Children's programs: Although you may not at first expect Rancho Valencia to lure families, it does accommodate guests with kids by offering summer and holiday tennis camps for juniors. During the summer months, the Junior Ranchers Kids Camp, which provides organized swimming, crafts, sports and more, is also available to guests. In addition, there is a junior tennis academy for those ages 7 to 20 that although established for the children of members also welcomes the children of guests.
Dining: The Pony Room, which spills out on the adjoining terrace, stands out both for its locally sourced “Coastal Ranch” cuisine and its views of the valley. An inviting bar within specializes in craft cocktails and tequila. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all available here.
Spa & Fitness Center: At 10,000 square feet, the Spa at Rancho Valencia is very large relative to the number of rooms. Decor runs to hand-crafted European tiles and Italian fountains, while the treatments focus on using such local ingredients as avocado, grape seed, and natural healing agents from the ocean. The treatment rooms open onto private outdoor gardens. A saline pool is part of the complex, as is a yoga studio seasonally open to a reflecting pool with an island platform at its center. The fitness center has moved here as well, offering such wellness workouts as yoga, Pilates (private Reformer Sessions and group mat classes), spinning, TRX, and a suite of Cardio machines each with personal televisions. Remarkably all of these classes—some 75 in all—are free to registered guests.
Golf. Although it lacks a golf course of its own, the resort has playing privileges at several nearby courses, free loaner clubs, and the option of a golf package, which can include nearby Torrey Pines Golf Course, home of the 2008 U.S. Open.
Outdoor heated lap pool with adjacent Jacuzzi, complimentary mountain bikes, maps of walking/jogging trails in nearby hills.
182 Reviews on “Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa”
Best tennis resort I have ever experienced. Everyone is treated individually, based on skill level and goals. Highly professional team of instructors, and a first class resort in all aspects.
This is was our fourth trip to Rancho Valencia and we love it! John Delille the tennis director does a fabulous job of organizing a clinic that is tailored to your specific skill level and needs. We participated in the morning clinics and received top-notch instruction as always. The resort itself is beautiful and the spa is outstanding. We will be back next year!!
Exquisite resort setting. Great tennis pros- worked with two of them. Tennis director set up good matches for me as well. Also my 18 yr old son and his his 18 yr old buddy, both 4 yr. varsity high shcool players had good sessions with the pros. Lodging and dining was excellent. Very well done and sensitive masterplanning, architecture and landscape design of resort.
Wonderful, romantic spot. Celebrated my 50th birthday At Rancho Valencia. Truly a memorable experience I will always cherish.
Great tennis instruction with picturesque landscape around the courts. Accommodations are exceptional and the staff is there to make your stay pleasant and enjoyable.
Excellent resort!!! The rooms, staff, spa, restaurant…and of course the tennis facility are all first rate. In total it is the best tennis resort I’ve stayed at… this place lives up to it’s well deserved reputation. I can’t wait to return.
We have been going there for 18 years and have had a wonderfully, magical experience each time. The pros are awesome, John does a super job setting up matches with other people, food, and margaritas are to die for! Wonderful staff all the way around! Would never miss a year going to Rancho!
Rancho Valencia is truly a special place. Its intimate surroundings and understated luxury make it the perfect retreat. The cozy casita becomes your home away from home while you are there. Staff will oblige your every request and are attentive without being intrusive. The spa is divine and never too crowded or noisy. This is one of our favorite places!
Just returned from the most amazing weekend at Rancho Valencia. We did the “Champions Package”. The hotel is so wonderful as is the spa and most importantly the tennis … the clinics were great, the courts beautiful, I have found my favorite tennis resort!
I’m a student from Spain who came to Southern California for vacation and tennis and I couldn’t have found a better resort than Rancho Valencia.
Enjoyed the Rancho Valencia for a 4 day getaway and was immensely impressed with the quality of the tennis instruction & the ability to accommodate a variety of players skills. Participated in the 3 hr clinic and also the special “family clinic”. Learned new drills & tweeked form enough to take away advancements to the game that will make a difference immediately. After the clinics we had plenty of time to enjoy the heated pool or drive to the ocean. The service was above and beyond, in both the tennis and @ the resort & restaurant. Accommodations were exceptional & amazingly spacious. The food was fabulous and prepared very healthy. We were spoiled royally which made it hard to leave. Everyone was exceptionally helpful in making our vacation awesome.
Great facilities, with the courts set in the most beautiful background imaginable. Director works hard to accommodate individual needs. Pro was a great instructor, able to focus on a few key items I could take away to improve my game without overwhelming me with tips. (Note weak 4.5 player).
