Avis Ranch Jewel

Overall an incredible stay. So accessible to civilization, yet feels like a wonderful secluded retreat. I could not imagine a better place for our retreat. Dan was incredible.

Our time at the Jewel of Ortega was fantastic. We hosted a family gathering along with our daughters small family only wedding with extended family. (Around 35 people.). The venue was wonderful. It was rustic and scenic with plenty of room, plenty of things to do and beautiful scenery for pictures and the wedding ceremony. Exactly how our family rolls. We had a few house related issues when we first got there that were quickly remedied by the staff. I can't thank Dan G. and his staff enough for their assistance, availability and kindness. This is a top notch team ready to serve in any way needed. I would absolutely consider booking the Jewel of Ortega again in the future.

My group of three families consisting of 18 people had an amazing Thanksgiving/birthday weekend at the Jewel of Ortega! Everyone had their own space and fully enjoyed all the activities available including tennis, basketball, ping pong, pool, swimming, relaxing in the hot tub, watching tv on the large couch, hiking, and petting the horses. The sauna was closed, but it wasn't a great loss. We brought a lot of cooking supplies for the big Thanksgiving meal, but found everything else we needed there. The check-in was a bit tricky with several cars arriving at different times because a clicker was required to open the gate that's a 20-min. drive down a dirt road from the house, but Dan helped make that process a little easier. We would return again!

We had a great time. The host (Dan) was great and very helpful all weekend. The property is huge and more secluded than you could ever want.

The whole family enjoyed the property and the variety of activities it offered for our short (4 nights) stay. The only issues we had were with the central AC system (none of the 4 systems blew anything other than warm air; the bedroom with just a king bed was especially uncomfortable but the bedrooms that had individual units were fine) and problems with cooling in the two refrigerators in the main house.

What a wonderful weekend. Dan was very communicative, accommodating, and thorough in our check-in, and throughout the weekend when we had a couple questions. He was really attentive and was fantastic to deal with. The house is amazing. It's remote, adventurous, and also has amazing amenities. We loved the tennis/basketball court, the poorhouse with hot tub and sauna, the outdoor eating options, and the views from this place are unreal. The house and property were even better than the pictures showed. This place was perfect for our large gathering and we will be back. Thanks again, Dan!

Very tranquil quiet area surrounded by lemon orchards with stunning sunsets and views of the ocean and Catalina Island. Two horses live on the property. There were birds everywhere including bright yellow orioles and flocks of swallows. Zebras and Giraffes seen on neighboring property on the drive in and the sounds of peacock calls off in the distance. We never wanted to leave! The house was fabulous and spacious with a large kitchen that was well stocked with a toaster, blender, Keurig, coffee grinder, french presses, and lots of pots and pans. Plenty of dishes and cutlery for our group of 20. There was a large screened in porch so we didn’t need to worry about flies or mosquitos when eating outside. Lots of games and amenities including a poker table, ping pong table, and a pool table, and the large screen TV in a common room was easy to connect to for group presentations etc. There was a wonderful warm pool and hot tub which we used quite a bit, and the pool house was situated far enough from the house that noise from late-night pool goers never disturbed people sleeping in the house. Dan, the house manager, was incredibly accommodating of our group including bringing us ice and chicken when the fridge went down one day. He was also very responsive to the electrical outage due to the sauna triggering the circuit breaker box. He lives 20 min away from the house but came over whenever we needed him. He was also available by text any time we had a question, and checked in with us every day to make sure everything was going OK. The resident chickens were laying abundantly and Dan would leave us eggs in the kitchen every morning. One thing to note, the house resides in a gated community and is a 5 mile dirt road drive from the gate to the house. The house manager meets you at the gate to let you in. This just means that you should plan ahead and get all your groceries before heading to the house. Grocery shopping would entail a 45min round trip drive, but we were warned of this and so never needed to leave the house once we got there. We would definitely rent this place again.

Property mgr Dan was friendly and so helpful. He answered all our questions and went out of his way to guide our family to the house. It was breathtaking once there you Don't want to leave. When he tells you bring everything you need... Bring it because you won't want to leave. The hillside and grasslands we're beautiful and relaxing to the eyes. No traffic to listen to or cars and people passing by, just a beautiful view of your soroundings and the soft bread in the evening with a magnificent sunset my wife and could have stayed a month. We picked this location because we wanted to have a lot of things to entertain our grandkids and they completely enjoyed their stay. Enjoying the playground the indoor heated pool and the tennis basketball court. We enjoyed quiet walks in the morning to the horse coral and further. We enjoyed having "Hunter" the on grounds dog as company the grandkids enjoyed petting her although she is shy to grownups. All In all it was a successful weekend for our 50th anniversary. The property had everything we needed plenty of room in the bunk room for our 7 grandchildren. We liked it so much we will be doing it again.