When Tim Mayotte was a student at Stanford, he used to travel to the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club to play in the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships. "I don't know if it's nostalgia or what, but I used to always get such a kick out of playing there," this former top 10 player remembers. "Obviously the setting was so great—it's right on the beach. There was something about the courts—somebody told me that they were built way deep, that they went way down, so there was kind of a solidness about the way the ball bounced off the court. For me, it was the ultimate hardcourt experience. It sticks in my mind as one of the great places."

The 12-court La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club is one of the great player havens. It has not only a tennis host available seven days a week to match players but also one of the strongest stables of players to draw from. That game matching aside, however, its clinics and round robins are clearly geared to mere tennis mortals, with activities for B and C players.

To get a sense of the atmosphere of LJB&T, it is easiest to think of it as a club that also happens to have lodging. Often guests come for a week or more at a time, frequently year after year. "Guests come back the same time every year," notes Bill Kellogg, grandson of the club's founder. "If they book the same room for the same week two years running they get priority." During any given week in the summer, 60% to 70% of the guests have typically been there before. To encourage socializing, the club makes barbecues available to those who want to grill on the beach and twice a week sets up to larger shared grills for anyone to use. "People end up sharing desserts, or whatever," says Kellogg.

Tennis Features

Pro Shop: 858-551-4680

Its tennis pedigree dates to 1935 when William Kellogg, a newspaperman, bought the La Jolla Beach & Yacht Club, installed four tennis courts, and began to run tournaments that featured the likes of Bill Tilden, Bobby Riggs, and Jack Kramer. There are photos on the wall outside the Walnut Lounge of such tennis notables as Maureen Connelly, Dennis Ralston, Rafael Osuna, Stan Smith, Jack Kramer, Pancho Segura, and Frank Sedgman among others. The Pacific Coast Doubles, the fifth oldest tournament in the country, takes place there every March, drawing players from such formidable tennis colleges as Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Pepperdine. It also hosts three USTA national hardcourt championships: the Men's and Women's 40s, the Father and Son, and the National Women's 50s-80s Championships. Today there are a dozen hard courts for 90 rooms and suites, none more than a few steps from a private beach.

Courts & Fees. 12 hard courts, 8 with lights. Court fees: None.

Your Call

Here's what others have had to say about La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.

• "Strengths: pro tennis staff, service, beach view, fun, fool weakness: none, Its great"—T.M., Adv., April 2008

• ""—A.G., Adv. Int., April 2008

• ""—B.R., Adv., April 2008

• "Beautiful setting on the Pacific just north of San Diego. Wonderful sunsets. Staff does a great job of matching you up with other guests and local club members."—L.S., Adv., April 2008

• ""—J.G., Adv. Int., April 2008

• ""—G.S., Adv. Int., April 2008

• "We have been to many outstanding tennis resorts. Our very favorite is the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, If you check their records, you will see we have come back many times. Other sites we could recommend would be Top Notch (Vt) Broadmoor, Gardiner, Grove Park Inn, and the Sports Club at the Four Seasons in Irving, Tx,
  The LB&TC is by far our favorite. We want to goback soon! They arrange your matches within your skill level. The climate is so great that you can play tennis all day. The food,service and beach make it the perfect tennis vacation."—D.R., Int., April 2008

• "Great tennis program, beautiful town, wonderful beach, fabulous pros, friendly staff!!!"—C.G., Adv. Int., April 2008

• "Excellent location. Very relaxing,friendly atmosphere. Tennis facilities are top notch. First rate dinning facilties. Our familie's favorite resort."—W.C., Adv. Int., April 2008

• "Overall a great place to go. The location is wonderful. Can't beat playing on a private beach in San Diego, can you? The courts are very nice, good bounce, not too hard on the old knees.
  The service is excellent, and the food served at the club and its restaurants is simply amazing. It could use a little modernization, wireless internet, things like that. The rooms are nicely appointed, but it's really the view that makes this place outstanding.
  Their putt course is cute, but winds around the road which is a little disconcerting. But for raw natural beauty, service, and pure enjoyment, it can't be beat."—C.C., Int., April 2008

• "Great courts, beautiful oceanfront location. The staff is helpful and friendly, and you can't beat the view and the private beach."—K.S., Int., April 2008

