- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort
Category: Event Planning & Services Hotels Hotels & Travel Hotels Hotels [Edit]
1054 Alisal RdSolvang, CA 93463
(805) 688-6411
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
Jim K. said: "If you are traveling with pets, this is a decent motel in the heart of Solvang. Price was reasonable and they only charge $15 per pet. The rooms are nothing fancy as they are equipped with old tube TV sets and the rug was a bit…" read more »
6 reviews for Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort
6 reviews in English
-
Review from Jeff M.
Monmouth, OR
12/19/2010
Probably more like a 4.5. I stayed at Alisal for three days this December, and certainly did not find the rooms to be as described below. They were exceedingly clean, and huge - I was in #68, which is a 2 room suite with 2 baths. The construction looks to be mid 1960s but is well kept up and nicely remodelled. Our bathrooms were large, well fitted out and very clean with excellent amenities. There was some poorly done latex caulking around one of the tubs, but that's the only negative I could find. It was wonderful having a wood fire morning and night.
Additionally we did not find that we were being nickeled and dimed. Our package was all inclusive for golf and riding. The only extra cost was $49.00 for an additional person on one ride, which seemed fair. I STRONGLY suggest taking advantage of the off season "Round-Up Vacation". For $350/night you get any room plus golf, riding, spa access, and breakfast and dinner! We rode horses till we practically passed out. Get "Big Rig" if you can. He rides like a cadillac, smooth cruising.
The food here is outstanding. Particularly the beef, for those who eat beef. Breakfasts are wonderful. Service is top drawer. These folks treat you well. The only complaint I'd have is the outmoded jacket requirement in the dining room, but that's a source of comedy I suppose.
I strongly disagree with the reviews below. The Alisal is a wonderful place for families who want a spectacular vacation in one of the premier parts of the world. Just don't come to this place intending to be cheap. It costs a LOT to run a resort of this quality, and you'll pay a fair price to enjoy it. -
Review from Denise A.
Oakland, CA
6/23/2009
Hey Ya All, back at the ranch another summer! Well lemme tell you things are definitely amiss here at the ole' Alisal ranch.
Back 14 years ago when I first went to Alisal, it was a MAGICAL place. Just brimming with fun and splendor.
However, I have some real issues with them now.
1) They charge $700 bucks a night to stay at the ranch. Which is up there with most five star resorts. However, this is not a 5 star hotel.
2) They have the same decor (exactly) as they had 14 years ago. Let me tell you the bathrooms are one step below a Motel 6. Motel 6 is actually better. This year the wall paper (yes wall paper) was peeling off the bathroom. Does no one check this stuff out. And remember, this place ain't cheap
3) Coffee- come on! Anyone heard of cowboy coffee? This place has coffee that is one step above water. Where is the strong brewed stuff!
Things I love about Alisal
1) 5 star dining every night. We are talking all the steak, potatoes, chocolate cake and wine you could possibly eat. And every night you stay there they have a fantastic dinner planned.
2) 5 star breakfasts. Wonderful french toast, eggs, pancakes, huevos rancheros, sausage, etc.
3) The old Saturday night BBQ poolside is always fun. And they have a great BBQ of every kind of meat you could think of. They start BBQing around 3pm so the meat is too die for!
4) The ambiance is spectacular. I love the rolling grass, hills and great outdoor feeling you get at Alisal.
I am sure we will keep bringing our kids here for many more years, but seriously, they need to remodel. -
Review from Horace G.
Lafayette, CA
12/27/2008
I am one of those fabled people who have been going to Alisal since I was four. There are so many things I've experienced:
- Spending hour upon hour in the arts and crafts room.
- Brisk morning Haywagon rides into the Oak Tree-covered hills of the Santa Ynez Valley to the best pancake breakfast in existence.
- The acid-tongued (and hilarious) cowboys (real ones who work the Ranch, not some teenagers dressed up!) singing songs around the campfire.
- Fishing at the lake with my dad, and staff-led BBQ nights at the lake with the other kids, including ample S'mores!
- My mom giving me the big speech about trusting me to go play on my own, all the while never realizing that was only because we were at the Alisal and it's an incredibly safe place to let your kids run free.
- First kiss at the golf course at night...and later, site of my first sneaked beer!
- Signing our room number for a seemingly endless parade of hot dogs and Alisal Specials
- Alisal Specials! Yum!
- Cooling off in the pool in August and warming up in the pool in December!
- Getting a few days without TV or phones feels so much better than you are imagining right now (and I am addicted to my computer and DVR)! Trust me, you will remember what it is like to feel your brain working as it ought to instead of like just another machine.
- And when you aren;t feeling rustic...the centrally located and always-empty library has a TV, two computers with internet, and phones...as well as a usually-stocked Brandy cabinet.
- The gorgeous view of the stables just before evening sets in.
- Hot tub!
- Partying at the staff living quarters (turns out they don't just take care of you when you're a little kid!)
- Mmmm...clam chowder to start followed by meat, meat, mashed potatoes, and meat!
