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With an advertising campaign through
AAA’s Touring Topics magazine that
reached coast-to-coast, prospective buy-
ers came from points afar. On arrival
the long-distance travelers were initially
housed in the Guest House, which was
renamed Hotel La Morada during this
initial selling phase to suggest a Span-
ish character. There were 12 guest rooms
arranged in a side wing to the north of
the main structure. Through the entry
door an impressive room designed to
create an old-world Spanish ambiance,
with massive exposed wood roof beams,
archways at one end and a large fireplace
at the other, welcomed guests. The area
was known as the Living Room, and had
comfortable furnishings that created a
relaxed, informal atmosphere. This con-
cept is still in place today.
Comfort and hospitality were para-
mount. Hotel guests would be chauf-
feured through the winding roads of the
ranch in a state-of-the-art Cadillac open-
top touring car to view prime locations
strategically located on hillside lots with
panoramic vistas of the ocean to the

Left to right: Famous stars who have lived in
Rancho Santa Fe include Mary Pickford , Douglas
Fairbanks , Robert Young, Bing Crosby, and Mil-
ford Stone who played Doc in Gunsmoke.

Wine Dine & Travel Spring 2014 63