I’d love to tell you where I am, but I forgot about six minutes ago. Gentle, futuristic-sounding music, like an orchestra of benevolent aliens, trills in my ears. Whatever vessel I am laying on buzzes softly in tandem. A soft blanket warms my legs. After 20 minutes, the melody clicks into silence, the chair stills, and I recall that I’m not very far from home—merely in Carlsbad, perched in a meditation chair in the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s new “Luxe Room.” Between my recent fugue state and the massage before it, though, I might as well be a world or two away from my busy day-to-day life.
The Luxe Room is my personal favorite aspect of the 42-treatment-room spa’s recent multimillion-dollar revamp. Other new additions include vintage art (a throwback to the days when Jackie Kennedy spent time wrapped in the resort’s cozy robes), steam rooms scented with sandalwood and florals, and three hideaways tiled in salt crystals, said to ease stress and improve sleep.
Each of the latter rooms has a pair of those high-tech, thigh-high boots that squeeze your legs like blood pressure cuffs. They’re a helpful recovery tool for athletes, but after trying them and the spa’s “reflexology path”—a trail of embedded stones intended to poke the pads of your feet in therapeutic ways—I decide I’m more into the relaxation side of a spa day: letting the outdoor waterfall shower give me a second, informal massage; devouring carrot hummus at the onsite Spa Café.
The area’s serene energy differs wildly from the vibe at the Omni La Costa’s adults-only Edge Pool, which, on a Saturday, is crowded in a fun way, its shallow depths packed with drink-clutching hotel guests like a Vegas pool party. A DJ spins the afternoon’s bumping soundtrack, drowning out the happy shouts of children whipping down water slides at the nearby family-friendly Splash Landing Pools.
After a margarita each, my partner and I return to our room to change for dinner. The hotel’s 600 guest rooms and 170,000 square feet of meeting spaces also got recent updates, and the coastal-California-meets-Spain aesthetic sensibilities that have always defined its exteriors now further carry over inside. Our home for the night has high ceilings, soft colors, plush furniture.
But for me, a hotel is only as good as its amenities, so it’s a good thing the 400-acre property has no shortage, especially following the remodel. In addition to eight pools, the Omni La Costa houses two golf courses, including the freshly reopened, $25 million North Course, where college-aged golfers will compete in division-1 NCAA tournaments at least through 2026. A new putting green and practice range give guests a place to warm up before hitting the links. One could pass an entire week onsite without feeling the need to venture out, between six places to eat, a 9,100-square-foot gym, even shops vending vacation-y apparel.
In the summer, the property hosts open-air concerts, which my partner and I tune into while sipping drinks from the thoughtful craft cocktail menu at Bar Traza. (If you’re into produce-driven California food, dine here instead of Bob’s Steak and Chop House, a classic white-tablecloth, meat-and-potatoes joint that’s tasty but by-the-book.)
Dubbed “Of All Things,” my cocktail is full of pleasantly bitter and tangy stuff: grapefruit, rhubarb, Aperol. A breeze lifts off the golf course and plays through my hair while a jazz singer croons in the courtyard below Bar Traza’s elevated patio. Tomorrow, I’ll drive the 30 minutes up the road to University Heights, return to grocery runs and meetings. For now, I close my eyes and savor the feeling of being somewhere else—Carlsbad, Spain, maybe another planet entirely.
