The lushest/luxest stop on our Babymoon! The POST RANCH INN is to die for

from top: the Big Sur coast at sunset at the Post Ranch Inn; the pool in the meadow; getting the lay of the land; Treehouses; Our Treehouse "Innocenti"- how appropriate; view to the Pacific from the Jade Pool; relaxing after poolside delivery of most delicious sandwiches at the Jade Pool;Napper the sybarite-- I have converted him to a lover of fluffy robes and luxury!!; on our way to dinner at Sierra Mar.

I have been regaling you with stories and photos of mine and Napper's lovely Cali coast Babymoon all week.  This stop at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur was the ultimate pearl in the oyster, icing on the cake, piece de resistance-- sub in whatever cliche you like for best, most awesome/delightful/heavenly.  I have been wanting to stay at the Post Ranch Inn for over a decade but couldn't find a way to justify the staggering cost to Napper.  Until this Babymoon!  And still it was a fight.  Until we checked in and Napper absorbed the sheer fabulousness, privacy, intimacy with nature, quiet, refined perfection and loveliness at every turn.

That's right, I converted Napper the naysayer and poo-poo-er of luxe establishments into a believer and a sybarite (definition: lover of luxury) at the Post Ranch Inn.

We checked in super-early---  see my last post on Deetjen's just down highway 1.  And were received with friendly and welcoming gentlemen who said our room would be ready early, but not quite at 10am (!) and offered us an array of suggestions of what to do until we could go to the room.  We opted for a "hike" on the property grounds which span 100  acres.  They gave us filled water bottles and a map and off we went.  Through redwoods, meadows, and along paths with flowers raging, pools clinging to cliffs and incredible architectural buildings dotting the property.  We saw plenty of deer, including a group of bucks, and wild turkeys, too.

At noon, we were shuttled to our room in a Lexus SUV-- you leave your car in the parking lot at check in and have use of the hotel fleet of Lexus cars to drive or be driven in the area during your stay.  We settled into Upper Butterfly, the top floor of a three floor structure with a library on the first floor, room on the second and then ours on the top.  It was very nice if a little dark, with windows everywhere, a cool ceiling that looked like a whale's ribcage, and a lovely deck opening to the forest and mountains.  The minibar is stocked with complimentary wines, waters, sodas, cheese and crackers, fruit, cookies, nuts, etc.  We changed into our suits and set out to the Jade Pool, one of the three pools on the property to have a little lunch poolside.

The Jade Pool is glorious.  A small heated pool right on the edge of the cliff with the most magnificent views and plantings all around.  There was no one else there.  Which is sort of the theme of the Post Ranch-- although they were almost at capacity, we literally felt like we had the place to ourselves.  And the service is incredible as well-- they are there when you need/want them lickity split, but not hovering at all.

We settled into lounge chairs, perused the menu and ordered sandwiches from the phone stationed poolside.  After a dip in the jade lined pool (jade is healing and calming apparently) our sandwiches were delivered and devoured.  We relaxed and soaked up the sun and the views until the clouds started to roll in a wee bit.

We pool hopped down to the meadow pool-- again, we were the only people there!  And swam some laps and splashed around-- heaven for an 8 month prego girl.  Post swim we had hot showers in the lovely bath house, swaddled ourselves in the robes provided and did some reading.

And then it was time for my prenatal massage in the room!  Which was lovely.  Post massage, Napper had returned from a run and we were enjoying some tea and snacks when we heard the guests below us in their room.  I guess they had just checked in and they were not being loud but we could hear every laugh, and the entirety of their conversation.  We looked at each other and determined after the night we'd just had at Deetjen's the night before-- hearing our neighbor snore and flush his toilet all night-- we were not going to endure that again if at all humanly possible.

I called the front desk and was met with the most profuse of apologies and an offer to move us to a stand alone tree house room which was also a significant upgrade.  We said yes and were moved to a heavenly tree house-- Innocenti-- moments later.  And Tree Houses are the way to go!!  Windows everywhere and ours was so light and bright.  We LOVED it.

We luxuriated in our Tree House, having some complimentary champagne and cheese and got ready for dinner.

Dinner is a prix fixe affair at Sierra Mar and it is not inexpensive.....!  I must say, the views are again absurd and the service was top notch yet we didn't totally love our dinner, and think you really should for those prices.  We had our dessert outside by the firepit and took in the stars agreeing the move is to stay at Post Ranch and either do really heavy apps and drinks, or go to dinner at Deetjen's.

Breakfast the next morning was another story however!!!  After the complimentary morning "mindful movement meditation" in the fantastic yurt on property, we ravaged the complimentary breakfast buffet.  It was delectable.  It was heaven for any person who loves a good breakfast, but again particularly heavenly for a pregnant woman!!  I might have embarrassed Napper by the sheer quantity of items I piled onto my plate(s) .

After some quiet time on the porch of our treehouse, we pulled ourselves together and reluctantly left swearing we will be back someday soon...

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