Upscale Sept Beach Getaway with 3 month old baby
Aug 22nd, 2004, 09:19 PM
#21
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Your most important issues are a..3 month old baby, close hospital, and trustworthy weather. In that case, forget the east coast at that time of year due to hurricanes, etc. I live in So Cal and feel that the Laguna Beach area is perfect as there are several very fine hospitals in the immediate area. The best hotels are right on the beach, (not the St. Regis) and as a local, I recommend the Surf and Sand, the Inn at Laguna, Montage and the Ritz Carlton. All are on the Beach and the first 2 are right in Laguna Beach and walkable to all the local spots. The weather in September is mild, no hurricanes, sometimes foggy in the AM and easily accessable to all kinds of amusementsand LA and San Diego.Why are you in such a rush to take a 3 month old on a major trip...however???!!
Sep 24th, 2004, 10:08 AM
#22
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Trip Report: What we wound up doing.
Thanks everybody for all of your great advice. We have used this board for a while, and have found it very useful, and really appreciate the input.
Having not taken a real break in over a year, we decided for our sanity that we needed to get somewhere to destress. Although Florida seemed enticing, we were very worried about Hurricane risk, and decided to go to Southern California, which in retrospect was the right decision.
In addition, we were fortunate to have my wife's parents volunteer to come with us to help us out (giving us hopefully a little bit of time to ourselves on the beach). Originally we looked at Laguna Niguel and San Diego, but renting 2 hotel rooms on the beach (or at least oceanfront) at nice places was prohibitively expensive.
We looked for house rentals in La Jolla, but couldn't find any rentals on the beach. Ultimately we looked at Malibu, which wound up being a great choice.
We rented a fantastic place from a really nice woman (Toni). The link to her website is: www.cyberrentals.com/CA/BergSOCA.html and her number is: 310 457-7119. It is 2 bedroom, with an extra mattress and sliding doors that can create a 3rd room. It was perfect for us. Everything was top of the line, including $5000 Stearns & Foster mattresses and a brand new Big High-Def Flat Screen Sony TV with every possible cable channel (unfortunately, our baby got a little sick on the trip, so I became very familiar with the TV). The kitchen is small, but nice with granite tops, good appliances, and nice cookware. There are 2 laundry machines and dryers, and nice furnishings throughout.
Although the inside of the rental was nice, the real selling point is the location. The property sits on a cliff overlooking a nice stretch of quiet beach that is adjacent to Zuma beach (one of Malibu's most popular). The rental has beautiful views of the ocean, and across a small small grass lawn Toni has put in a nice patio with a big table and umbrella where you can eat breakfast while looking at the ocean and beach. One thing to note though, the walk down to the beach is about 300 feet and relatively steep.
The rental is under Toni's house, but noise wasn't really a problem. She also has another smaller guest house, which I did not see. There is a small pool in front of her house, which all the guests can use.
While it wasn't cheap (she charged us $550/night for 4 nights (usually $3500 for a week) plus a $200 cleanup fee), it was certainly reasonable given the quality of the rental and the amazing location (her property is clearly in the millions of $ range). Per night this was cheaper than renting 1 oceanfront room at the Ritz Laguna Niguel.
Malibu is a great location if you just want some peace. Very quiet, with a great climate and nice breeze (which keeps the insects away). And although the area is very expensive, its is remarkably laid back.
Because our daughter wasn't feeling well, we never made it out to any restaurants, but we heard that Nobu and The Paradise Cove cafe were quite good.
In retrospect I am not sure whether I can recommend going on vacation with a 3 month old baby. While our physician said that the virus she caught could have been from anything, and not necessarily from the trip, I suspect she caught it on the plane given the lack of air circulation. However, a lot of our friends have travelled with similarly aged infants and have not had any trouble. I guess it is just luck. Also, most of our friends have told us that travelling later with babies gets much more difficult, especially when they want to move around (and can). Our baby was remarkably calm on the plane, which was a nice surprise. And thankfully, is back to her normal healthy self.
