A Close Escape down in the Carmel Valley

There comes a time when the work-addled among us have to find a way to get outta Dodge. Even briefly. For sanity’s sake. Say, for instance, you are an arts journalist who has spent 10 dense days and nights covering the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. An escape route is in order.

Why not head up to the reasonably close and atmospherically renewing open space of the Carmel Valley — and, more specifically, the vast golf resort known as Quail Lodge? That proved to be just the ticket, on many fronts, for myself and my trusty companions, wife Peggy and travel-ready hound Harper.

Carmel Valley itself is a modest and charming slip of a town, very different from the tourist-flocked, haughty hamlet of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The Valley is, by contrast, a calmer inland region, within easy drivable access to the better-known jewels of the area, including Big Sur, Carmel proper, and Monterey Bay. But you may just as easily want to hunker down and enjoy the peaceable Valley.

We opted for that hunker-down scenario, limiting our 36-ish-hour journey to Quail Lodge’s vast 850-acre compound — largely composed of the epic and kempt green golf-course lawn. Virtually next door, the expanded farm stand/café/tulip-picking outpost run by Earthbound Farms deserves a protracted visit.

The Quail Lodge property, in especially luminous form after a renovation finished last June, has the benefit of being off the beaten path, but not too far off. It’s about a 10-minute drive to the town of Carmel Valley, and still basking in a fairly spacious and only minimally developed area. In the central restaurant Covey Grill, a member of the genuinely friendly wait staff told us that the lodge lures repeat visitors who are craving its therapeutic sense of space and detachment from any madding crowd.

And dinner in this fine dining outpost — helmed by Chef Goran Basarov since the January rebirth — was a main attraction of our short stay. At a choice table overlooking the large manmade Mallard Lake, a dramatic watery centerpiece leading from outside the lodge’s main building out into the property, we savored a delectable dinner of cioppino and perfectly cooked Harris Ranch filet. Sides of shishito tempura, mixed mushrooms, and truffle fries transcended side-order status.

Oh, and there is the centerpiece of golf, for those into that kind of thing. The property is elaborately designed to accentuate the green expanses of its respected 18-hole course, designed by noted course architect Robert Muir Graves (who also designed La Purisima in the Santa Ynez Valley). Many of the rooms and bungalows — ours included — open out directly on the links. As someone whose modest golfing years are mostly behind me, I was less interested in the sport than the ample blanket of green lawn for its own sake. (It’s something I also love about cemeteries, quite apart from the function of the place. But we digress.)

We did, however, take advantage of the baby-stepping nine course putting green, on which Peggy once again showed me who’s boss. A couple of times, my rusty skills with a golf club became evident when I hit the dirt rather than the ball: In golf parlance, I “hit the big ball before the small one.”

On the health/activity front, tennis and pickleball courts make for alternative options, along with a matrix of nearby hiking trails. A twilight hour swim in the pool, adjacent to an elaborate spa and “wellness” zone, proved to be a refreshing and ambient treat, amid the yawning scenic delight of the property and its host valley. After night fell, the atmosphere on the property yielded a sweet sonic blanket of crickets and frogs.

The guest room itself, part of an overall interior design scheme by the famed hotel-designer Barry Design Associates, was a bastion of comforts, for creatures both human and canine. Harper, though body and telepathic language, seemed to give the whole experience a hearty paws-up review.

For those inclined to leave the car parked for the duration of their stay here, a block’s walk over to the Earthbound Farms stand is well-advised. On this expansive and multi-purpose site, just a few miles from the original farm that spawned the large, popular produce producer — with products available in our Santa Barbara neighborhood grocery outlets — a full-service, health-conscious café, large playground, and relaxing areas invite families and others for a leisurely linger. Not to be missed: a multi-colored you-pick-’em tulip farm in the back, where each flower will set you back only $1, with or without the bulb.

On the Saturday afternoon we stayed, longer than planned, a special event featuring the Blue Zones Project settled down in the vendor area, and the Earthbound Café was ceremonially awarded “Blue Zones” accreditation. (The project explores areas in the world boasting extended longevity, seeking diet and environmental and other factors contributing to the longevity).

To quote the Blue Zones’ mantra, “live better, longer.” While the “longer” aspect is always up to a variety of factors, in and out of our control, the sum effect of our Carmel Valley visit erred on the side of the “living better” equation. At least for a blissful 36 hours.

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The Quail Lodge room rates start at $450. See quaillodge.com and earthboundfarm.com for more information.