Travel: Del Mar

Heading to California is the perfect vacation for our little family, especially during the summer. We love having a quick break from the heat, being near the beach, and of course, all the food and drink options.

For the last 10 years, we stay on Mission Bay but this summer, we mixed it up and stayed in Del Mar. It's not that far from our usual stomping grounds but we had a totally different experience. The first stop on our list was our incredible accommodations, Fairmont Grand Del Mar. Not surprising, as we love Fairmont properties, but this property was tucked away on a hill, surrounded by greenery and hiking trails. Talk about a gorgeous place, perfect for relaxing and recharging. Or, if you're like us, great for the family too!

Our room was spacious for the 4 of us, the patio gave a view of the lovely grounds, the service at the resort was friendly and super helpful, we definitely felt at home. It's always nice to be by the beach but having a pool onsite was a huge bonus for us. The property is totally family friendly, there were a couple pools, hot tubs and even a little baby pool. They had movies on the weekend, which the kids loved and they have a little ice cream shop on property so you can grab treats to enjoy during your movie.

The kids absolutely loved doing archery too! And I won't lie, I had a blast doing it as well. You can have up to 4 people in your group and you'll be able to learn how to stand and shoot and then practice as much as you want.

Also on site, is a kid's club that we absolutely took advantage of! This was such a nice break during our vacation for Jim and I. We dropped the kids off at the club one of the mornings, they got to have fun doing all kinds of activities. The Kid's Club has tons of fun games, crafts, video games, etc. so they were thrilled and had lunch there. While Jim and I got to be kid free and enjoy a nice meal and hang out and relax. Highly suggest utilizing that amenity when you're staying on property.

Being able to grab food on property was a relief as well. The Fairmont Grand Del Mar does have a Michelin Star restaurant on property. If you want to be able to go eat there, be sure to book reservations way in advance because they do fill up. We were unable to get a taste of Addison but we did get to eat Amaya a couple of times and they were super accommodating to our children's allergies and a couple of the nights they had live music. We also got a chance to check out their Social Club, which is located in the front area of their property when you drive up. The Social Club also has live music, games, cabanas that you can rent and some great bites and cocktails. You'll be able to cook s'mores over the fire too, if you rent a cabana.

If you want to book your own trip to the Fairmont, check out the info here

Phew, that was a lot of good stuff and there's more you can do on property too but we didn't have enough time. There was so much to explore at the resort and around the resort.

Here's a few of the things we tried around town:

Salt and Straw

Sweet Fin

Mermaids & Cowboys

Blue Bottle

Waverly Cardiff

Birdrock Coffee Roasters

Ding Tai Fung

On the way out of town we went down to San Diego and hit:

James Coffee

Eggies