Luxury California beach club invites public to enjoy

It's always fun to drop in on the rich and famous for a
weekend ' even when you're neither rich nor famous ' and
one of the best places in California to get an up-close
look at how the other half live is Newport Beach. Actually,
if we crunch our numbers a little more, it's more like the
other 10 percent, because the opulence will just dazzle you.

The Balboa Bay Club will be glad to share its front-row
view of the good life now that this legendary club of the
Newport Coast elite has opened half its units to the
general public. Before 2003, the resort's prime Newport
Beach real estate was only available to members of the
club. Now there are 150 rooms and 10 suites available to
anyone yearning for some weekend affluence.

Staying at the club a night or two would be a sure-fire way
to impress the significant other, or to completely escape
from job stress, but still keep costs within reason. We
consider resorts like the Balboa Bay Club
"special-occasion" getaways ' places we go to celebrate,
not just to get away. With small houses on nearby Balboa
Island going for $4 million and 100-foot mega-yachts parked
in slips right out in front of your bay-view suite, the
Balboa Bay Club takes you many steps beyond the average
getaway.

The first clue you're not in Kansas anymore is when you
cruise the circular driveway to the lobby area. Behind that
line of dark-colored, late-modeled SUVs there's a gleaming
new two-seat sports car you don't quite recognize because,
in all likelihood, it's not the kind of car available at
your local auto mall. Then it's not one or two valets, but
a platoon of at least six fair-haired young gentlemen
running to and fro to make certain that no one waits long
for their vehicle.

And then the service gets even better. From the smiling
young woman at check-in to the cordial bellhops to the
extraordinarily punctual room service attendants ' who
managed to bring us cookies and milk while the cookies were
still warm ' the service at the Balboa Bay Club, during our
stay, was consistently top-rate.

And then there are the rooms. Once we opened the door to
our bay-view suite, we could fully appreciate the club's
location and attention to detail. The sliding glass doors
opened to a maritime show that continued from dawn to dusk.
From small Duffy boats to super-yachts, from kayaks to
college rowing teams, the sights and sounds of Balboa Bay
are mesmerizing. You'll be tempted to spend many an hour on
the one of your two private decks that are perfect for
viewing all of the water activities.

The rooms are over-size and our one-bedroom suite actually
had two of these large rooms with two bathrooms, one so
spacious it had three dressing areas, a walk-in closet, a
two-person Jacuzzi-style tub and a separate shower room.
The bathrooms were Italian marble, the counter-tops granite
and the overall design was reminiscent of those bathroom
areas you see in home décor magazines ' you know, the
ones you wonder if you will ever really be able to afford.

Large-screen TV, high-speed internet, games, they're all
there. And, when it came time to turn in for the night, our
luxuriously appointed king-size bed was form-fitting and
among the most comfortable we've ever slept on. Oh those 10
percent do live well.

The Balboa Bay Club actually was created in 1948, back when
there were far fewer people living in Newport Beach and the
area was a popular getaway for Hollywood elites. Today
there are 2,800 members of the club, about two-thirds
living on the 15-acre property and the other third using
such services as the resort's spa, exercise room and
Olympic-style swimming pool. Past and present members of
the club include such familiar names as John Wayne,
Humphrey Bogart, Robert Wagner, John Travolta, Jerry
Seinfeld and Jim Carey.

The first few years of the "public" Balboa Bay Club have
gone well and the resort has attracted a consistent stream
of getaway travelers, most hailing from California and
arriving by car ' although John Wayne Airport is only a
15-minute drive from the resort. The temperate coastal
weather and the property's waterfront location are big
draws.

In fact, Newport Beach is a pretty good draw all on its
own. Take a drive and you'll see that modern, wide palm
tree-lined thoroughfares take visitors through some of the
priciest real estate in the country, the gorgeous blue
Pacific Ocean almost always visible with just the slightest
elevation.

World-class shopping and fine restaurants are in nearly
every part of the city ' and, we might mention, the club's
restaurant, the First Cabin, is no slouch either. Long
established galleries, exquisite home furnishings stores
and a myriad of specialty shops await you in chic Corona
del Mar. Or visit Fashion Island, one of two Orange County
super retail complexes that just seem too grandiose to be
called shopping centers (the other being South Coast Plaza
in nearby Costa Mesa). Name a store found on New York's
Fifth Avenue, and you'll probably find a version of it at
Fashion Island.

For the outdoor enthusiast, it's just a five-minute drive
from the club to Upper Newport Ecological Reserve, a
752-acre coastal wetland that is home to 200 rare and
endangered bird species. Visitors enjoy walking tours
through the area.

On our visits to Newport Beach, we have enjoyed shopping on
Balboa Island, which has a tiny, but busy Main Street '
actually it's called Marine Avenue ' which is just a few
short blocks with about 70 shops and restaurants to
explore. This little example of Small Town Americana offers
a wide selection of shops in all price ranges as well as
several boutiques and galleries.

The downtown shopping area is just part of the attraction
on Balboa Island, an island small enough that you can walk
entirely around its perimeter in less than two miles. It's
fun to observe life on an island that remains exclusive
because it is so expensive. There is no denying that the
ever-present sunshine and the harbor views create a quiet
respite from bustling city life and clogged freeways. The
colorful villas and vacation-style homes on the island are
quite lavish for their size.

From your room at the Balboa Bay Club, you'll likely see
many electrically powered Duffy boats cruising the channels
of the bay, and the good news is you can rent one of these
boats yourself. Duffy boats are made locally and are
specifically designed to take a group of people out on the
water in total comfort and luxury for simple harbor
cruising. The 21-foot boat we rented could accommodate 10
adults with plush bench seats on each side of the boat with
table tops available in the middle for drinks or snacks.
The boat was entirely shaded and had plenty of open areas
on the sides to enjoy the view. It was easy to operate and
requires little or no boating experience.

Our Duffy boat wasn't exactly like the 100-foot mega-yachts
tied up in from of our suite at the Balboa Club -- but
let's just say it was a tad bit easier on fuel.

AT A GLANCE

WHERE: The Balboa Bay Club is in Newport Beach, which is
located in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. It is
easily reached on the 405 freeway.

WHAT: A playland for the rich-and-famous, but a
reasonably-priced getaway that allows you to sample the
good life, if only for a weekend.

WHEN: Year-round, with blue-sky weather virtually any time
of the year.

WHY: "Weather and water" as one club executive explained.
The weather's perfect most of the time, and the club is the
only waterfront resort in Newport Beach.

HOW: For more information on the Balboa Bay Club, phone
888-445-7153 or visit www.balboabayclub.com. Be sure to
check out their package specials that begin at around $300
a night. For information on Newport Beach, contact the
Newport Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau at
1-800-94-COAST or visit www.newportbeach-cvb.com.

Cary Ordway is president of Getaway Media Corp which
publishes websites focused on regional travel. Among the
sites offered by GMC are http://www.californiaweekend.com
and http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com .

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