San Ysidro Ranch, A Rosewood Resort: Checking in to a Santa Barbara Classic

Even though San Ysidro Ranch is in my own backyard, I haven't stayed there since its total refurbishment, unveiled in 2007. My wife and I dined from time to time at The Stonehouse (always exceptional, by the way), but for some reason, we'd never fully experienced the property by spending the night.


All of that changed on June 1-my wife's birthday. Before arriving at San Ysidro Ranch, I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong! From the moment we opened the gate outside of our cottage, I felt relaxed. I climbed the stairs and stepped onto the patio, where I could already envision reading the newspaper and sipping my coffee in the sun the next morning. Once inside our cottage, I felt very far from home. I certainly didn't feel like our kids were just three miles away, playing in the backyard.

Our cottage was beautifully decorated, and we were told it was rebuilt from the ground up to match the exact specs of the original structure. The bathroom was huge and had a full bath and separate shower. A door connected the bathroom to the patio outside, where we discovered our own private hot tub adjacent to our outdoor shower. The patio was completely private, surrounded by lush landscaping and fencing that must have been eight feet high.


After checking out our room, we headed up to the pool for a while, and then decided to hike up the mountains just behind the property. A great many trails skirt the property. Each one provides stellar views of Santa Barbara that few people ever get to see. We hiked for about an hour before heading back to our room. There we took full advantage of our outdoor Jacuzzi, sipping champagne and enjoying the rare opportunity to just relax and take in the view. Our dinner that night at The Stonehouse was spectacular, as always, and the next morning we woke up to sunny skies. (And yes, I took advantage of reading the paper and sipping my coffee on the patio as planned.)

San Ysidro Ranch exceeded my every expectation, and I would highly recommend it to any group looking for a relaxing, but luxurious property. It's an ideal for board meetings or other small groups. And as an incentive retreat, you'll hit a homerun with your attendees-guaranteed!

The Most Incredible Suite - Hotel Sax Chicago

When asked what was the best room I've ever experienced in my career in the travel industry, my answer for the last 10 years has been without a doubt, my room at the Banyan Tree in Phuket, Thailand! Well, all of that changed last week in Chicago when I arrived at the Hotel Sax around midnight after a very long day of late flights, missed connections, and the typical travel
woes that each of us are now accustomed to experience in this day and age. Honestly, all I wanted to do when I found my room was to find the bed, and try to get as much sleep as I could before meeting my team in the lobby at 7:30AM to depart for the Motivation Show.

When I opened the door to room 1534, I walked into a wide corridor covered with beautiful Brazilian wood floors. To the left and right, there were two precisely lit sculptures, and at that moment I knew I was in a very special room. Little did I know how special!

I walked to the end of the hall, I looked left and saw a work station, fully equipped with a PC, printer and fax, and on the other side of the station was a hugh flat screen TV that faced my king size bed. The bathroom was massive, and was likely larger on its own than the last room I stayed in on my last trip.

Before hitting the hay, I figured I would have a look at whatever else was in the room, so I left the bedroom area to see the rest of my suite. Passing back through the entry area, I came face to face with a full bar boasting another huge flat screen TV, and on the bar sat a martini set that looked good, but at that moment I was way too tired to induldge. Had I arrived on time, I'm sure I would have mixed myself a little welcome cocktail, but I really just wanted to check out the rest of the room and go to bed.


Past the bar, was a conference table for 8, surrounded by floor to ceiling windows with outstanding views of downtown Chicago at night. Next to the conference table was a curtain that was separating me the bar and conference area to what ended up being the highlight room of my suite.

When I peaked my head through the curtain, my plans for going to bed evaporated. What I saw literally blew my mind. There were a total of 4 flat screen TV's (a huge 70" screen, with three smaller screens stacked on the right) on the wall, surround sound speakers, an XBOX 360, a few guitars for playing "Guitar Hero," and a U-shaped couch set up surrounding a good sized coffee table. My immediate thought was, "I am not going to be able to spend much time in here, so I better take advantage of it now!" So instead of going to bed, I picked up the remote, turned on ESPN, and the next thing I know I am watching a 1-hour recap of the Dallas Cowboy vs. Philadelphia Eagle Monday Night Football Game with the surround sound turned up, and that martini that I had no interest in just minutes before was in my hand. I was in "dude heaven" - in a huge suite, watching ESPN, drinking a martini!

Before I knew it, the clock hit 2:00AM and I had to literally pry myself off of the couch to go to bed. When I woke up the next morning, a little slow, I went right back to that spot on the couch to watch a little CNBC, pre-$700 billion bailout, with a hot cup of coffee in hand. So in 7 short hours, I was able to get as much out of the suite as I could by myself. I did end up hosting a few staff members and clients for a round of guitar hero, cocktails and appetizers, but in no way, shape or form did I take full advantage of Hotel Sax's "Chairman's Suite."

I have traveled many places around the world, and I must say this was the most impressive room I've ever personally experienced! With that said, when you book your next group at the Hotel Sax I would highly recommend you make sure either room 1534 (and/or 1634, which boasts additional Microsoft room environment technology) are part of your room block. Your attendees will love them, and they will likely agree with me that they experienced one of the most incredible suites they've seen!