If you have it, spend it here. We don’t (not for this place), but were able to go as a wedding gift from my husband’s cousin, lucky us. If you are reading this review, you’ve most likely checked out the hefty price tag for this resort, but if you have any stress in your life, or a lot of it, you will leave it all behind at Post Ranch. We have traveled to some far-flung places, such as various Rosewoods in the Caribbean, etc., but this place stands apart. It is a fairly large property with few rooms, all clustered in 2 lines along the ridge that overlooks the Pacific with stunning views of either mountains or the ocean. If you’re going to spend the money in the first place on this one, it’s probably worth the extra bucks to get the ocean view. We were booked in a “Pacific Upper Suite” of which there appear to be 3 on property. Our room was named “Gilkey” and was an amazing suite set into the slope that plummeted down to the ocean. There was another room below us in the same building, “Fee”, which is a “Pacific Lower Suite”. From the upper suit we felt like we were completely alone (except for the deer that wandered by) unless we leaned out and over to look at the lower room. We had an unencumbered view out and down the southern coast of...If you have it, spend it here. We don’t (not for this place), but were able to go as a wedding gift from my husband’s cousin, lucky us. If you are reading this review, you’ve most likely checked out the hefty price tag for this resort, but if you have any stress in your life, or a lot of it, you will leave it all behind at Post Ranch. We have traveled to some far-flung places, such as various Rosewoods in the Caribbean, etc., but this place stands apart. It is a fairly large property with few rooms, all clustered in 2 lines along the ridge that overlooks the Pacific with stunning views of either mountains or the ocean. If you’re going to spend the money in the first place on this one, it’s probably worth the extra bucks to get the ocean view. We were booked in a “Pacific Upper Suite” of which there appear to be 3 on property. Our room was named “Gilkey” and was an amazing suite set into the slope that plummeted down to the ocean. There was another room below us in the same building, “Fee”, which is a “Pacific Lower Suite”. From the upper suit we felt like we were completely alone (except for the deer that wandered by) unless we leaned out and over to look at the lower room. We had an unencumbered view out and down the southern coast of Big Sur. Our room was the furthest south of all the rooms, save a house you can rent (but not really see) a little further down, so it had a very private feel. Our cousin and his wife also had a Pacific Upper Suite named “Ross”, which was closer in to the middle of the resort, including the pool and restaurant and thus felt a little less private than ours (although the whole place has a very private feel) and it had a slightly different, yet equally amazing view. From Ross, unlike ours which was blocked by a slight outcropping, they were able to see the sun set at night over the ocean right from their room and large balcony, which was facing more north than our room, although you could see AND hear the ocean from theirs (ours was a bit further away and you could not hear the surf). However, it came with the price of their (Ross) room dramatically heating up (despite it being the 60s) once the afternoon sun hit, to the point where they had to close the door and run the air conditioning. We went over to theirs to see the sun set, but retired to ours in the afternoon to hang and nap, because with the slight outcropping blocking the intense late afternoon sun, we could have all the patio doors open and enjoy the outdoors while napping, reading, etc., although ours got the heat earlier in the day. They also could not see down the southern Big Sur coast since their room looked out over the ocean and more north up the coast, which was also incredible (we agreed that ours looking south and the private feel made for a slightly better set-up). They were closer to the restaurant and the center of things, so it was easier to get places from their room. There are 2 pools up on the ridge, both heated and overlooking the ocean, and easy to walk to from the rooms, similar to the fabulous restaurant on site. Dinner one night at the resort restaurant was included in a package our cousin bought, but the price on the menu per person was $110 for 4 courses and an extra $95 if you wanted to do a wine flight/pairing with your meal, and I believe was $160 for a nine course meal if that’s what you wanted. We took 3 hours to eat dinner as a foursome that first night, lingering by the fire, and could feel ourselves just melting away into stressless blobs.
Our rooms were fantastic and other than the Cliff Houses, which are single dwelling structure similar to ours, but actually a bit smaller inside, were the second highest priced room (Cliff Houses are highest). There appeared to be 2 Cliff House rooms on the ocean side and 2 on the mountain side. We asked staff to tell us a bit about the rooms and they mostly said they liked the ones we and our cousin were in, and also the Ocean Houses, which are slightly less expensive. We walked the property and there appears to be one “Tree House” room that also can see the ocean, which most don’t, called “Harlan”. One of the staffers told us that he likes 2 of the Tree Houses, “Grimes” and “Innocenti” because they feel very private and tucked away a bit on the mountain/tree side and also have sky lights where you can lay in bed and see the stars, so that’s a little less expensive option (no ocean views from those, however, but you can easily head over and hang out in the heated pool or on the restaurant deck and soak in the Big Sur coastline).
Our room had 2 sections, the bedroom and a separate sitting area with 2 smallish sofas, which was nice and made us feel like we had tons of room. The huge balcony with sets of patio doors from each area (plus a full window that slides open in the bathroom shower out to the balcony, so you feel like you are showering outside while looking at the ocean) also added tons of room. There was also a lovely soaking tub on the balcony that we used every day, and 2 lounge chairs along with a table and 2 upright chairs. There was also a fireplace that was nice to take the chill off that you could see (was next to) from the bed. We were told the other rooms that were not suites were similar to just our bedroom area with some added furniture around the bed, which would be totally fine if you are looking to cut some cost and don’t need the ability to host a party in your room! It was nice to have the separate sitting area because we did play cards with the other couple at night, so we were able to easily hang out and not be directly in our “bedroom”, although the 2 sort of blended from one to the other. They have a stocked mini bar with great snacks that come with the room, and since we had just gotten married we found champagne and red wine waiting for us.
I’m sure I’m biased because we had great, clear weather, which we were told is not always the case (can easily be rainy or foggy – and paying for an ocean view room with fog socked in would be a little frustrating I’m sure), but I think having an ocean view is worth the extra. We hung out on our balcony (or just from the bed) and had magnificent views. We also managed to be at the resort during whale season (it apparently runs from December – March and we were there in January) and I’d tell you how many whales we saw but we lost count. There are binoculars in the rooms, so when you locate a spout with your naked eye (yes, from your balcony, from the restaurant, from the pool...you get my drift) you can quickly get the binocs up and see the whales in action. Our cousin’s wife saw 2 breaching while she was in the pool. If you want to see more whales and other marine life (sea otters, seals) stop off of Highway 1 to the North at Point Lobos State Reserve.
Another really neat thing about this resort is the staff. From George who checked us in (and has been there 7 years) to Sergio who ran us around when we needed a lift (been there 20 years) to Luis who got our luggage for us (been there 22 years and said he “helped to build it”), all were exceptionally upbeat, helpful and absolutely love working at this place, which truly showed and says a lot about it. I won’t continue to go on and on, but I’m not sure I’ve ever been anywhere else more relaxing. Take a hike, try a massage (thanks Jessica and Jill!) in your room or at the small spa, do some yoga in the yurt, or blow off some steam in the small but well-appointed fitness center and this place will make you feel like you are a million miles away from everything.More
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