PEBBLE BEACH RESORT POOLS, MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

The Lodge at Pebble Beach and The Inn at Spanish Bay are both run by Pebble Beach Resorts and are the Holy Land for golfers everywhere. The town/gated community of Pebble Beach is part of the 17-mile drive, that beautiful twisty coastal drive that bends around the scenic coast with dramatic ocean-hitting-rock vistas and ocean-that-goes-on-forever views.

While the location is stunning and the properties upscale, it’s hard to imagine visiting these resorts unless at least one member of your party is there to play, watch, write about, officiate, or in some way participate in the sport of golf.

That being said, the pools don’t get much play. You’ll pretty much find a few specific types: 1. Rich white guys, 2. Golf widows and their charming or not-so-charming youngsters passing the time while Dad hits the links, and  3. Youngish Tiger-Wanna-Bes, which are becoming more and more like the late-twenties-and-beyond version of frat boys.

With the three of those groups mixing—half of them bored, wearing bikinis and sipping cocktails, I wouldn’t be surprised if many a marriage were not threatened at the Pebble Beach pools. If I were looking to meet a youngish, wealthy soccer mom with time on her hands I might spend some time here. But then I would be an official “creepy guy,” so maybe not.

The Lodge’s pool is part of a private health club, accessible only to hotel guests and club members. It’s like a mini version of a beach/pool club, along the lines of the one we covered not too long ago in Santa Barbara. With gym facilities inside and the pool and a sun deck upstairs.

But instead of the whole pool-to-beach thing in Southern Cal, here it is more about the views. Check out the top deck.

Here’s a little bit of what you see from up there:

Though the views are much more stunning than that, with famous cypress trees in the distance and lots of green grass meeting active surf. And, there’s a separate kiddie pool area too:

The Inn at Spanish Bay is more like a calm, serene, younger cousin to the Lodge. The pool is open to hotel guests, though anyone who pays the $8 entry fee to the 17-mile-drive could theoretically park at the resort and swim here. There’s a gate, but no one’s really checking. It’s sort of tucked away behind the foliage:

A straight-forward lap pool with lanes for swimming and plenty of play space for the kids.

With a hot tub:

For more Northern California hotel pools, click here.