The West's Best: "A" is for Aviara

by Darin Bunch

Is it really possible that Four Seasons Aviara is edging up on its 10th birthday? And is it possible that there’s one golf-loving soul left in Southern California who isn’t aware of just what a great getaway spot this is — and how amazingly easy it is to set aside the hustle of the L.A.-San Diego megalopolis with a quick five-minute jaunt off of Intersate 5?

We hope not. If so, we’re out to educate them right here and now: When Aviara opened in 1997, it gave next-door neighbor La Costa a big ol’ wake-up call, and its standing in the sunny southland stay-and-play lexicon has only grown stronger in the decade since.

Aviara offers the best of Southern California — golf, spa, restaurants, ocean, mountains, desert, shopping and San Diego city life. With soothing coastal colors, fine furnishings and well-chosen amenities, the resort is filled with an air of splendid comfort that eases your spirit the moment you arrive.

Actually, the resort’s golf complement — a compelling, meticulously tended, flower-scented Arnold Palmer creation — didn’t arrive until 1991. Here’s how one ad described it: “Rolling valleys at your feet cradle a golf course at peace with a famed wildlife preserve.” For a change, that’s not hyperbole; it’s spot-on.

The 7,007-yard, par-72 layout is sculpted around the natural topography of three valleys. Native wildflowers paint the hillsides while waterfalls and streams wind their way through holes and around greens, inviting golfers to admire the beauty while taking their best shots.

Although the diversity of shot selections and challenges is a definite draw of the golf course, we humbly offer this bit of advice: The game really begins at Aviara when you get on the greens. Paying special attention to the pin-placement sheet is a must, and the subtle breaks of the large putting surfaces require you study the lay of the land before rolling your ball. If you’re skilled enough to place your shots, hit your approach into the proper quadrant because there are some holes where you don’t want to be above the flag, unless it’s to check out the view.

Much of the course’s 75 rating comes on its longest and shortest holes — all four 5-pars, while not extremely long by today’s standards, are doglegged on severe slopes with decision-testing elevation changes, and three of the four 3-pars involve a shot over water. Perhaps the prettiest one comes early in the round, at No. 3, while holes 11 and 14 are similar Redan-style affairs. And Arnie saves the most memorable par 4 for last, at 18, which demands a smoked downhill drive that must cheat across the corner of one final lake to set up a clear shot at the green; come up short off the tee and it’s the approach that must negotiate water — and the rocks fronting the putting surface. One thing is clear: Palmer didn’t go soft on this resort track. It’s got all the teeth of any championship course in the area, Torrey Pines included.

After a day outdoors, either on the golf course or just lounging by the pool, fine dinner options await. California Bistro is a comfortable restaurant that serves meals all day, while the resort’s signature restaurant, Vivace, specializes in Northern Italian cuisine and dazzling ocean views. Either meal is a fitting nightcap to a day of fun, food and relaxation.

Should you want to work during your stay — but why would you? — the 329 guest rooms and suites are equipped with personal business centers. High-speed Internet access, desktop printers and cordless phones are just some of the technology you can use from the comfort of your room.

And although the rooms themselves might entice you to never leave, it would be an injustice not to sample the spa, which was renovated in 2002. It’s a 15,000-square-foot destination all its own with all the right treatments — steam, whirlpool, massage, facial or wrap. Most impressive is the attention to detail carried throughout the property, from custom-size spa slippers to Aviara’s coastal grapefruit signature scent lotion.

Aviara upped the ante for San Diego County luxury, making sure the folks at La Costa — with its 36 holes of semi-private golf and trendsetting spa just a mile away or so — reinvested in its own impressiver product to keep Carlsbad at the top of the go-to list for classic SoCal sunning and funning.

La Costa is swimming with big-time, bedazzled history. Just check out the winner’s list over the years at various events, including the Accenture Match Play Championships that, in 2007, moves to Arizona: Names such as Love, Woods, Kite, Miller, Nicklaus, and Trevino. Nicklaus has said of the course, “You’ve got to start out fast and hold on at the end.” San Diego Magazine reported, “The players ... think it is a fair course, challenging without bordering on ridiculously difficult.”

Both the North and South layouts — composite courses made up of the original 18 holes from days gone by and new nines added in the ’70s and ’80s — feature Bermuda grass in the fairways and roughs, and bentgrass greens. They play through mature trees of seemingly infinite variety, with generous fairways, rounded grabby bunkers ingeniously placed, manmade lakes, and small, elevated putting surfaces. North plays a bit longer while South requires a little more accuracy. Wind is a factor throughout and you must have an aerial game to survive on either venue.

All around, when it comes to Carlsbad’s paire of prime resorts, “A” is the only grade to give. FG

Four Seasons Aviara | 760.603.6800 | www.fourseasons.com/aviara

La Costa Resort | 800.854.5000 | www.lacosta.com