L'Auberge Del Mar: A Tip Of Its Panama Hat To The Past

PHOTO: L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa is nestled on the famed southern California coastline. With ocean views and luxurious décor that is reminiscent of an upscale Cape Cod home, the Destination Hotels and Resorts property is a true inspiration. (All photos by Thea Klapwald)

It was over 20 years ago that I first visited Del Mar and southern California. I was visiting a college friend in San Diego and stopped in Del Mar to admire the racetrack and the beach. I was only spending the day – I’d driven down from Los Angeles - but it was decisive moment for me.

It was early January and I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, a considerable victory for a girl from the slushy winters of New York City.

I remember the sun was low in the sky as I wandered the beach staring at the profusion of surfers that cluttered the waves of this stretch of the Pacific Ocean. I was fascinated with the surfers, sleek as seals in their winter weight wetsuits. At the time, I knew nothing of neoprene.

I surreptitiously photographed the surfers with my long-lensed Nikon film camera as if I might be stopped by one of them and harassed. Little did I know that there was a long tradition of photographers capturing the iconic image of southern California surfers. I was so green I wince to recall the memory.

When I returned to New York, I eagerly waited for my film to be developed. I longingly labored over each photo particularly the ones of the surfers.

That day, in New York, it was sleeting outside. No one I knew surfed, not even in double winter weight neoprene. The weather was miserable. I wanted to be where there were surfers. Year round surfers. I made my decision then and there. I would move to southern California.

Recently, I stopped in Del Mar again. This time it wasn’t a trans-continental flight. It was a relatively quick ride south on the 405 because I live in Los Angeles. I did move to California from New York all those years ago. I had made my vow and I kept it.

This time my visit to Del Mar was an overnight stay at the L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa. The property is a luxurious one, part of the Southern California Collection managed by Destination Hotels and Resorts, and ironically mimics the atmosphere of an upscale beach home back east - in the Hamptons or Cape Cod.

No detail is overlooked at L’Auberge. The bellmen wear Panama hats. Chocolate cupcakes (thankfully, only mini-sized!) are in the lobby to tempt you. A picturesque wedding takes place on the hotel’s gorgeous Pacific Balcony overlooking the ocean. L’Auberge works overtime to capture your heart and soul and succeeds at every level.

PHOTO: L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa located in southern California is all about the presentation. Upon check-in, there are chocolate cupcakes with mocha frosting waiting for you. The room key card comes in a divine package with beribboned key to mini-bar, bookmark room number marker, and pretty striped folder to hold everything. You had me at hello.

PHOTO: It’s the deluxe interior design touches like this shell-encrusted table that makes L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa’s atmosphere difficult to duplicate. The hotel is meant to capture the essence of a luxurious seaside home and does it with aplomb.

PHOTO: The Bleu Bar at L’Auberge Del Mar is located adjacent to the pool with a view of the Pacific Ocean. A fire pit warms your toes at night and on chilly southern California winter days like the ones we just had.

My instinct to go to the beach was as strong this time around as it was 20 years ago. Immediately after check-in, I scurried down to the beach despite the unseasonably cold temperatures (low 50’s) and began a stroll down to Powerhouse Park. The hotel sits above the park and is a quick downhill jaunt to the beach.

PHOTO: L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa overlooks the scenic Powerhouse Park. Take a coastal walk in the morning and watch the sunrise. Or have a cocktail from the lounge at the hotel and catch a stunning sunset above the park.

I walked the beach taking in the pelicans flying in V-formations above me. Knots of children lined up for surf lessons – part of the public school’s physical education requirements.

The Beach Safety Center staff had staged a photo opportunity with one of their red trucks parked on the beach. It was the same idyllic beach community I’d visited those many years ago. 

PHOTO: The Beach Safety Center in Del Mar gets into the holiday spirit with an inflatable Santa on the balcony. Lifeguards busily train and maintain the equipment that is so necessary to saving lives in the ocean. The Center is within walking distance of the L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa and part of the charm of beach life in southern California.

As I ended the walk, I sauntered up Powerhouse Park to the main drag Camino Del Mar. Across the street, across the train tracks, in a parking lot I spied a surfer.

He was holding his board, shaking off the water after a surf session, and unlocking his truck. The parking lot was basically empty and he had it to himself. I stood watching him, and felt an intense flashback to the naïve voyeur I was 20 years ago.

Although a lot has changed since then, I am still uncomfortable accosting people with my camera. I don’t have the boldness of a photojournalist or street photographer who snaps away without conscience.

PHOTO: L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa is barely a five minute walk from classic restaurant Jake’s Del Mar. I caught Perry Ustick, general manager of Jake’s taking a break surfing. Ustick is a Del Mar resident and has been surfing since he was 11 years old. He’s now teaching his children to surf.

I hesitated to cross the street. After so much hemming and hawing I must have looked mad when I finally did make the dash across the train tracks to approach him. He said his name was Perry and he was 45 years old. He’d been surfing since he was 11 years old. He’s got kids and he’s teaching them to surf, too. He was as sweet as the point break is long.

He chatted about the Del Mar of olden days. The halls of the hotel L’Auberge are hung with photographs of the famous Hollywood stars that used to grace the beachside town and racetrack back in the 1930’s – actors like Bing Crosby, Una Merkel, George Raft and Betty Davis.

Perry sent me back across the train tracks to peek in at the restaurant Jake’s Del Mar where a 1910 photograph of Del Mar hangs in the foyer. Women in white dresses and hats shaped like bonnets congregate next to the gentlemen in proper attire. The coastline is a ghost of itself – barely developed except for the train station.

Although Perry didn’t tell me this himself, it turns out his last name is Ustick and he’s the General Manager of Jake’s. It was so like Del Mar: low-key, unpretentious, and friendly. Perry wasn’t promoting himself or his restaurant. He just wanted to share the local history and help someone (me) who enjoyed the cultural aspect of the town, too.

After checking out the photos at Jakes, I wandered back to the L’Auberge hotel. It had been a good day so far and in all likelihood it would be a good evening what with dinner reservations at the hotel’s gourmet restaurant Kitchen 1540.

I like to imagine that Perry was surfing that day that I visited Del Mar the first time around, when I took photos that eventually prompted me to make the life-changing decision to move west. I also like to imagine that I’ll run into Perry and his children, or even his grandchildren, surfing the same break the next time, and the next time, and the next time, when I return to Del Mar.

PHOTO: Beach flora is vibrant and attractive in winter with colors that pop and seduce. The carissa macrocarpa or Natal Plum plant vies for attention on the beachside of the upscale L’Auberge Del Mar hotel and spa just north of San Diego.