Engagement Trip at Pala Casino Resort and Spa

The past month or so has been the absolute best of my life – Andrew and I got engaged and have done nothing but celebrate ever since. We’ve had both of our parents in town since the proposal (you can read all about it here) and have hit the ground running on wedding planning (follow along with my Wedding Wednesday series)! Things have been nonstop – we literally haven’t had a moment to just relax! It may sound silly but we kind of needed a minute to fully enjoy the engagement and take it all in. Since vacation is our answer to pretty much everything, we decided to take an engagement trip! I highly recommend this – it’s so nice to just be able to be fully present in your engagement before the wedding planning really begins. We chose Pala Casino Resort and Spa to spend the weekend at! It was the perfect place for us because it’s less than an hour outside of San Diego but it feels like it’s a world away.

When we first arrived at Pala Casino, we were greeted by the friendly valet staff immediately. They helped us with our bags (way too many for our one night stay) and directed us to the lobby. Since we arrived around 10 AM and our room wasn’t supposed to be available until 4 PM, we spent the morning at the spa. If you know me at all, you already know this is my happy place. I’ve been a spa girl since the day I was born, no exaggeration. Andrew, on the other hand, wasn’t sold on the idea at first. He thought the spa was for girls. Let me paint you a picture of how quickly he changed his mind. As soon as I emerged from the ladies locker room, I spotted Andrew sitting with his legs crossed, dressed in his cozy robe, sipping on a glass of orange infused water. Basically, he was living for the spa after approximately 45 seconds.

We indulged in the Suite Serenity spa package, complete with a 50-minute couples massage and 60-minutes of relaxation time. Yes, it was just as heavenly as it sounds. Our massage therapists took us to a private suite where they gave us the option of an indoor or outdoor massage! Since it was such a beautiful day, we chose outside. The calming wind and sound of the trees made the massage even more relaxing than we could have imagined. It was the perfect start to our weekend! After our massages, we moved into the relaxation room with a jacuzzi tub and Eucalyptus steam shower. Why doesn’t every bathroom have one of those?! There was even a chilled bottle of champagne and decadent chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. So romantic and delicious! Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, we headed to the pool and grabbed some chairs. When we were about to put our stuff down, an employee informed us that we had a private cabana for the day! We ordered lunch, strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas and basically talked about how much fun we were having for the next few hours.

The next thing on the agenda was dinner. Even though Pala Casino has so many different restaurant options, some of our foodie friends recommended Cave so we knew we had to have dinner there. We looked at the menu and literally wanted everything! I basically wanted to hand the menu to the waiter and say “yes, please!” Thankfully, Executive Chef Anila Kurti came to the table to give us some guidance. This was the most incredible experience – she walked us through the specials and made recommendations based on our likes and dislikes. Her kind spirit and passion for food made the dining experience over the top amazing before any food even arrived. And trust me, it only got better from there. Based on Anila’s recommendations, we followed her lead for a 6 course meal. Andrew and I are total foodies and have been to tons of amazing restaurants but this topped the list by far. Anila’s passion for her career and excitement about fresh ingredients is so evident in every dish her and her team create! We literally didn’t want the meal to be over but it had to be because we were so stuffed! If you are anywhere near this restaurant, trust me when I say it’s worth the trip.

After a quick trip back to our room to recover from the food coma, we rallied back for the night and went to the casino. I am not usually into gambling at all (shocking, I know) but this was so much fun. Andrew and I played Pala Roulette, which basically means I shouted out random numbers for an hour and pretended like I knew what I was doing. The staff was so friendly and professional so I felt totally comfortable playing, even as a newbie. Apparently it was beginner’s luck because we won $100 – woo hoo! With our new money in hand, we headed up to the room and went to bed.

The next morning, we ordered room service in our robes and slippers before heading to the pool. When they brought up our breakfast, the sweet waitress mentioned there was an extra plate on the table for us. After uncovering all the plates, I saw it – the assortment of donuts that we hadn’t ordered but secretly wanted. The fact that the staff took the time to get to know us and went above and beyond to make our stay special means the world to us. Personal touches like this are what make a vacation. Everyone from the pool staff to the housekeeping team to the waitstaff went out of their way to make us feel special and pampered throughout our entire stay. We will definitely be returning to Pala Casino in the near future and I recommend all of you do, too!

Thank you to the entire staff at Pala Casino for making our engagement trip the experience of a lifetime!