Weekend Escape: Dana Point
Sweet Sunday
Savoring a full two days of repose by taking advantage of the Dana Point Resort's late Sunday checkout perk
By Janet Eastman
Sunday June 26, 1994
DANA POINT, Calif. -- Pardon me, but who thought up this system? You check into a romantic resort Friday night; you're in heaven all day Saturday . . . and come high noon Sunday you're booted out of your room to make way for the incoming convention crowd.
Couldn't a weekend away mean two full days?
At the Dana Point Resort in South Orange County, it usually does. Here we are now, still in our room Sunday and watching the reflection of the setting sun in the Pacific. Did we have to act like a screeching Leona Helmsley to get this? No. Did we have to pay extra for extending our noon checkout time to 6 p.m.? No. Do we--a couple now as relaxed as creme brulee --feel as if we've squeezed every leisure-time second out of our sweet getaway? You bet.
Here's how we did it, guilt-free.
We checked into a place that is so pleasant it's painful to leave. Then we called the front desk and asked for a late checkout--a really late one. Instead of being treated like poor relations asking for seconds, the woman at the front desk said, "No problem." After five visits here, we've come to expect this bonus.
And it's a loosely kept secret that the resort upgrades "regular room" people to the concierge level as often as it can (on low-occupancy days, etc.). At that level the perks include third-floor ocean views, butler service, complimentary breakfast buffet and unlimited hors d'oeuvres and cocktails.
For this weekend in late March, we had reserved a regular room for $129 a night hoping to be upgraded to concierge, where rooms start at $200. In previous visits we'd been lucky several times to receive deluxe treatment for the price of a regular room. This time we didn't make it to the top, but we didn't complain about the quality of the room we legitimately paid for. Our second-floor room was the same size as the ones on the concierge floor, with a balcony view of the garden and the ocean. (Unless you want to mingle with children, avoid the first floor rooms, especially the ones near the two pools during the summertime.)
The journey to the resort can get you in the mood for a relaxing, loving weekend. Dana Point is an easy escape from the smog and log-jam of Southern California. You can take the direct route by way of Interstate 5 to Dana Point or the more scenic route on Pacific Coast Highway (parking is free at the resort). Or you can avoid driving altogether by riding Amtrak or Metrolink to the San Juan Capistrano depot. The resort offers a free shuttle from the historic train station.
Once you're at the resort, you'll discover that you don't need a car. Sights, shops and restaurants are within walking distance.
Friday evening from our balcony, we watched the water change colors in the setting sun, then left the Cape Cod-style resort on the bluff to walk through Lantern Bay Park and down a staircase to Dana Point Harbor.
At the Harbor Grill, a high-energy restaurant with a piano player who pounds out jaunty tunes (we entered to the "Charlie Brown" theme song), we enjoyed a zippy fresh Pacific swordfish ($17.95) but didn't think much of the undercooked halibut with canton sauce ($14.95). To avoid a 45-minute wait for an indoor table, we sat outside near the heaters, protected from the salty breeze by a see-through covering.
Afterward, we danced at Mugs Away Saloon, a wanna-be dive that's famous for its annual "Moon the Amtrak" event (July 9 this year). Underneath blown-up photos of men and women exposing their assets, we danced to surf-rock, blues and Tex-Mex played by the Rounders, a band our friend Randy sings in. He also plays tenor sax, accordion, harmonica and, more important, tambourine and cowbell.
Saturday morning we returned to the harbor, a 10-minute walk from our room. Although weather forecasters had predicted rain for the weekend, we wore shorts and sunglasses, basking under the pillowy clouds. The bicyclists, picnickers and sleepy people fishing off one of the jetties we passed along the harbor walk looked like characters from a Seurat painting.
We had coffee and pastry at the Scoop Deck, a locals' hangout, then walked around the marina with its bounty of shops. Under the trellised walkway, we passed the yachts tucked into private slips and a tiny still-water beach where beginning windsurfers struggled to stay upright.
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Near the dead-end of Dana Point Harbor Drive is the Orange County Marine Institute, a nondescript building that houses the skeleton of a gray whale and some live squirmy stuff too. We placed our hands inside a touch tank and felt the squishy sea cucumbers, anemones and keyhole limpets. There is no admission charge, but visitors usually drop a few coins into a glass box near the octopus tank.
Docked outside the institute is the Pilgrim II, a full-size replica of the trading ship that sailed into this natural cove in 1835 with Richard Henry Dana aboard. In his book, "Two Years Before the Mast," Dana called it "the most romantic spot in California."
We walked across Dana Point Harbor Drive to the Heritage Brewing Co., a restaurant and micro-brewery in the bright yellow Pavilion center. We sat in the sun, ordered blond ales ($2.75 a pint) and grilled mahi-mahi sandwiches ($6.25). As we listened to the live blues, I realized that beer had become only a faint memory for me, much like Donny and Marie's variety show on ABC in the late '70s. Where had Donny and Marie gone? I remembered that beer sets me to musing
We saw another rose-tinged nightfall from our room with the view, then returned to the Pavilion for dinner at Ferrantelli's, a restaurant with a rich ambience created by dimmed lighting and cherry wood paneling. We ate tantalizing charbroiled veal chops with white wine sauce, shiitake mushrooms and fresh garlic ($22.95) and boneless chicken breast with sherry wine sauce and green peppers ($14.95).
At Ferrantelli's, you can ask for a decaffeinated cappuccino after dinner but you won't get it. As our waiter said, "We don't do decaf. But our cappuccinos are worth staying up for."
We walked back to our room under a full moon.
A word about "California casual" attire: It is strictly enforced in Dana Point. Unless you're at the Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton, no one expects you to wear a jacket and tie even at the elegant Ferrantelli's or the Dana Point Resort's tony Watercolors restaurant. For your weekend, pack for comfort.
Now, here comes the big payoff: Sunday.
In a normal situation, we would have had breakfast, paid our bill, gone home and spent a beautiful afternoon doing laundry. Or, we could have become hotel nomads: vacating our room early to comply with strict checkout times, storing luggage with the bell captain and loitering around the lobby and gardens until we felt the welcome mat had been yanked away.
Sorry, but no dice for us (you know, you're right. We are demanding).
Sunday was our day to rest around the resort. We could have gorged on the huge Sunday brunch at Watercolors, then groaned away the day at the pool, but instead, we ordered breakfast in our room (service was fast and accommodating to our special requests) and lazed around most of the morning.
In the early afternoon, we played croquet in the grass near one of the pools and Ping-Pong near the three lighted tennis courts. (When was the last time we did that? Pre-disco, I believe.).
Afterward, we went to the Lantern Bay Lounge in the resort for a tea repast that was a refined taste of E.M. Forster ($11.25 a person). With our pot of special brew, we ate proper portions of finger sandwiches, scones, Devonshire cream, jams, berries, carrot cake and strawberry tarts.
We whiled away the rest of the day and captured a perfect Sunday sunset--our third--before checking out at 6:30 p.m. to the voice of a front desk person asking, "Did you have fun?"
Budget for Two
Dana Point Resort, two nights $283.80 Harbor Grill dinner, wine, tip 73.09 Heritage Brewing Co. lunch, ale, tip 19.10 Ferrantelli's dinner, wine, tip 87.11 Room service breakfast, tip 22.13 Afternoon tea, tip 29.24 FINAL TAB $514.47
Dana Point Resort, 25135 Park Lantern, Dana Point 92629, (714) 661-5000 or (800) 533-9748.