San Diego Country Estates 2002

To save money, we ate breakfast and dinners in our unit of "The Good Life" timeshare resort and packed picnic lunches. The unit was fully equipped including B-B-Q on the patio. Also had full size inside laundry. This gave a real "at home" feeling. Did eat lunch out a couple of times as a treat.

A fabulous shopping area is the Viejas Outlet. At night they have dancing waters and Indian fire dance shows (free). Right across the street is the Viejas Casino. There is also another casino nearby (could see both in one day) called Barona Casino.

All activities we wanted to do were an hour or less drive away. We did the Zoo and Balboa Park, day at the beach in Mission Bay, small town of Julian where we had its famous apple pie and took a horse and carriage ride through the country side, Del Mar Race Track. Animal Park is just up the road from resort. Malls are nearby to shop.

Overall, this was nice country living with grass, trees and horses with no building over two stories. Peaceful. But all the attractions you could want to see are very near by.

Quick Tips:

1) The actual name of these timeshares is "The Good Life". But the signs to be looking for to get to club house is "Riveria Oaks Raquet Club". There are timeshares called Riveria Oaks, but The Good Life shares the club house facility, tennis courts, pool and spa. 2) The club pool is on the smaller side but good enough to walk from the unit to cool off. If you want to have more space or swim laps, you can use the olympic size pool at the golf club resort right up the road (few minute drive).

Best Way To Get Around:

You do want a vehicle. If you need groceries you have to go to Romona which is 7 miles away. To see all the attractions in the area, you'll definitely need to drive.

Best Things Nearby:
Indian reservation casinos and outlet stores. All the attractions of San Diego and the coast. Nearby small, quaint towns.

Best Things About the Resort:
Very roomy. Very well decorated and equipped. Peaceful country setting but short drive to all the great attractions.

Resort Experience:
San Diego Country Estates is a development outside of Ramona. And that's just what it is: "Country." Open areas with plenty of hills and high desert vegetation. A lot of horse properties (which means lots are large) and a very nice community equestrian center.

Around the units are plenty of trees and grass for the area. Very peaceful feeling. Every day seemed like they had a full schedule of activities to keep young and old busy.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The zoo is very nice with a lot of exhibits. The tour bus ride is a good idea to do when you first get there, then you can go back on foot to see what you really want to see.

It was a very nice relaxing day on the beach. We could sit and relax while keeping an eye on our girls having fun on the body and/or skim boards in the water. Going through the shops and having ice cream was also enjoyable.

For those who like to surf, there was plenty of that to do also.

This as a very nicely done factory outlet center. The architecture was wonderful. A lot of great stores and great prices. In the evening they have a free show of dancing waters and Indian fire dancing. The casino is directly across the street in case you want to take a break to make more money for shopping.

It was a fun, exciting and relaxing day all rolled up into one. It was a very nice race track. Plenty of things to see wandering around.