The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe

We chose The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe for my son’s wedding weekend because of its timeless charm, recent renovations, beautiful grounds, and perfect location directly across the street from our wedding venue. The property is truly special—lush landscaping, historic elegance, peaceful setting, and well-maintained amenities that made it an ideal base for our family celebration. On February 19, 2026—the evening before the wedding—our group of 12 seniors (all over 60 years old, with perhaps one in their late 50s) gathered at Bing’s Bar as registered hotel guests to relax and reconnect after family members had arrived from all over the country on different flights. We had been served drinks responsibly earlier with no issues. The mood was calm and joyful—quiet conversation, no loudness, no disruption, and no observable signs of intoxication from anyone in the group. Without any prior warning, explanation, or individualized assessment, a waitress (not a manager) approached our table and abruptly stated that the entire group had been “over served” and would no longer be served alcohol. No questions were asked about consumption levels, no one was checked for sobriety, no specific behavior or safety concern was mentioned, and no non-alcoholic alternatives were offered. The refusal was blanket for our whole table, even as other patrons nearby continued to receive service normally. Given that we were all mature seniors—many jet-lagged from travel—simply enjoying a long-awaited family reunion in normal conversation (mostly in Spanish), this unexplained action felt unwarranted, unfair, and deeply humiliating. It cast a shadow over what should have been a relaxing pre-wedding evening after so much effort to bring everyone together. While the Inn’s accommodations, grounds, and other services are generally well-regarded, this handling at Bing’s Bar raises questions about adherence to responsible service standards (such as California’s mandatory RBS training, which stresses individualized, non-discriminatory refusals) and on-site supervision. I would hesitate to recommend the hotel for family reunions or wedding-related stays involving older or traveling groups until this is addressed. The setting has wonderful potential, but this incident was a significant disappointment.

Excellent hotel… the staff was great, room was clean, decor in room and around the property is beautiful, and the spa was beyond amazing (best massage I’ve ever had from Jasmine). Would recommend and will be back!

Rancho Santa Fe Inn is undeniably beautiful, historic, and full of charm. The grounds are peaceful, the architecture is stunning, and it truly has the potential to deliver a five-star experience. The staff overall are kind and engaging, but unfortunately the level of attentiveness doesn’t always match what you would expect from a resort of this caliber. Service throughout my visit felt inconsistent. At the café, for example, there were small but noticeable lapses in hospitality — details that may seem minor but matter when you are paying for and expecting a luxury experience. For a five-star property, guests shouldn’t have to ask for basic elements of presentation or service. The experience sometimes felt more casual than elevated. That’s ultimately the theme here: the Inn looks five-star, but the service doesn’t always meet that standard. And frankly, the communication and professionalism on the business side left an even worse impression. Without going into unnecessary detail, interactions with the communications department (specifically Olivia) felt unprofessional and disappointing enough to overshadow what should have been an otherwise enjoyable visit. It’s a shame, because this property has everything it needs to be exceptional - it just needs consistency in service and stronger professionalism behind the scenes to truly live up to its reputation.

We stayed at the Rancho Santa Fe for new years/ our baby moon. It was a wonderful stay until we realized we were robbed by hotel staff. After we checked out, we realized that items had been taken from our room—over $2,000 worth of belongings. We’ve never had anything like this happen during a hotel stay, so it was really upsetting as this was such a special getaway for us. Aside from that issue, the stay itself was very pleasant. However, because of what happened, I would advise future guests to be cautious with their belongings if booking here.

I want to like this place for so many reasons but I feel very conflicted. The pros: nice landscaping and ambience, fireplaces, historic feel, and common areas are attractive. For example, the bar and lobby areas and main lawn are cozy and picturesque especially at night. The hike and yoga sessions for guests was a nice touch and the session leaders were very nice to work with. The cons: the inn is generally lacking attention to serve detail, luxury rates without adequate luxury level service makes this property feel pretentious and overpriced. For example, when I was here for 5 nights each day the pool area accumulates used guest towels and empty drinks from late afternoon until the next morning, some guests bring in glass cups and bottles which, shouldn’t be allowed for safety reasons. Then if you want to use the pool at night say from 6-10pm it hard to find a lounger that’s not trashed with people’s left behind stuff and used lounger towels and covers. Staff walk through multiple times and don’t do anything to pick it up. Likewise its clear no one is doing frequent rounds to sweep leaves off common areas tables and pick up guest cups etc outside rooms in public spaces and along open air hallways including empty wine glasses, I’d see these in the early morning and still there late morning. Turndown service was at regular times, some days in-room coffee was reset by housekeeping other times it was not. Valet parking was automatically added when it wasn’t used and then I needed to request it was removed and explain why. If you stay here you should know many rooms are connecting which allows a significant amount of noise from adjoining rooms. My room was in one of the historic buildings and it smelled strongly like attic which was undesirable, to the inn’s credit they said they’d address the attic smell and offered to move me to the one other room they had which was smaller and much further walk from downtown so I decided to stay in the original room. Everyone was nice and helpful when asked I just don’t feel the property is any where close to a luxury boutique standard it appears to project in its marketing materials. It’s like Marriott level at best. I happened to have two different reservations because my stay was extended due to work schedule changes and I was charged different fees on site for my agoda reservation for example the hotel charged me a “historic fee” where as that fee was not charged on the same room for the reservation placed directly with the hotel. On both registrations I had to go back and ask to have the $55/day valet parking removed. My experience with true luxury hotels is attention to detail: common areas are kept spotless, trash never sits, pool loungers are reset as guests leave, preferences are remembered and attended to in advance and consistently, housekeeping is consistent. This experience didn’t meet that standard yet the standard price point indicates it should have. I didn’t eat at the restaurant because the menu was heavy and overly complicated with few light options. Regretfully I’m unlikely to stay here again.