Review of Post Ranch Inn, by The TI Review Team

by TI reviewer Benji Lanyado

In the heart of the staggeringly dramatic Big Sur region, Post Ranch Inn's take on luxury is of a natural optimum, with a collection of ingeniously luxurious wooden dwellings blending into the trees at the oceanfront reaches of this huge cliff-side property. With a reputation forged over 17 years of hosting discerning guests from across the globe....it may well be as good as the American Pacific coast gets.

With hefty acreage to play with, the Post Ranch Inn offers an all-inclusive compound of relaxation and pampering. Three miles of trails that lace the property are sprinkled with contemporary sculptures, linking the swimming pool and yurt (where daily yoga takes place at 8.30am), the glass-fronted Sierra Mar restaurant, two infinity hot tubs, a game and TV room and a spa.

Complimentary guest activities include meditation classes, cookery courses, stargazing nights and guided hikes. And should you wish to leave, the spectacular cliffs and coastal roads of Big Sur stretch for miles north and south of the Ranch, including the beautiful Pfeiffer beach just north of the property.

The 40 rooms, each named after a Big Sur pioneer family, come with a subtly distributed array of features. The interiors are clad in a staggered lattice of reclaimed redwood panelling, pinned by wood-burning fireplaces in the centre of the structures. The glow of the embers can be seen from the king-size bed on one side, and from the stone spa tub - perfectly sized for two - in the adjacent open plan bathroom area. The entire western faces of the rooms are comprised of glass panels.

A digital music system pipes a variety of non-stop music channels at the guests' choosing, best appreciated when laid out on the balcony in terry cloth robes, impossibly snug slippers, and a glass of wine (two half-bottles are complimentary, alongside a fully stocked non-alcoholic fridge) in hand. The views are incomparable. Save for the occasional squall of dramatic fog, no shipping route, outcrops or land-based obstruction on the scrub-buffered cliffs interfere with the infinite aquamarine vista as the water stretches into the distance towards an invisible vanishing point.