Ranch dressing
HIGH drama and neighborhood squabbles are part and parcel of living in a HOA community, and the San Diego County village of Rancho Santa Fe is no exception.
One of Southern California’s most exclusive ZIP codes, the drama unfolded like the plot of an old Hollywood classic after Montecito-based developer and designer to the stars Steve Hermann purchased the town’s most prized asset, the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe (from $785 per night; TheInnAtRSF.com), for a reported $43 Million in 2022. Just one year later, he flipped the inn for $100 million to a real estate investment company in Chicago.
“Things were … fraught,” one local revealed about the relationship between Hermann and the Rancho Santa Fe covenant charged with overseeing the historic preservation of the hotel’s multi-year renovation.
Opened in 1924, the inn has served as the backdrop for wellheeled locals and Hollywood elites the likes of Bing Crosby and Charlie Chaplin, who would come to escape the hustle and bustle of 1920s Hollywood. Now, the 85-key Spanish colonial boutique has reemerged from its overhaul. Interior design whiz Nina Chiappa added vintage furniture to the lobby, library and sitting areas, along with custom Murano crystal chandeliers. In January, the Mila Moursi Spa opened as one of the last remaining pieces of the renovation project.
“It’s an exciting time to be a part of the inn’s history,” said Vikram Sood, managing director at the property. “Hermann left his mark, and flare for beautiful details, that is for certain.”