Luxury Getaway - Viejas Casino & Resort
Interested in hitting the slots? Relaxing poolside with a delicious margarita? Or maybe you’re hoping to enjoy a delicious steak dinner after a relaxing massage? Whatever it is you’re looking for, we’re confident you’ll be able to find it at Viejas Casino & Resort!
Written by: Ashley Dunn
The Room
We had the pleasure of staying at the Willows Hotel & Spa. This 21+ luxury hotel experience is located on the Viejas property, connected to the main casino. They offer a plethora of different suite options, both large and small. We stayed in the signature suite, which was plenty big for the two of us!
The room had a large lounge area, as you first walk in. Fully equipped with a fridge, couch, and TV - perfect for relaxing. Connected to the lounge area is a good sized bedroom with a large king bed and a great view of the property. We enjoyed watching the sunset each night, while sipping a cocktail before dinner.
Other rooms in the Willows also come with a balcony, which we definitely recommend if you’re willing to splurge!
Things to Do at Viejas Resort
The Saltwater Pool
The Willows Hotel & Spa has their own private saltwater pool, separate from the rest of the hotel.
It was very calm and relaxing to sit by the pool and enjoy a few cocktails! They had a full bar connected to the pool, with folks walking around taking both drink and food orders. I didn’t move for hours, It felt like!
The water was the perfect temperature and the lack of noise was spectacular. Again, this is a 21+ only pool, so no kids running and splashing around! A great getaway from the chaos of everyday life, if you ask me!
Also, if you’re with a larger party, we definitely recommend renting out a cabana.
Willows Spa
The service was magnificent, the staff is very knowledgable about their wine tasting menu — providing great pairing recommendations and detailed tasting notes for each.
While I enjoyed the pool all day, Mr. SD Foodies had himself a glorious spa day at the Willows Spa!
The Spa offers many options, massages being the main attraction along with a separate jacuzzi to sit and relax in afterwards. Chris enjoyed one of their 60 minute massages, provided by Quinn, he definitely enjoyed the massage and made several notes mentioning several high quality aspects including a tilting heated massage table, wonderful spa music, and a great attention to detail from the massage therapist Quinn!
Along with Massages, the spa also offers facials, nails, waxing and hair cuts. They are truly a full service operation, perfect for anything you might need during a long getaway at Viejas!
We highly recommend making an appointment prior to your arrival.
The Outlets
I actually had no idea Viejas had their own outlet mall, connected to the property. It was such a nice surprise to see some great brands, at great prices, right across the street from the casino.
Take a look at all the options they have, below!
The Slots and Tables
You win some, you lose some. But we happened to win big at Viejas! Even when losing, we still really enjoyed our time. Everything was very well kept, with drink services circling around at all times. Additionally, they just recently added 1,000 all-new slots, with the latest games and designs. It’s crazy to think some great slot machines are only 25 minutes away from Downtown San Diego!
Dinner - The Grove Steakhouse
Right on site, located in the main casino, Viejas has its own Steak house known as The Grove . The Grove Steakhouse is a recipient of the prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award and offers a classic steak house vibe with an array of delicious entrées and desserts that are sure to satisfy!
The Food
A classic that we highly recommend at every Steak House is, well, a Steak!
I enjoyed a delicious Petite Filet Mignon, while Chris enjoyed the Prime Ribeye Cap Steak 10oz. Both pieces of meat were cooked perfectly and paired nicely with the grilled asparagus and whipped potatoes.
We loved the high quality options of steaks that The Grove had, it was so hard to pick! Take a look below at all of the steak options below!
Bone-in Ribeye 18oz*75
Filet Mignon 10oz*55
Petit Filet Mignon 8oz*48
Porterhouse Steak 22oz*65
Signature AA Wagyu Skirt 10oz*46
New York Steak 14oz*48
They also had an impressive drink menu and a fantastic array of appetizers to chose from!
The best part of the steak was probably the addition of the Bérnaise sauce, which was a perfect pairing to the Filet Mignon!
For those who don’t know, Béarnaise sauce is a sauce made of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks and white wine vinegar and flavored with herbs. It is considered to be a "child" of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five mother sauces in the French haute cuisine repertoire.
The pairing between the rich fattiness of the steak and the smooth creamy acidic sauce of the Béarnaise was such a perfect pairing!
Ashley’s Bathroom Corner
The shower was lovely, probably the best feature of the whole bathroom! I loved the spacious, open, concept with both a regular shower head and a rain feature up above. No bath tub in our room, but we truly didn’t need it!
It was great to have so much room when getting ready for dinner, Chris even had his own sink so I wouldn’t bother him while doing my hair :)!
Summary
Overall Review: 9.3/10
Viejas Resort is a one stop shop for all things foodies! With a wide selection of options for all moods, luxury dining, shopping, gambling, spa treatments, and lounging around the pool its a perfect weekend getaway!
Room Review: 8/10
The rooms are well appointed, and have lots of luxury touches and are a great home base for your weekend at Viejas!
Things to Do: 9.5/10
There is no shortage of things to do at Viejas! We highly recommend checking out Willows Spa, and The Outlets for a great day trip!
Restaurant Review: 9/10
The Grove Steakhouse was a textbook example of a premium Casino Restaurant, the classics are well done and a must visit for any foodies!
Ashley’s Bathroom Corner Review 9.5/10
WOW! This bathrooms rocks! The shower is massive and made me feel like a princess!