In case your sense of Southern California geography is a little bit hazy, it should be stated right up front: Rancho Palos Verdes isn’t some Orange County bedroom community, but an upscale enclave on a peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles — south of LAX and west of Long Beach. This makes the newly built Terranea Resort surprisingly convenient, about a half hour from downtown LA, on the grounds of what used to be Marineland, a sort of Sea World North.

You’ll love what they’ve done with the place. Long gone are the performing orcas; in their place you’ll find no fewer than a hundred acres of purpose-built resort land, a compound that features multiple pools, a golf course, a massive ballroom and events space, and a spa and fitness center to rival any free-standing health club. Oh, and the rooms, some 582 of them, everything from hotel-building guestrooms and suites to freestanding villas, casitas and bungalows.

The style is contemporary rustic Californiana, a little bit Spanish, a little bit Arts and Crafts, a little bit modern minimal. And the level of luxury is high; though the service is friendly and accommodating, the physical comforts are on a level with any high-end luxury hotel. A large handful of dining and drinking options await, from a café breakfast to dinner in the Catalina Kitchen, named for the resort’s close-up view of Catalina Island. It’s a self-contained world, seemingly light-years from the city — hard to believe it’s in L.A. County at all.

How to get there: Terranea Resort is approximately a 35 minute drive from Los Angeles International Airport.

Atmosphere: Quiet

582 Rooms - Rates start at US$ 285