursi spa and rode a white bike through town and past the hotel’s four new pickleball courts.
The paths linking the rooms to the common areas feel like a flowing botanical garden. Bougainvillea, birds of paradise and thickets of white roses, alongside rosemary bushes, eucalyptus and lemon trees, make the 11-acre garden property smell divine.
"Always Summer in San Diego" is the hotel’s fall offer — with rates starting at $429 — designed for mid-week stays including a daily $60 breakfast credit, along with a one-time $100 resort credit. The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe is one of those rare hotels that inspired and refreshed me, and to which I will wholeheartedly return.
Oregon's Napa Valley North
It’s been a while since I’ve visited somewhere beautiful without the sensation that social media had already exploited every inch of it. During a recent visit to Applegate Valley (known as the Applegate and named for the eponymous river), an area of Southwest Oregon just north of the California border and sixty miles east of the Pacific Ocean, everything was a revelation.
Clean air and an outdoor lifestyle make it the kind of place that when people visit, they are simultaneously surprised and smitten. This scenic corner of the ninth-largest state has everything: art and culture, hikes along rivers and through oak-forested landscapes, and endless mountain vistas.
With its unique Mediterranean climate, similar to that of Bordeaux, and half the rainfall of Portland, Applegate wine country is lesser known than Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but, I predict, not for long.
Thirteen miles from Medford (home of Harry & David — remember their Royal Riviera pears?) is the boomtown of Ashland, and its internationally famous annual Shakespeare Festival that runs through October.
In the other direction is Jacksonville, a jaw-droppingly authentic slice of Gold Rush history, with an exciting farm-to-table food scene, the Britt Music & Arts Festival, handsome brick buildings from the mid-1800s, and at least one stunning new boutique hotel.
Kathleen and Brian Dunn fell in love with the small-town warmth in Jacksonville and relocated from Portland. With cool modern style, the couple meticulously refurbished a grand home built in 1860 to create Kubli Haus. Its tall, original windows invite Jacksonville’s plentiful sunshine into its spacious suites; rates start at $249 a night.
The town is the northern gateway into wine country, sitting in the Rogue River Valley west of Medford. Only a six-hour drive from San Francisco, Applegate is a cheaper, less-crowded, less pretentious Napa Valley, where, at a tasting, you can meet those who make the wine. The diversity of grapes is nothing short of remarkable.
Over seventy varieties are produced in only twenty vineyards, inspiring Wine Enthusiast to name it, in 2022, among the world’s top wine regions.
There is no central hub in wine country itself, so a car is a necessity. But the new hop-on-hop-off Jacksonville Wine Trolley is a convenient — and safe — alternative for visiting the wineries, several of which offer lunch along with a tasting.
At Red Lily Vineyards, I had carrot soup and charcuterie along with its superb Red Lily Rosé, and Wooldridge Creek Vineyards served house-made artisanal cheeses with a 2023 Tempranillo, among others.
The Applegate sits at the junction of three mountain ranges and the panoramas of pure, dramatic beauty struck me as I wandered the vines under a spring sun. And yet, almost everyone urged me to return in the autumn for the wine harvest, when the oaks along the Applegate River turn red and gold.
Fall colors in New England.
It is a complete delight that bucolic Litchfield County in northwest Connecticut is suddenly a white-hot destination for those in the know, with the Financial Times calling it the "Anti-Hamptons for the smart set."
For 24 years, this has been my home, and as much as I travel, I have always maintained that I live in one of the most enchanted places on earth. In the fall, I can be found most mornings on one of the estimated 367 miles of trails, breathing in apple-scented air, and stopping to photograph the gold-tinged autumn foliage.
Only two hours from New York City, the bad news is that there is no direct train to where I live; the nearest is over the New York state line. But that remoteness is also the good news.
This is a place to turn the volume down on our frenzied lives, to pick apples at local orchards such as March Farm in Bethlehem, or birdwatch at the 16-acre Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, open through November, to observe over 90 endangered bird species.
Here, visitors (and I) can eat at world class restaurants, including Community Table in New Preston and the Mayflower Inn and Spa, which has just welcomed acclaimed chef Daniel Boulud for a residency lasting until the end of 2026.
The center of this renaissance is the historic, red brick town of Litchfield, where abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe was born, and where the nation’s first law school and first all-girls school were established.
Over a century since fire destroyed the original grand hotel, hospitality has made its triumphant return at Belden House Hotel and Mews.
Spearheaded by Litchfield resident Anthony Champalimaud, the restoration of the imposing 1888 North Street mansion and its mid-20th century mews addition was led by his mother’s Champalimaud Design firm.
The hotel is steps from Litchfield’s quintessential New England town green and its sophisticated shops. Here, you can bundle up in a cashmere sweater and lean into autumn fireside in the handsome lobby.
Original details such as sconces and mantles mix with chic, contemporary interiors, with added warmth from a Tiny Tini (a small cocktail) served at the hotel’s acid green bar.
The rooms are as warm and comfortable as the most stylish European inn; the starting rate is $455 per night, but book any three nights and receive 20% off the best available rate in this fall’s "Mini-Break" offer.
Come see what the fuss is about and maybe you will also want to make this New England idyll your home.
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that's right on the money.