What makes a great hotel room? Ventana Inn cracked the code.

The room at Ventana Inn…the golden light welcomes, fireplace warms, service adds a very human touch.

As you leave the Social Room check-in, you meander up a narrow flagstone path, the wood rooms in small blocks, lining a verdant, lush path of flowers and bushes. The scents way over you, the small golf carts pull aside and the staff smile, a real smile.

We stayed at one of the fireplace + rooms. Their web site does not do proper justice to the renovated rooms, but it would be hard to — they are so beautiful and lush with wood and flagstone, angles and sun exposure, photos and details (like the old phone). Their layout is linear in the door open to cross the room to the patio, ; with that the room holds unusual angles and details that once again, reinforce how this room personifies the peace and beauty of Big Sur.

As you walk in, you face a lavish bathroom and deep tub and shower, with a sliding door to separate you from the main room — plush king-sized bed, good-sized desk, leading to a bench against the glass lined wall which in turn to windows and a patio with hot tub that faced an open, overgrown flat field. With high vaulted ceiling, you turn to face the front door and see a row of windows intended to cascade California sun across the bed and sitting area.

The bathroom had two sinks, spacious for a couple. A water closet but was dominated by a large bath next to an equally large flagstone lined shower. The same flagstones used for the floor.

First impressions? Wood, gorgeous slate floors and shower, and endless amounts of California sun streaming from skylights. You have the impulse to do five things at once — jump onto the bed and throw your arms wide; go the porch and watch the deer and wild turkey stroll by; call for room service, or simply pull on your hiking boots and explore…the room inspired all the senses and made you realize you had a true base in Big Sur.

A high degree of thoughtfulness was involved in the room design — the table by the desk was large enough for in-room service. The fireplace , facing the bed, was prepared with small bags of burlap enclosed wood, easy to light and maintain a good fire.

Every day, a small gift was delivered to the room — a fruit plate, an exercise shirt, delicate plate of chocolates, a backwashing wood brush, and on the last day, a very old-school, brown leather luggage tag with Ventana Inn inscribed. This was new and a great touch.

Room service was excellent. Yes, the menu for the restaurant and in-room was too limited, but the service and attitude that went with it were warm, unpretentious and efficient. The lady who took our order and delivered the food was down-to-earth, friendly, accommodating — a lot less pretense than the restaurant.

You could take the view that a resort so expensive should provide all this beauty and style; but many don’t. Ventana showed an obsessive attention to detail, a hyper-awareness of merging with nature. Never letting you forget where you are and how special it is.

And just for the record — to come to a five-star resort to do Glamping is stupid. Yes, a total judgement call. One night, getting a ride back from Deejans, had us laughing when we asked about Glamping; he told us that a few weeks earlier, during a massive rain storm, a couple had come up from the campgrounds saying they were soaked and wanted a room. There were none to be had. So they slept in their car. And anyway, he said, who camps this close to winter? What do you expect?

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