• "La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club is the only destination I have in mind when it is time to plan our annual summer vaction. I am a enginer and with my wife's postion as a manager in retail restricts our travel plans to summer along with our two elementary age sons. We have been a regular their along with my wife's family for the past 13 years.
  La Jolla Beach & Tennis is truely the best place for families!! Along with the exceptional tennis offerings, they have the 9 hole golf course and the private beach. Robb Report listed La Jolla as the number one community a few years ago, and it is so true!!!! For such an exceptional place you feel so safe. With us starting out with small to now middle age children we all feel like we are at home and can let them go from the beach to the pool on their own.
  Their entire staff is exceptional and they keep their eyes open and seem to know who belongs on property. Having small to young children you will appreciate this level of service. If you travel at all and you are in the know, then you will understand what I am saying. You almost need to be my age to understand what service and quality is! They also have wonderful camps for the children and they are all so well run as everything is there! If you grew up with any understanding of how things should be done then your appreciation will only grow and you to can understand how one can run on about a resort.
  You need to experience what a few of us have discovered and have fallen in love with!!!! You will also enjoy the shopping and resturants in the village along with the entire region which is yet another draw to this wonderful place. Walk around San Diego county with a La Jolla sweatshirt or t-shirt and you be amazed how people will notice and react to you, but you also have to have the right look! The tennis club is to San Diego what St. Louis Country club is to St. Louisans, "loved and respected". I hope the beach club wins, thank you !"—J.Y., Int., August 2007

Other Recreation

Beach. The resort fronts 2,200 feet of private coastline. Dolphins can often be seen swimming off shore, and there are kayaks for rent nearby.

Golf Courses. The resort has a 9-hole par-3 golf course and welcome even kids to play.

Spa & Fitness Center. The fitness center comprises two adjoining rooms, one with about a dozen Cybex stations plus dumbbells and balls; the other with about the same number of cardio pieces and TVs. Massage services are available.

And ... A passageway from the beach leads to a Junior Olympic outdoor heated swimming pool with lap lanes, set in an inner courtyard.

Children's Programs

The resort's emphasis on tennis extends to juniors who have a wide range of programs. Those include year-round after-school and weekend group tennis clinics and junior matchmaking. For more information about these programs, contact the tennis department at 858-551-4616.

Lodging

Lodging ranges from standard rooms to kitchen-equipped three-bedroom suites. Fifty-one of the rooms either face the beach or are a few steps from it. A portion of the oceanfront suites have been remodeled. All rooms have complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi internet access.

Restaurants

There are several dining options: the private members Club Dining Room, the Shores (next door in the La Jolla Shores Hotel), and most importantly the Marine Room, a restaurant that gets stellar ratings from locals both for its inventive cuisine and its unusual location: it protrudes so far into the beach that waves sometimes crash against its foundation.

See Also

Other player havens like La Jolla where tennis is the most important amenity are:

• The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, Florida
• Naples Tennis Club & Resort, Florida
• Shadow Mountain Resort & Club, California
• TOPS'L Beach & Racquet Resort, Florida

Travel Essentials

Seasons. Year-round.

La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club
2000 Spindrift Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92037
858-454-7126
Toll-free: 800-449-8313
Fax: 858-456-3805
Web Link: La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club

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Book Online: La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club

 

Travel Instructions. By Car: From the north, head south on Interstate 5, exiting to the west on La Jolla Village Drive. Follow it to the third traffic light and turn left on Torrey Pines Road. Proceed to the fifth traffic light and turn right on La Jolla Shores Drive. Go one block to Paseo Dorado, turn left, and that takes you to the property entrance. From the south, head north on I-5, exiting to the west on La Jolla Parkway. Follow it to third traffic light and turn right on La Jolla Shores Drive. Drive one block, turn left onto Paseo Dorado, follow it to the property entrance.

General Tourist Information. There are thee sources of information: for the immediate area, contact Promote La Jolla Herschel Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037 (LJ Visitor Center). Phone: 858-454-5718 7966. For the northern region of the county, visit the San Diego North Convention & Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at 360 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025-2600. Phone: 800-848-3336. And for the county as a whole, visit the San Diego County Convention & Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at 2215 India St., San Diego, CA 92101. Phone: 619-236-1212.

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