This was our 4th time staying at the Omni La Costa in Carlsbad and it’s a tradition I am very pleased about continuing.
Each year is a little different based on the occupancy over the holidays, the timing of our trip (weekend v weekday), and the weather, but there are a few keys things that are the same.
I loved starting our day at the cafe/general store where they have tons of baked goods, fancy parfaits, açaí bowls and java (you even get vouchers for free coffee when you check in).
Look at all those goodies to choose from! The acai bowl had my heart though (even if it wasn’t as good as the one from Choice Juicery the fact that you could walk there in three minutes with little more than a cover-up on was the main draw).
The other constant at the Omni is the breathtaking views. And the awesome gym. I even tried out a Peloton ride! And dabbled with their TRX bands. And played around with kettlebells. So many cool new things to try! But also, I totally phoned it in by watching Bravo on my phone while giving 30% effort level o the elliptical. Because that’s what vacation is all about!
No golf for us this time, but plenty of pool action.
We brought a football for three flies up, which was a huge hit with the other kids staying at the resort, making the kids instantly very popular.
Poolside eating is definitely living your best life.
Everything came from the Omni cafe and tasted fresh as could be.
Her favorite was the slide, per usual. She only went down it 200 times.
My parents also bought the kids a new LEGO set at Legoland, which was the perfect hotel room activity.
This was also V’s FIRST set of her own, which has since launched a huge obsession.
My parents took the kids to dinner one night so that Kyle and I could sneak off on a date.
We went to Bob’s (the steakhouse on site) which lived up to my previous memories. It’s seriously the best steak I’ve had anywhere. Ever. And that is a fact.
Sweet dreams my babies.
The next day was more of the same.
We went to dinner at the Crack Shack (another repeat venue). What can I say? We know what we like!
The above items were the things we shared (biscuits and 5 piece fried chicken).
The kids got fried chicken and french fries and I got the miso healthy bowl with fried chicken oysters plus a fried chicken tender side order.
The oysters weren’t as meaty as I remembered them being last time we went, so I’m glad I got the chicken tender on the side.
We also totally ate the cookies that came with the kids meals that night after they were in bed. Shhhhh…
Another mellow morning: gym, lego, acai. It was a nice little routine.
Unfortunately it started raining pretty heavily at this point and my parents decided to hit the road a day early so their drive back wouldn’t be as bad.
But first! They took the kids to lunch while Kyle and I got massages at the spa.
Ahhhhhhhh…heaven. We have both gotten massages at the Omni on past stays, but we always had to stagger them so that one of us could watch the kids while the other was away. This time, however, we BOTH got to enjoy the perks of the spa together! At least for some of the time. They have a big co-ed outdoor area, but then they also have separate areas for each gender as well. So I did some sauna and stuff solo too.
While I went back to the room to relieve my parents, Kyle stayed back to order us lunch from the spa menu.
He got a steak salad (above) and I got a kale salad (below).
It was SO good, thanks especially to the amazing dressing that my husband knew to get TWO of because his wife loves her greens well doused. It also had avo, persimmon, chicken, and parmesan cheese. I should recreate it because I am just now remembering how good it was.
We got take out for dinner that night from the hotel and then packed up in anticipation of a long drive home the next day.
It was drizzling as we left Carlsbad, but quickly turned into an INSANE downpour that had me driving 20 mph on the freeway because the wipers couldn’t go fast enough for me to see anything. Suffice it to say, I was a nervous wreck the entire drive home and to make matters worse they closed the grapevine because it was snowing so we had to go the LOOOOONG way via the 101.
All in all it was a 12 hour drive back to Davis. But we made it safely and that’s all that matters.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, bless the person who decided to put DVD players in cars. These kids didn’t even make a peep the entire ride.
