Girl’s Day Out: A Saturday at Rancho La Puerta

I recently had a revelation when I was in Germany: What if I treated my weekends at home like I do when I’m a continent away? What if I consciously filled more hours with new experiences and flavors instead of armfuls of laundry and groceries? And that’s how I ended up booking a spa day this summer with my friend Sue just over the border from San Diego at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico (and also wine tasting in nearby Valle de Guadalupe). So here is my Rancho La Puerta Review!

I’d heard about the Ranch from friends forever…but you typically need to make a weeklong commitment at this beautiful wellness retreat and spa. So I was pretty excited when I learned that most months the Ranch reserves one Saturday for day-trippers. It’s a great way to get a taste of what this spa has to offer.

A visit would make a perfect day trip from San Diego or a novel dip into Mexico for visitors to America’s Finest City, too. There are so many great reasons to visit Mexico! Here’s a peek at our day…

A Mediterranean Breakfast Buffet

It couldn’t have been easier to arrive at the spa in Tecate from San Diego. No driving required!

We met Rancho La Puerta’s friendly driver and air conditioned mini bus at the San Diego Visitor’s Center in Mission Bay bright and early.

Once we arrived at the border, our driver walked us through Mexican passport control. Another driver then retrieved us on the other side and deposited us efficiently at the ranch. The whole process took about 90 minutes.

After a warm welcome, we headed past a grand spiral staircase into the Spanish colonial dining room for a lovely breakfast buffet. From eggs and black beans to ripe tropical fruits, we ate all the things!

Relax, Renew, and Restore

Included in the spa’s Day at the Ranch pricing is one classic massage. But don’t stop there!

You’re free to add as many spa treatments you like if you reserve in advance. Rancho La Puerta has an extensive spa menu that includes everything from wraps and salon services to healing therapies and custom facials.

Rancho La Puerta has been enticing pilgrims for its signature experience since 1940…and it’s easy to see why. The Ranch’s motto is “Siempre Mejor,” which translates as “always better” or “always changing” as one of the founders likes to interpret it.

That’s because the Ranch is all about creating space in your life—physically, emotionally, and mentally—to inspire the kind of rejuvenation and transformation we all crave.

For some, that means the opportunity to engage in one-on-one fitness training or take part in a swim clinic. For others, it’s as simple as breathing in the aromatic gardens while sunbathing at the Villa pool.

Activities for Saturday at the Ranch are more limited than during a week’s stay, but there’s still plenty of fabulous things to do.

I was full of good intentions when I arrived…with plans for the deep water boot camp, for example.

But then I found myself joining in a meditation and walking the labyrinth instead. I blame it on the smell of the dusky sage and warm Mexican sunshine.

It’s just all so seductive.

It was super cool to hear how the labyrinth at Rancho La Puerta is modeled after perhaps the most famous layrinth in Chartres, France…especially since I’d just seen that one during my visit to Chartres a year earlier.

Since the 12th century, a labyrinth has represented a spiritual quest for pilgrims. It’s essentially a walking meditation. If you’re so inclined, you can set an intention as you enter the labyrinth—asking the universe for a solution to a challenge, or creative inspiration, perhaps—and then allow it percolate as you move towards the center.

When you arrive in the center, pause for a few minutes. And finally, accept the gift of insight as you trace your path back out and re-enter the world.

I didn’t have the opportunity to walk the famous labyrinth in Chartres as it’s located in the nave of the famous cathedral there and chairs cover it, except upon appointed days. So it was a special treat to enjoy a walk under the shady trees at the Ranch with the quiet echoing all around us.

So Much Deliciousness

In addition to the incredible (mostly vegetarian) Mediterranean lunch buffet we enjoyed, we also had dinner! I know, right? Three incredible meals on a single day there.

Late in the afternoon, we were invited for a short bus ride to the Ranch’s La Cocina Que Canto, “kitchen that sings,” for a cooking demonstration and dinner. The demonstration kitchen, which sits in the center of a forty-acre organic garden, typically hosts more extensive cooking classes with all sorts of celebrity chefs that week-long visitors can sign up for.

Saturday visitors get a small taste of that experience with a brief cooking demonstration and a beautiful tour of the extensive gardens. Then we feasted!

There were an abundance of birthdays being celebrated in our group. One woman was treating her mom to a day at the Ranch for her 90th birthday. I cannot imagine a more beautiful way to spend a day with my daughter in the sunset of my life one day…I hope I’m as lucky as she was.

If you go:

Learn more about activities and cost for Saturdays at the Ranch here or week-long stays here.

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