A stay at Rancho la Puerta will transport you into an instant state of bliss! This all-inclusive, 4,000-acre wellness retreat is in Tecate, Mexico just south of San Diego. The Ranch has been in operation for 84+ years since 1940, and guests continue to return year-over-year to experience the magic. The owner, Deborah Szekely, just celebrated her 102-year birthday and she still visits weekly to meet guests. Programming includes a lengthy schedule of class options, pickleball, tennis, daily hikes, mediation, pools for lounging and activity pools, as well as a wine lounge. While the experiences here are plentiful… what stuck out on our trip was the comradery of the guests we met. Dinners are encouraged to be communal experiences where you meet other visitors and share in friendly conversation. Everyone is so kind and constantly wishing you well!
During your trip, you will stay in one of 86 casitas located in villages across the resort. Our room in the Sols was very spacious (1,000+ sq ft) with a full kitchen, living space, bedroom, and two fireplaces as well as a private patio looking out to the mountains. Many rooms do not have wifi to encourage their mission of disconnection, however, there are WIFI lounges available throughout the property for times when you may need to check in on work.
We visited in mid-May and the flowers were incredible… everything seemed to be in bloom making the grounds even more lush and welcoming. The weather was also perfect this time of year with highs in the mid-70s to lows in the 60s.
I highly recommend either the morning breakfast hike (4 miles) and/or the evening cooking class, which both take you over to La Cocina Que Canta which translates to “The Kitchen that Sings.” You’ll also get to tour their six-acre organic farm, which boasts some incredible produce options. We picked our fennel from the garden to use in our cooking class, and it was the most impressive fennel I have seen to date. See the photo below for proof!
During the breakfast hike, we saw the wild horses roaming the trails and stopped to take photos. The natural beauty and wildlife of the land continued to impress!
I should also touch on the meals we ate, as they were truly memorable in themselves. While, you won’t find any red meats, chicken, or pork on the menu you can order seafood for certain meals. There are also tons of fruits, vegetables, protein-rich grains, nuts, nut butter, etc to flavor the food. We found an impressive amount of variety and loved the breakfast and lunch buffets just as much as the coursed-out dinner meals. We were able to take home a few recipes from our cooking class, that we look forward to making at home.
Travel + Leisure has ranked Rancho la Puerta as a Top 5 International Destination Spa in the world. The spa facility is lovely and features a menu of treatments ranging from classic massages to cupping to facials and even a water therapy treatment known as Watsu. The Watsu demo was the activity that perhaps stood out the most on our trip. You swim with an instructor as they take you underwater in a 96-degree warmed pool. The treatment is known to reduce stress and anxiety and promote better sleep.
There are 3, 4, and 7-day retreat options. We only stayed for 4 nights on our first trip, however, I would love to go back and experience the full 7-night stay one day. A 7-night trip will start at $5,000/person which includes accommodations, airport transfer, all meals and activities minus the spa, and cooking classes. You can use my code ‘austinfoodstagram’ when you call to book for an additional $250 off your stay. The code is combinable with other special offers!
