The Ranch at Laguna Beach

The Ranch at Laguna Beach fills a canyon that was homesteaded in 1879 and became a nine-hole golf course, the Laguna Beach Country Club, in 1950. The resort opened on December 18, 2016, with interiors by Tuvalu Home Designs. Its environmental work is thorough and, unusually, measured. All 87 acres are watered with reclaimed water, saving some 20 million gallons of drinking water a year. A half-acre biodynamic farm supplies Harvest restaurant, composting on site keeps 20,000 pounds of food waste a year out of landfill, and a crusher turns glass bottles into about 70 tons of sand a year for bunkers, paths and pool filters. Seafood comes from Dana Point and Newport Beach fishermen, to James Beard sustainable seafood standards, and since 2015 staff have cleared more than 4,000 pounds of debris from the Aliso Creek channel. The Surfrider Foundation recognised it as California's first Ocean Friendly Hotel, it is a founding member of Beyond Green, and the golf course is GEO Certified. There are 97 rooms, suites and cottages, among them 20 two-bedroom cottages and a Treehouse, plus the House of Hudson spa, with Laguna's galleries and surf breaks close by.