Swinger's Paradise

By PAUL LIEBERMAN

Nov. 16, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

CARLSBAD —

You understand going in that Aviara can cost you. Just ask Michael Jordan: It was on the golf course here that he fell into double-or-nothing bets with a sports exec a few years back and reportedly wound up $1.2 million in the hole.

Back then, there wasn’t lodging to go with the Arnold Palmer-designed course. Aviara’s links opened in 1991 and quickly became a popular site for tournaments and group golf outings. But plans for a Four Seasons hotel couldn’t get out of the economic rough. Finally, in August, it became possible to tee off and stay over--in rooms starting at $275.

It was hard to miss the opening of the Four Seasons Resort Aviara. I got no less than three mailings and a sales phone call inviting me to sample the latest addition to the roster of serious resort hotels along the California coast. You know the sort of places it was hoping to lure customers away from: the Biltmore up in Montecito, the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Nigel and, of course, the golf-and-spa destination just a valley to the south, La Costa.

The mailings outlined all sorts of promotions concocted to build momentum for this newest high-end getaway. There was one for “a select clientele” (income $100,000 plus) willing to be pitched time shares in surrounding “villas.” (For hearing them out, you could stay two nights at the hotel for a mere $195.) A second deal came from American Express, offering a third night free if you paid for two. And even if you were paying full price for a room, you could sit through the 90-minute time-share pitch and get $250 off on activities--thus covering a couple of $130 greens fees while you discovered just who comes to such places. That’s part of the fun, isn’t it?

A golf pal and I left L.A. after work on a Friday and headed south. Two hours later, we pulled off Interstate 5 and wound a couple of miles through the Aviara residential subdivision--on the inland side of the freeway--until we reached the hotel, perched atop a hill. We pulled in just ahead of a red Ferrari from which emerged a Hollywood blond in a black cocktail dress. We did not notice the man with her.

The hotel, a five-story Spanish colonial-style structure, is far less formal than some of the pricey competition. Through the African hardwood front doors you find not an imposing glass chandelier, but an artistic wrought-iron one. It hangs over a single small table holding a pot overflowing with fall flowers. Other than that, there’s nothing blocking your sight line across the marble floors of the lobby to floor-to-ceiling windows that, in the daytime, provide the hotel’s prime view of the ocean.

Our room--two actually, a small suite--is at the lower pool level. We’re in a suite because everything else at the 331-room hotel was booked. “We’re very busy--getting lots of groups,” the bellman tells us. The groups include Franklin Templeton mutual fund folks and a large wedding party. “I hear one of the families is picking up the tab for all their people staying here,” the bellman confides. “Like 110 rooms.”

The room is what you expect in a Four Seasons. Walk-in closets with scented hangers. Bags to hang your shoes outside the door for free overnight shines. A double-sink marble bathroom with separate tub and glassed-in shower. Four telephones. Custom wildlife paintings (“A Bird, a Nest and an Egg”). Two patio areas.

The living room has a sleep sofa, but the bellman suggests a more comfortable daybed and says he’ll have one brought in. We head for the California Bistro, the more casual of the two restaurants in the hotel proper (there are others at the pool and at the golf clubhouse). The style is country kitchen, and the menu includes items marked as Four Seasons Alternative Cuisine, which the waiter explains as, “Low fat, low sodium, low everything.”

Though the spicy tiger shrimp are excellent, there is one hitch. We order just glasses of Chardonnay, but the waiter brings a whole bottle. Rather than stop him, we drain it and then decide to order more--at the hotel bar. There’s a cozy fire going and antler-like light fixtures that cast magical shadows. As a piano player spins out ‘60s and ‘70s tunes, a few couples from the wedding group dance on the rug. I ask where they’re from. “Texas.” Aha.

Saturday morning, we arrive at the golf course a bit later than we should for our 7:30 tee time. We have to rush to join the others in our foursome. Jared, a young Wall Street investment banker, and Catherine, a securities buyer, are here from New York to complete some housing deal.

Jared--an Ethiopian native raised in London and educated at Harvard Business School--apologizes in a refined English accent that he’s “just learning to play this game.” One thing he’s clearly learned is how to keep up: Whenever he duffs a few shots on a hole, he just picks up his ball. Then he starts fresh on the next tee.

The course--winding through eucalyptus groves and with views of Batiquitos Lagoon at points--is one of the best Palmer designs I’ve played. Befitting his status as the golfer of the people, Arnie leans toward crowd-pleasing features (lots of water and colorful flowers) without making his courses overly difficult. This one is a stern test, though, requiring strategic shot-making, especially on holes such as the downhill par-5 8th, whose green is ringed with ponds and beach-like sand traps. And the greens are huge, meaning you may face a 100-foot putt if you don’t use the right club. I do have one quibble--a few tees are too choppy for a course this pricey--but the place earns back points with a touch of humor on the final green: statues of a father and son fishing in yet another water hazard, the boy’s hook caught in his dad’s hat.

We peek in the health club and spa, but are not tempted to join the 30-year-olds running on treadmills equipped with individual TVs. Instead, we check out the tennis courts (four hard, two clay), take some brochures from the time-share salespeople and consider $130 Italian knit golf shirts in a lobby boutique.

Then we decide to drive to the ocean for a drink. As we leave, the wedding group is assembling for a sunset ceremony in the hotel’s main courtyard. The car valet tells us he just tended to the most unusual member of that party--walking the groom’s dog. “I think it’s staying in the groom’s room,” he whispers.

After taking in the waterfront scene at Del Mar (surfers, joggers, singers, etc.), we return to the hotel for dinner in its Italian restaurant, Vivace. Done largely in purples, with more wrought-iron art, it’s easily the most beautiful place in the hotel. We choose between two types of salmon, ahi tuna, veal chops and the like, but this evening limit the wine.

This time we make it on time to loosen up on the driving range. Jared is among those practicing (“I’m getting better,” he swears), so we compare notes about the weekend. My main issue is location. If you’re going to spend this much, wouldn’t you want to be right on the ocean, like at the Four Season’s own unbelievable spot in Maui? But Jared sloughs me off. “This is only costing me $1,000 for a weekend,” he says as he heads off to the first tee. “I know of plenty of places where you could’ve spent two.”

My pal and I are grouped with the Spitzers from Detroit. He’s national merchandising manager for Pontiac, which is bringing its top-producing dealers to Aviara over the next week to “reward ‘em with a nice place,” Jeff Spitzer says.

“If you’re still around,” Jeff says, “we have Navy Seals parachuting into the courtyard tonight.”

But by then, we were headed home. At checkout, the bellmen and car valets are still talking about the groom and his dog, so I interject, “I heard the creature stayed in his room.”

“No, no, not in his room,” one says. “The dog had her own room.”

Lieberman is the Times’ education and environment editor.

Aviara and golf course

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Budget for Two

Resort plus tax, 2 nights: $946.00

Gas: 30.00

Valet parking charges: 28.00

Two golf greens fees: 265.00

Dinner, California Bistro: 77.00

Dinner, Vivace: 81.00

Other meals, drinks: 125.00