Rosalie Cushman Considers: The Incomparable Grand Del Mar...
There is an ineffable quality about the 249-room Grand Del Mar resort. Still, like the painter straining to convey the essence of a beautiful woman, I take a stab at describing one of the most remarkable resorts in the San Diego area. I’ve been fortunate, indeed, to spend some time with both Warren Sheets, Designer for The Grand Del Mar’s exquisite interiors, and Tom Voss, President of the Manchester Grand Resorts Group and have come away from both encounters even more awed by The Grand Del Mar’s creation.
But let’s go back. About eight months ago a friend asked me for lunch at one of the resort’s restaurants. I arrived alone and upon walking into the lobby, my heart stopped. Well, maybe not stopped but certainly it skipped a beat. Struck by no ordinary beauty, I was instantly immersed into a Mediterranean cascade of art. An avalanche! I felt transported to Tuscany, an immediate and profound mood of old-world excellence and beauty that felt voluptuous, reverent, inviting, and comforting. Yes, comforting. It was impossible for me to not be affected. A staff person asked if I needed any assistance, and upon my telling her “no, I was just meeting a friend for lunch,” the woman discretely stepped back, leaving me to bask in the beauty.
Now let’s go forward. Upon meeting first Warren Sheets then conversing with Tom Voss I have come to learn many facts about The Grand Del Mar, some of them captivating and all of them, impressive. In addition, while walking with Warren through the hotel one day I learned of his amazing artistic eye, fusing 16
th and 17
th century design with the contemporary world. Possessing an enormous talent, Warren’s genius resides in his need to express himself thereby expanding beauty into what,
more beauty. He knows very well how to take an empty space, create a vision, storyboard it out, and translate that vision into an interior that establishes an
effect.For example, the columns standing in the lobby are made from cubic stone imported from Verona craftsman, an Italian family who has been artisans for over 300 years. The carpet Warren selected incorporates his own medallion design that is also threaded throughout the hotel in various locations; on wall coverings, parchment lamps, even grille work. In stunning Italian tradition, his chosen frescos fix the visitor’s eye on floors, walls, and ceilings. Warren told me he was “very passionate about designing this place – I couldn’t do it any other way”. Essentially, he has incorporated the most massive amount of beauty I’ve ever seen in this kind of facility, without it being a museum. Yet it does not feel formal or fussy; quite the opposite, actually. Remarkably, the five-star, five-diamond resort is not just beautiful, it is so very comforting.
Age-old wisdom claims that beauty is therapeutic, healing at its core; that it offers a respite from the grist of ordinary life. Beauty speaks its own language and at its best, connects us mere mortals to both a primordial yet celestial level. There seems to be an avalanche of this connectedness in the design at The Grand Del Mar and that is the very thing that creates its’ uniquely comforting quality. And if that sounds odd, just go there and you will know of which I speak.
Later, when chatting with Tom Voss, President of The Grand Del Mar, time and again he spoke of feedback from guests who repeat, “It is so beautiful here”, a theme that reverberates like an echo in a canyon, right along with the guests who return for subsequent stays. When guests are asked ‘what they’d like to see changed’, Tom indicates their most frequent answer is “not a thing!” He also told me they frequently hear guests who, coming to the resort for the first time say, “your website doesn’t do it justice”. Well, the grace of a place is not subject to translation through electrons always and while a picture can be worth a thousand words, being there can be worth a million.
In addition to its beauty, I was to learn that The Grand Del Mar has an excellent Tom Fazio designed golf course, an elegant Spa, the renowned Addison Restaurant, along with Amaya and M Club dining rooms (my lunch was phenomenal, by the way). The Grand Del Mar now sports a new Equestrian Center, not to mention the fabulous pools. The resort is situated beside the 4,100 acre Los Penasquitos Preserve with three and a half miles of hiking trails complete with a naturalist on staff. And while it is easily accessible to numerous San Diego activities, from the Zoo to the Del Mar Race Track to Sea World or the beach, it is the beauty of the place and retreat-like quality guests come for and return to.
“It is completely in nature,” Tom Voss tells me. “It is so beautiful,” the guest comment cards thrum over and over again. In a turn, Tom says “so many guests don’t ever even leave the grounds,” he confides, almost perplexed. It seems that between the art-inspired interiors, conscientious and caring staff, fabulous food at a person’s fingertips, why would they? The place is intoxicating. For my part, I could so easily set up camp in the Great Room just off the lobby, very near the library, living out the rest of my life there!
It is all so very beautiful.
For additional information on The Grand Del Mar, visit www.granddelmar.com. Warren Sheets current projects include two home designs in Rancho Santa Fe. For additional information on Warren, please visit www.warrensheetsdesign.com.