We have travelled quite extensively and this is simply the most unique tennis facility/resort that we have experienced.The tennis courts are beautiful; as is the whole resort. The instruction was superb (thanks Arturo). Strengths = everything; esp. the setting. Weaknesses= its not cheap (it shouldn’t be)Incidentally, we went there with kids.
This was my 3rd trip to Rancho Valencia and I am hoping I can go a 100 or more times! It is the most fun and welcoming experience imagineable! John DeLille does an amazing job and the entire staff is top-notch! If you are not into tennis it is still a great place to go but for a tennis nut like me it is heavenly.
We will definitely recommend this tennis resort to our friends! It was everything we wanted, good instructors, great advice on improving our game and helpful tips–such as relax enjoy the game and don’t beat yourself up everytime you miss a point. Half the fun is playing which is so true! A recommendation I would make about the breakfast buffet (which was very good) is to add wheat bread and bagels as part of it instead of having to pay extra. Other breads were included (they were wonderful) but because of health reasons (diabetes, etc) or someone who needs more carbs (esp. if playing tennis)the wheat bread option would be better. Everything overall was great and the scenery was wonderful. Thanks for such a great vacation.
I had an absolutely magnificent experience at RV and I plan to visit again in 01/11.
My partner and I spent four nights at Rancho Valencia in the Fall, and we are anxious to return. The Resort and the tennis program are top notch for players of all levels. We experienced first hand Steve and John’s patience and instruction with lower level players and witnessed the staff’s interactions with players of much greater skill. And, even beyond the tennis programs, the villas and the spa are exceptional. Ranco Valencia is an excellent choice for combining tennis with R&R. It’s highly recomended.
Excellent environment for the tennis enthusiast. There is a variety of instructional formats complemented by a keen and gracious group of members who combine to make this a very welcoming resort.
You will have the most amazing vacation! The resort is beautiful, the spa is one of the best in the California and the Tennis is fantastic! The pros who teach tennis are excellent as well as so much fun to be on the court with! I always look forward to my vacations at Rancho Valencia!
first rate tennis facility/coaching and accomodation
My husband and I and our 2 boys 12 and 10 have been coming here for the last 5 years.It is simply the BEST tennis resort.The Pros are FANTASTIC!
The physical setting is absolutely gorgeous. The tennis program, both in terms of daily clinics and drop-ins were excellent. The staff was very skilled and kept the lessons insightful yet fun. My family took the “family” lesson which included my wife who is a 3.0 player and two teenagers who are not big players. Both of the kids really liked the instruction and we ended up doing a lesson each day of the trip. The only weakness in the program is that the courts were hard courts and our preference is to play on soft courts. That said, we would come back in a heartbeat. I’m only sorry we had four days here.
The staff is extremely helpful, professional and friendly. They will arrange games, lessons or clinics to suit your needs
Hands down the best resort EVER! I return to Rancho V every year and it keeps getting better. Great instruction and super friendly instructors. The daily clinics are a MUST! Beautiful, relaxing setting. And make sure you try the margaritas!
Three hour clinic run by Steve, who was always kind and gracious and suggested a couple of adjustments which I incorporated and which improved my strokes. John Delille is a good director who seems to really care. Yay, Rancho Valencia. Will return soon, I hope!
Rancho Valencia is by far our favorite destination location for a great tennis getaway. Tennis Director, John DeLille, has outstanding customer service and always goes above and beyond to ensure that guests are well taken care of before and during a visit. My husband and I just did our second 3-hour clinic at the resort and had a fantastic time learning from tennis pro, Robin White. Her teaching style and drills were fantastic–the best instruction we have EVER had!
You wake up in the morning and see a beautiful view, and eat the food that you ordered the night before at the exact time you asked them to deliver it. As you finish your breakfast you get dressed to go play tennis for a lesson with your favorite tennis instructor. When you arrive at the courts a little bit early, your instructor is there waiting for you. You finish your tennis and set off for the pool to relax and eat a delicious lunch. When your done you go the the front desk and rent your favorite movie to watch that night while you devour the pizza from room service that is soooooo good! AS your watching the movie the house keeping comes to turn down your bed and lives a a little chocolate so you know that you came. Its been a long day so lay down in your comfy bed and fall asleep. Then you wake up in the morning for another excellent day!
In a word: perfect. It is expensive, but what you get for your money is as much tennis, privacy, romance, and pampering as you can stand. The pros take special care to make sure you get exactly the tennis experience you want. Arturo and Mason are both great! The resort is quiet and private, and most times we had the pool, hot-tub, etc. to ourselves. The on-site restaurant is good but expensive.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who is not a serious tennis freak: there’s not much to do except play tennis. The spa is also excellent. Although the resort allows children, the lack of non-tennis activities has made each of our 3 previous visits blissfully screaming children-free! In fact, the spa pool is adults only. The fitness room is also great, if you need it after all the court time!
