Borrego Springs’ La Casa del Zorro is no more
Something grand is about to bloom in the tiny desert town of Borrego Springs, and it’s not a rare cactus flower.
It’s Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa, the new name of the former La Casa del Zorro, the charming desert lodge owned for 47 years by Copley Press, owners of the San Diego Union Tribune. The name alone hasn’t changed; the whole idea of the place has.
Now the resort, 150 miles from Los Angeles and 80 miles from Palm Springs, will operate as a luxury destination resort and spa focused on healthy, but sometimes decadent, living, said Joseph DeNucci, president and general manager. Decadent can mean staring endlessly into the desert sky’s millions of stars, having a gourmet breakfast in bed, or never leaving your private casita.
Still, why change the name of a beloved institution?
“We didn’t want to relaunch something that never was,” he said. “This isn’t just a new and improved Casa del Zorro. We’re doing something completely different.”
New owner Gregory Perlman, of the Sherman Oaks real estate investment firm GH Capital, brought in DeNucci partly for his experience at Miraval, a destination resort spa in Arizona.
The lodge closed this year on June 30 to renovate the 44 poolside guest rooms and 19 private casitas. Perlman spent $10 million to renovate the 63 guest rooms, and has upgraded the existing 18-hole golf course designed by Tom Fazio, five swimming pools, six tennis courts and archery range.
The new operators plan to exploit the remote setting, the privacy earned by the surrounding 650,000 acres of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and the resulting absence of light pollution.
The resort is scheduled to accept guests in November, with a January grand opening to follow. For more information on the resort, call (800) 824-1884.
– Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times staff writer
[Photos: Gardens, top; lobby, middle; pool, bottom; Borrego Springs Resort & Spa]
11 Comments on “Borrego Springs’ La Casa del Zorro is no more”
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September 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Don’t forget about the Los Angeles
Market ! I have been a travel
agent for over 20 years and anxiously await your opening early
December. Anticipating bringing
the California Tradition of excellence and spa tranquility to
my clients.
Bravo to Joseph’s excellent team
of experts.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:42 am
What great news to hear that Joseph DeNucci & team are poised to cast their magic here in Southern California!! Mr. DeNucci’s properties have beckoned those in need of renewal to return to be embraced again and again. The market is anxiously awaiting December! Congratulations to Mr. DeNucci & Co.!
October 7th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
According to an article in the Borrego Sun, they don’t want local Borrego Springs residents in their remodeled restaurant at the Borrego Ranch Resort and Spa.
Frankly, Perlman and Itzikman bought businesses in the center of town, several years ago and left it vacant to become a blighted eyesore, despite commitments to the community.
They bulldozed Anza-Borrego State Park property for a off road trail. They have been pulling up plants all over the desert for their golf course.
We see these crooked developers for what they are – People and places to avoid…
There are Plenty of other fine restaurants, hotels and businesses that actually want your business in Borrego. The rest of town is very nice.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Casa del Zorro will be sorely missed. A trip to Borrego Springs will not be the same for our family. We splurged to enjoy a lunch at the beautiful setting… but since the new “Borrego Ranch” is not open to the public, we have found a new setting (with an even better view of the desert) at “The Palms at Indian Head”. We were told it has two restaraunts (the Krazy Coyote and the Red Ocotillo). We ate a tasty lunch on the patio by the pool, watched a coyote nose around the turf at the edge of the property, and enjoyed an expansive view of the desert. One local told us Marilyn Monroe once spent time there…
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
uggggggg booooo
March 6th, 2009 at 12:39 am
My late husband and I loved La Casa del Zorro. I hope to return soon and expect to find the private casitas as wonderful as they were in the past.
March 14th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
We have stayed at Casa del Zorro many times over the years We made it an annual trip to lunch there/view the flowers. We often flew our plane into BS airport. The gracious non stuffy Casa would send a van over to pick us for a wonderful lunch served by the always interesting young people from all over the world. Today we were treated like we sat in something smelly and it was still on the back of our pants. Hotel supposedly was booked and only hotel guests could be served - lunch was to start in 10 minutes and not a hotel guest in sight. We could go down the road to have lunch at their clubhouse if we’d consent to taking tour of what ever they were peddling. I guess you can’t go back after all. Perhaps they will find that this snootiness is a big mistake in this economy.
March 21st, 2009 at 12:52 am
Given David Copley’s decision this week to sell the San Diego Union Tribune to a private equity firm, now is an appropriate time to reflect on the fragmentation of the legacy build by David’s stepfather, James Copley, and James’ father, Ira Copley. Once an impressive company, Copley Press’s assets, including La Casa del Zorro, have been sold left and right since David inherited the company in 2001.
James conceived of La Casa del Zorro as a place where people from the city could visit to enjoy the unique beauty he had identified in Borrego, and he named it La Casa del Zorro, or the House of the Fox, for the Copley family animal. It is tragic that the new owners could not maintain either the symbolic name or the welcoming atmosphere that James created.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:58 pm
How Sad!!! My Mom and Dad discovered La Casa when it was called the Desert lodge. They went to a travel agent and requested a quiet place to spend their 2nd anniversary in 1949. They fell in love, bought a piece of borrego and continued enjoying this wonderful place. They told me about the chuckwagon dinners and casual atmosphere when I came along years later. I too fell in love with La Casa and grew up enjoying the pool and wonderful people while my parents played golf at De Anza.I remember once when I became ill the musical group came over to our casita and serenaded me to make me feel better! This was a part of my childhood and I got a really sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I read about the elaborate plans to change, and in my mind, ruin a wonderful retreat. This really would have saddened my parents. Seems like my sentiments are shared by many. I’m sure this place will be successful, but the essence of Borrego will be lost. How Sad………….
August 31st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
We stayed at La Casa Del Zorro for the last nine years for our family vacation. When we tried to go this year, we were told that children under 18 were no longer welcome. My 10-year-old Grandson’s comment: “They were kids once too”! It is too bad that such a great place for a family vacation no longer exists! We always stayed in the Peppertree Casita so the boys would not disturb other guests. I will be surprised if the new owners make a go of this in our present economy.
October 28th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I agree that it is a shame that La Casa turned in this direction. My family had a house within walking distance of La Casa from 1960 to 2006. I live in Washington DC now but my family visited often when my kids were younger, and a visit to La Casa was always fun. The bar with the foxes was a real landmark