Want a hotel in Borrego Springs? Golf course? Landing strip?

Borrego Springs, the Southern California desert darling that has lured and bedeviled many a developer over the decades, is giving another one trouble.

Officials at the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa and Montesoro Golf & Social Club have warned employees that they could shut down as soon as Nov. 30. Then again, one official is quick to say, they might sign on new investors and be fine.

Sasha Itzikman, senior vice president for Borrego Ranch, said the company is “looking for alternative funding sources or new investors, or we’re open to a full sale.”

Borrego Springs, home to about 2,500 people, sits in the middle of San Diego County’s driest back country, surrounded by the vast Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The stark beauty of that setting — and its location between Los Angeles and San Diego — has led many newcomers to imagine the town as a rival to Palm Springs as an upscale desert hideaway and golf haven.

Investor Gregory Perlman of Sherman Oaks, operating partner for Borrego Ranch and Montesoro, in 2004 began recruiting investors and spending millions to amass and upgrade thousands of acres in the area, including the 42-acre Borrego Ranch Resort (formerly known as the Casa del Zorro) and the 3,140-acre Montesoro golf course and residential community (formerly known as Rams Hill). Lubert-Adler, a Philadelphia-based partnership, is among the largest investors.

The resort and golf-course community, both up for sale, are among the community’s most prominent businesses, and they remain open. In fact, the golf course just opened for the season on Oct. 22. But on Oct. 15, the Borrego Sun newspaper reported that employees had been warned that Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa and Montesoro could close if no investors step up by Nov. 30.

Itzikman confirmed that report, but added that “we’re very encouraged” by resort business and investor interest. Resort occupancy, she said, “is steadily increasing.”

The Times profiled Perlman and his Borrego Springs makeover ambitions in May 2008.

Known as the Casa del Zorro for decades, the resort closed for renovations in June 2008 and reopened in November under the Borrego Ranch name. Now aimed more at adults and less on families, its 44 rooms and 19 casitas typically rent for about $250 nightly and up in fall and winter.

And if you have grander ideas than just a weekend in the desert, bear in mind that there’s a lot of Borrego Springs on the market right now. One ad for Montesoro and Borrego Ranch, offered by real estate investment company Marcus & Millichap, also lists a 29-acre commercial parcel; a 16-acre parcel zoned for a luxury resort; a 1,400-acre private airstrip ranch with estate and hangar; 1,500 acres of open space; and 928 acres of future planning area.

— Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Borrego Ranch Resort  & Spa pool, in a photo published in September 2008 before the resort ,  formerly known as the Casa del Zorro, reopened after renovations. Credit: Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa]

[Corrected at 3:45 p.m. Oct. 27: An earlier version of this post identified the resort in the photo as Borrego Springs Resort & Spa and did not indicate when the photo was orginally published.]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 2:58 pm by Christopher Reynolds and is filed under California, News, Tips & Advice, Palm Springs, San Diego, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.