- A double-shot of ping pong/pool in the rec room and a double shot of shuffleboard/pick-up volleyball (grass court)
- Tennis lessons down by the surprisingly abundant courts along the creek.
- Becoming old enough for cocktails by the fire in the Oak Room, listening to the good musicians or playing my own drunken (and awful) take on "Hey Jude", and having the bartenders stay as late as we wanted.
- Receiving a wedding invitation just a few weeks ago from one of my best friends -- someone I have only known for five days at a time once a year for the last twenty years. My Alisal Friend.
- Oh, and for those of you who can actually peel yourself away from the Ranch, the stunning Dutch Village of Solvang (which seems to be on the Food Network every other day for one culinary masterpiece or another) is just down the street!
- The wonderful staff deserves extra notice. Shirley was activities coordinator when I was young, and the current activities director was a teenage employee there 15 years ago under Shirley, almost like the passing of an apprenticeship. The staff truly treats their jobs with reverence and, not unlike the cowboys who give riding lessons and tend to the Ranch's livestock, seem intent on making Alisal not just look the same as it did fifty years ago, but BE the same from the inside out.
Alisal is so much more than these Disney-fied resorts which seem planned and built in a day. Like all the great places to spend one's time, Alisal has many layers to enjoy, from the natural beauty its surrounded by to its history to the staff to the friends you make (because of their policy that one can reserve the same week every year, you end up knowing most of the people there in one way or another.)
Especially for families with young kids, I cannot recommend this magical piece of California history enough! -
Review from Spratt M.
Oakland, CA
8/19/2005
For the yuppie in you who wants to reconnect with its cowboy roots (or not). My sister got married here back when they still let people do that (30 years ago? She's ancient). The Alisal has a pretty lake, a pretty tennis court complete with tennis pros, a pretty golf course, and lots of pretty oak trees. It also comes at a pretty penny (wocka wocka wocka). I really don't recommend shelling out the benjamins to stay here (in their "cabins", dressing for dinner), but I do recommend sneaking in to make use of the nice pool. Just don't say I told you. Make sure you get a drink from the poolside snack shop and grill and tip the kid behind the counter - that once was me. If Pam is behind the bar, get her to make you a drink and tell you some good gossip. And if you're really lucky, you might see Carl Karcher and the whole Carl's Jr. clan as he celebrates birthday #108 or something like that.
Listed in: The Danish Capital of the…
-
Review from Elisa D.
Oakland, CA
6/21/2008
I absolutely loved it. Tranquil, serene, oak trees and horses everywhere, a cottage overlooking the creek with a fireplace and sunken tub...sigh...if I could click my heels three times, I'd be back there now. I found the Alisal such a lovely place to unplug and check out. I adored that all of their guest rooms and cottages had fireplaces, but no TVs.
The setting was most compelling--just gorgeous and filled with calm. But perhaps my favorite part of this resort was that it felt like a real ranch resort...not the standard over-the-top Four Seasons kind of resort. My guess is the high room rates go toward upkeep of the land, as opposed to having super-cool & edgy designed lounge chairs and spa services. Dinner and breakfast in the dining room was good, and the musician playing in the bar was fun and completely entertaining.
What is absolutely worth mentioning is the kindness of the staff. They don't just "sell" you the veneer of a down-home experience, they live it. I was aware they required a 2-night minimum for any stay. However, I was only going to be in town for one night, as I was attending a funeral nearby the next day. When I called and asked if they'd be willing to make an exception given the circumstances, they didn't miss a beat in saying, "of course." Proof that Santa Ynez Valley is NOT the Napa Valley, and I'm so glad.
When I arrived hours later, they upgraded my cabin. The next morning, I struggled to find a taxi to take me to the funeral (I suppose anyone who lives near Solvang or Santa Ynez would think it's hilarious that some urbanite from Oakland thought there was cab service in town). After the front desk tried to find me a taxi with no success, I received a call in my cottage from the assistant to the general manager of the ranch. He'd overheard the front desk staff trying to arrange for my transportation to the church in the valley, and offered to drive me himself. As the world could be a small place, turns out he knew the family gathering for this particular funeral. Although he wasn't attending the service, he was kind enough to take me into town and get me there on time, and offered to pick me up and bring me back to the ranch. So kind and above-and-beyond. During our ride, I learned a lot about the ranch and it's history of families who return every year for their annual visit. Sounds good to me.
If you like Portola Valley, Woodside, Boulder Creek, etc...and ever find yourself in the Santa Ynez valley...check out the Alisal. -
Review from T K.
Los Angeles, CA
8/11/2009
We travel quite a bit and fairly easy going, but this place was a nightmare. Motel 6 would do better with the rooms and the vending machine might have better food. No phones to contact anyone to express concerns and no TV to be the only entertainment after dark. This is a cemetery with no pulse. Jacuzzi might fit 4 people with lukewarm water. You can do much better with ANYTHING else in the area. Worst Value.
