Terranea Resort

No cooking this week! My sister invited M and I to spend Memorial Day weekend in Southern California at a new resort called Terranea. It has been open just shy of a year, and it is quite amazing. It is right on the ocean. We have seen dolphins and seals, scuba divers and kayakers. The resort compound is huge! I really like that is does not seem overly crowded and the resort is very open like resorts in Hawaii. There are some special perks that I don't normally see in hotels like complimentary bottled water and lemon water at the pool served in compostable corn based cups! There are hiking trails right on the ocean surrounding the whole resort, and a great pool set-up for children complete with a water slide. The pool is a salt water pool that is heated (very necessary as it is on the cool side right now) and umbrellas for all the lounge chairs. The food so far has been ok, but I am tough sell when it comes to food. There are four restaurants here, so it is nice to be able to stay here and enjoy dinner on the ocean. The spa is fantastic. It has its own pool that is right on the ocean. My sister found this resort on Trip Advisor, and it has very much exceeded my expectations. I have not seen a large, sprawling 4-star type resort in California which makes it very convenient if you don't want to fly to Hawaii or Mexico. The very best part is it is not uptight like the Ritz or Four Seasons and most likely half the price and three times the size and just a nice. Well, here are some photos....

This is the spa pool.....

View from the elevators of the "family" pool

The adult pool and bar......beyond is the ocean cove

Looking back at the resort from the cove

Me and M. Is every photo of me on my blog have this hat and sunglasses in it??

Auntie D and M...

Fun at the restaurant!

View of the cove from one of the hiking trails....

View of the ocean and spa from our balcony.....