Strenghts are pro staff and instant welcome to playing. Felt like a member and treated like one about an hour after arrival!!Absolutely best experience I’ve had @ a tennis resosrt
Rancho Valencia’s tennis setting is idyllic, with 18 courts that are privately set within the resort’s sprawling natural grounds. Colorful floral vines hang over the court fences adding ambiance on the court that doesn’t interfere with play but enhances the esthetic. Courts are well-maintained and have a good playing surface.
We arrange our trip on a short two weeks notice and called ahead to sign up for the three-hour daily clinic and request a game match at our 4.5/5.0 level. Director John DeLille called in a top playing pro (Mason) to lead the two of us in our clinic, which turned out to be a 3-hour semi-private and playing lesson. He was very skilled in leading us through challenging drills that were exhausting but beneficial. He noted right away we already had good strokes so he wasn’t going to overhaul anything, but just as we had hoped he gave us a couple of gem suggestions (tweaks) that were alone worth the money and time. He was a very talented player (still active on the pro tour) but also had a remarkably friendly and courteous manner that distinguishes great teaching pro’s from the good ones.
John also set up a mixed doubles match for us the following day with two local players that were at our comparative level. They were very pleasant and we enjoyed both meeting and playing them. When we walked back to the main courts having finished playing two sets (one of the locals had to go to a work meeting), John saw we probably would have liked to play more so he asked if we’d like to jump in on a clinic another mixed couple was completing to be their playing partners. This couple was also very pleasant and we enjoyed playing another three sets with them. Their teaching pro, Rick, amenably sat courtside and volunteered constructive comments during play, and chased down balls we errantly hit into adjacent orange orchards.
The only weakness of this facility is probably it’s extremely small meeting area/pro shop, which is really nothing more than a racket stringing space and court sign-in desk. I’d think guests here would gladly deposit more funds on merchandise if it were available. And while we really enjoyed the three-hour clinic I believe it’s probably best-suited to really committed and advanced tennis players. If the club offered more traditionally shorter drop-in clinics (like 1-1.5 hours) we might had added this in the afternoon. Still, we filled our afternoon with spa treatments at the equally fabulous spa on-site and were not disappointed.
We very much enjoyed our experience and plan on returning often. We are fortunate to live within an hour’s driving distance from the resort and realized how easy it made for us to vacation without having the expense and hassle of dealing with airports, etc. Villas are expensive but they are large and luxurious, this is truly a destination resort.
The teaching pros were great. When the clinic participants were out of balance with my needs the pro set up a private clinic just for me, which was phenomenal. The family clinic was tons of fun, catering nicely to three of us with widely different strength levels. My only disappointment at this resort is the lack of much for kids to do if they are not tennis fanatics.
I went with my wife, that she is returning to tennis, and it was a great escape to an awesome place, the tennis pro that we met: John, Mark, Steve and Arturo made us feel at home, very professionals, and knowledge.
If I may suggest, hire a convertible car with a GPS in order to move around, weather and the area are great for it., book on line your villa and ask for any specifics that you need, these guys will take care of them happily. Spoil surprising your partner and your self taking this romantic escape.
I spent 4 tennis days there with John, Mark and Rick. They were all extremely pleasant and giving. John literally loaned his shoes to a surprise member of our group. The lessons were as intense as we desired and certainly insightful.
The setting in beautiful to say the least. The courts were in excellent condition; the hotel is fantastic, the pool/spa and locker rooms were first rate.
When you’re done with tennis for the day, the beaches are fabulous and within a 20 minute drive! You absolutely cannot go wrong with this destination.
Just spent a weekend at Rancho Valencia, and thanks to the resort staff and property, I am now rated among the most romantic husbands in the world. Great resort. Great Staff. Incredible spa. Tennis staff are very friendly and accomodating. First time I’ve ever taken a clinic with all new balls, and that seemed to be the norm. Hats off to John DeVille and the rest of the tennis staff.
Rancho Valencia is an exquisite resort. The setting overall is beautiful and the many courts are terraced into the hills of the resort so you never feel you are in a sprawling area. The spa is fantastic, not just the treatments, but the facility which is open to guests for use of pool and workout facilities.
The tennis was good, not great, but perhaps that is because I was expecting more of a “camp” experience. There were more feeding drills than live drills and I felt I could have been pushed more. The drills weren’t particularily creative but I did get some good solid feedback and I really enjoyed the other participants. I did observe some other pros doing more interesting drills so it could have been just the pro I had.