Thanks again for everyone's help.
Thanks everybody for all of your great advice. We have used this board for a while, and have found it very useful, and really appreciate the input.
Having not taken a real break in over a year, we decided for our sanity that we needed to get somewhere to destress. Although Florida seemed enticing, we were very worried about Hurricane risk, and decided to go to Southern California, which in retrospect was the right decision.
In addition, we were fortunate to have my wife's parents volunteer to come with us to help us out (giving us hopefully a little bit of time to ourselves on the beach). Originally we looked at Laguna Niguel and San Diego, but renting 2 hotel rooms on the beach (or at least oceanfront) at nice places was prohibitively expensive.
We looked for house rentals in La Jolla, but couldn't find any rentals on the beach. Ultimately we looked at Malibu, which wound up being a great choice.
We rented a fantastic place from a really nice woman (Toni). The link to her website is: www.cyberrentals.com/CA/BergSOCA.html and her number is: 310 457-7119. It is 2 bedroom, with an extra mattress and sliding doors that can create a 3rd room. It was perfect for us. Everything was top of the line, including $5000 Stearns & Foster mattresses and a brand new Big High-Def Flat Screen Sony TV with every possible cable channel (unfortunately, our baby got a little sick on the trip, so I became very familiar with the TV). The kitchen is small, but nice with granite tops, good appliances, and nice cookware. There are 2 laundry machines and dryers, and nice furnishings throughout.
Although the inside of the rental was nice, the real selling point is the location. The property sits on a cliff overlooking a nice stretch of quiet beach that is adjacent to Zuma beach (one of Malibu's most popular). The rental has beautiful views of the ocean, and across a small small grass lawn Toni has put in a nice patio with a big table and umbrella where you can eat breakfast while looking at the ocean and beach. One thing to note though, the walk down to the beach is about 300 feet and relatively steep.
The rental is under Toni's house, but noise wasn't really a problem. She also has another smaller guest house, which I did not see. There is a small pool in front of her house, which all the guests can use.
While it wasn't cheap (she charged us $550/night for 4 nights (usually $3500 for a week) plus a $200 cleanup fee), it was certainly reasonable given the quality of the rental and the amazing location (her property is clearly in the millions of $ range). Per night this was cheaper than renting 1 oceanfront room at the Ritz Laguna Niguel.
Malibu is a great location if you just want some peace. Very quiet, with a great climate and nice breeze (which keeps the insects away). And although the area is very expensive, its is remarkably laid back.
Because our daughter wasn't feeling well, we never made it out to any restaurants, but we heard that Nobu and The Paradise Cove cafe were quite good.
In retrospect I am not sure whether I can recommend going on vacation with a 3 month old baby. While our physician said that the virus she caught could have been from anything, and not necessarily from the trip, I suspect she caught it on the plane given the lack of air circulation. However, a lot of our friends have travelled with similarly aged infants and have not had any trouble. I guess it is just luck. Also, most of our friends have told us that travelling later with babies gets much more difficult, especially when they want to move around (and can). Our baby was remarkably calm on the plane, which was a nice surprise. And thankfully, is back to her normal healthy self.
Thanks again for everyone's help.
Sep 26th, 2004, 04:45 PM
#24
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Have you considered Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada-Fl.Keys. The resort is great and theres a hospital nearby if needed. Cheeca Lodge is 1 1/2 hours from miami international airport and the drive is awesome. The lodge sits on the atlantic ocean and also has a spa. there are many places to relax that have shade for the baby(oh and dont forget sunscreen for her-the best sunscreen is a titanium-zinc oxide base-the white desitin you use for diaper rash is the best-the other types are chemical based and burn if it gets into the eyes.I've been using this for my kids forever and they don't get sunburned)If you're into good restaurants,islamorada has them. I know the hurricane season has not been kind to Fl. but this is a beautiful location and often sept. is a slow month so specials maybe available on their website. good luck and congrads.
