Creating a premium luxury adult resort vacation getaway was the goal of the Willows Hotel and Spa addition to the Viejas Casino Resort tucked in the beautiful, forested hills of the Cuyamaca Mountains in Alpine, California. The design was led by architect Stephanie Schillig of IGroup Design with landscape designed by Sotelo Landscape Architects and

 
Principal Angelina Sotelo.
Amenities catering towards adult relaxation and play set the program for the overall design. Upon exiting the resort building, guests are greeted by a small outdoor plaza with floral-inspired elliptical planters for annual flower colors and a long rectangular raised fountain that invites the guests to the wide gently arcing pool centered with the hotel. From inside the hotel lobby, the fountain is designed to seemingly spill into the pool, however, it is located 20 feet away from it and at elevation with the plaza exiting the lobby. The fountain is finished with 1x1 inch tiles in an aquamarine color. The pool deck is elevated 4' below the terrace outside the lobby to allow the surrounding gardens to embrace the space and grant guests privacy and seclusion from the surrounding areas, hotel, and the road. The pool is accessed by gently sloping walkways and landscaping with flowering trees and large date palms used to frame the view of the pool deck.
The pool design arcs in contrast to the shape of the hotel to create a separation from the hotel for privacy. The pool finish features small fine pebbles in a mix called blue pacific, and it contains a step entry and a beach style entry. The pool deck provides plenty of chaise lounge seating on all four sides of the pool and features an elevated lounging deck along the back of the pool using 4x12 inch pavers with chaise lounges and day beds. Additional lounges and cabanas are provided behind this area and secluded from the road with a wall and landscaping. A fire bowl by Concreate Creations is visually centered with the lobby, fountain, and pool at this deck for social gathering.
Exiting to the left of the lobby, hotel guests are invited to the outdoor bar designed by IGroup Design to bring their drinks to the pool or to a separate secluded hot spa deck located outside the spa of the resort. Guests exiting the spa will be treated to a large private hot tub featuring two large hanging day beds anchored to the building and floating over a raised Ipe wood deck. After spa treatments, guests are also encouraged to relax in a separate enclosed meditation garden featuring private cabanas and lounging spaces surrounding a lawn and enveloped
in landscaping.
Complimenting the hardscape elements of the landscape and the architecture is a diverse plant palette chosen for its durability, beauty, and longevity in Alpine's harsh climate of freezing winter temperatures and intense summer heat. Date palms provide beautiful silhouettes in the bright blue clear skies while framing important outdoor zones like the pool. Pine trees reflect the area's natural landscape. Olives and flowering trees provide serene beauty and needed summer shade. Mass planting was used throughout the project for its ease of maintenance and its luxurious impact and calming effect for a resort focused on tranquility and relaxation.
During light hours, guests can absorb the natural beauty of the surrounding Alpine hills, greenery, sky, and the resort's lush landscaping accentuated by mass plantings and flowering shrubs and trees. During the night, the resort's landscaping features come to life with the landscape lighting design that includes up-lit trees at night while small landscape bollards help guide guests throughout features of the resort exterior. The date palms are equipped with rings providing LEDs that both up-light the fronds and face down to accentuate the trunk.