Overall, the total experience and the Southern Cal location is outstanding.
One word sums it up for RV…..AWESOME!!! Accomodtions are superb and the tennis facility is outstanding. In fact, the playing environment is so beautiful that it can be distracting. John DeLille and his staff are the secret ingredients that make RV a must-go destination for tennis players looking for a first-class resort experience. Leave some time for the spa, you won’t regret it.
The staff is incredible. The accomodations great. We go back every year and wish we could stay longer.
I absolutely LOVED my experience at Rancho Valencia. I never expected to have such an amazing time, and for a reasonable rate – particularly in this economy. I came to Rancho Valencia as a beginner – make that an “extreme beginner,” and left with more confidence and skills than I imagined being able to gain in only 4 days on the courts.
The 3-hour morning sessions were phenomenal, and John (Tennis Director Extraordinaire) made every effort to match me with a pro with whom I would be well suited given my instruction needs and goals. Mason taught me a tremendous amount, watched my progress closely and was able to spot subtle things I was doing wrong and which could be improved. After 2 hours on the court, players were treated to a beautiful fruit “snack,” which was actually a generous spread of fresh melons, pineapples, grapes, etc., along with freshly squeezed orange juice.
I was waiting for someone from Conde Nast Travel to come out and take our picture – it was just so beautiful and refreshing. Pros other than Mason were more than happy to provide me with tips, as well, and even though I was a beginner, I never felt at more ease… Not only did a learn a ton during these clinics, but I also had a great time. The Rancho Tennis Team somehow integrates learning and enjoyment very well…
In the afternoons, I was able to work with the ball machine with very few limitations. When the balls seemed to be feeding improperly, John purchased a whole new slew of balls for me and refilled the machine so it would work without a hitch. Pros came by to watch and shout out tips or adjustments, even though my using the ball machine was totally free.
In addition to the tennis program, the rooms were spectacular and the staff could not have been more helpful. My primary objective in going all the way from New York City to Rancho Santa Fe was for the tennis, but I found that the resort offered so much more than that alone. Even before signing out, I asked about when rates were lower so I could come back twice in one year, and continue to improve my game and have an amazing time using the other resort facilities.
Weaknesses are hard – if even possible – to identify. I can’t say, in all honesty, that I can claim any part of my experience as having a weakness. It’s not the cheapest place, but it was a great deal for what you get.
Lovely, peaceful natural setting near the Pacific, wonderful food and great tennis staff.
Great tennis pro, John Delille, who bends over backwards to make sure every player has a great time & appropriate instruction. The rooms are terrific, each has a private patio. The grounds are lovely. Location near the Del Mar beaches is very good.
I had my first tennis vacation at this resort last October with some new teammates who had experienced Rancho on a number of occasions over the years. My sister tennis players couldn’t express enough how wonderful the pros are (JOHN et. al) and how beautiful the resort accomodations are. Well, after experiencing this myself, I can see why my tennis sisters return year after year. I had such a fun tennis adventure and plan on returning annually with my new team.
Amazing Resort, Beautiful Accomidations and grounds. Outstanding Tennis clinics and incredible customer service. We will be back!!!!
This a great resort with wonderful people. The weather is perfect for tennis. We took lessons and played in the morning and hit the pool and hot tubs in the afternoon. The coaches are wonderful. The cassitas are spacious and very comfortable. The chef at the resort is excellent and there are other options near by. The only downside is that the hard courts are hard on our joints as we get older.
Beautiful tennis resort!
Fantastic tennis experience. Clinics are a great value. The staff went out of its way to ensure that we were having a great experience. Everything about the resort is first rate. Our only regret is that we can’t stay longer. John Delille, the tennis director, did a great job and even played against us to ensure we got plenty of tennis. We are hoping for a rematch with John upon our return.
This is an unbeleivable resort – the best I have been to. It is expensive to stay, eat and play, but everything is first class. The tennis instruction is as good as it gets, and they do indeed customize. Rooms are wonderfull and service top notch. Close to SanDiego, so city trips are easy also Close to Del Mar a sea side village.
Simply beautiful.
What a secluded haven for rest and wonderful tennis. Coaches are personable, talented & experienced. Set into quiet eucylptus covered hills, in an old world village with a wonderful spa, it is my tennis destination of choice!! I can’t remember any weakness.
What an amazing weekend with the girls. I was impressed from beginning to end. I loved everything about the resort… especially the tennis!
John and his staff are absolutely fantastic; Ranch Valencia has the best tennis instruction. They set up great tennis clinics and matchesfor your specific team or individual players. Not only is the tennis great the spa and lodging is amazing. This is a vacation you won’t regret!!!