For Lovers: : A Hideaway to be Remembered

CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. — The setting is rife with romance, and so a little music, maestro. Something soft and sentimental.

Make it the theme from “Love Story.”

A dozen miles inland from the Pacific and 120 miles south of San Francisco, it’s called Stonepine, a 330-acre estate cut in the cleavage of forested hills in the heart of the Carmel Valley.

Its centerpiece is Chateau Noel, a Mediterranean-style home of exquisite taste that brings to mind the charms of Le Colombe d’Or in the hills behind Nice. Or possibly Chateau d’Esclimont outside Paris. It is, some insist, a hybrid of the two.

And so take the stage, Romeo, for Juliet is waiting in the wings. Or certainly she should be. For to visit Stonepine and Chateau Noel without one’s love would be like cruising the Danube alone.

And what a tragedy that would be.

Opened as a resort barely a year ago, Stonepine is reached by a long and peaceful path that leads to the red-tiled chateau whose grass is trimmed like a debutante’s nails and whose entrance is as inviting as the door to a French villa.

To lovers, no matter their ages, Stonepine with its charming chateau is a poem to be remembered long after one takes leave of this unusual retreat.

Sunlight floods the valley and filters through ancient oaks and towering stonepines for which the former ranch is named. The chateau, which rises behind this row of stonepines, is old and secure and a lifetime removed from the frantic pace of our times. One senses that, if necessary, the estate could survive alone, and what lies beyond the walls would be of little concern to the fortunate few who found refuge within Chateau Noel.

Occasionally there comes along a resort or a hotel or an inn that is impossible to fault. Stonepine is that rare exception. The accommodations are without flaw, the service is superb, the setting is serene. Yes, serene as well as enchanting, so that the day of departure arrives with a desire that the clock could be turned back. If only to recapture a single spent day.

Only an occasional stately home in Britain and certain chateaux in France could possibly match the ambiance of Stonepine’s Chateau Noel, a creation of the Crocker banking family in the ‘30s, and opened to the public barely a year ago by young Noel and Gordon Hentschel whose dedication to refinement sets the stage at Stonepine.

The grace is evident in the exquisite good taste of the furnishings. Chateau Noel was redecorated with a mix of both modern and antique furnishings that has blended with a delicacy that offends neither style. The rich, burnished oak paneling of the library and dining room--a wedding gift to the original owners--is of museum quality. In one corner a chess set awaits guests. Elsewhere, logs flame in an 18th-Century fireplace imported from France.

On a wintry day it’s the perfect place to meditate or read. Or to just drift off to sleep, secure in the knowledge that one is free, momentarily, of civilization’s mad whirl only a few miles beyond the gates of Stonepine.

Conversely, the loggia, supported by ancient arches imported from Italy, is the perfect choice for an alfresco lunch on a warm autumn afternoon, the vista beyond bringing to mind a rural setting in distant Tuscany.

With dusk a Victorian carriage attended by a driver and a footman attired in top hats and tails and jodhpurs appears mysteriously, as in a scene from an Agatha Christie thriller, to deliver guests on cocktail romps through forested fields and fragrant meadows.

Wisteria climbs the walls of Chateau Noel and shade is cast by olive trees framed by box hedges and flowering shrubs. At mealtime the table is set with Limoges dinnerware and sterling silver, and there are marvelous quiches and pasta salads prepared by winsome Wendy Browdie, whose talents of an evening turn to such delights as fresh Monterey salmon, lamb, veal chops with morel mushrooms, pheasant, quail, venison and a selection of other entrees prepared with rare artistry.

On occasion a string ensemble entertains in the handsome living room at Chateau Noel with its priceless tapestries and 19th-Century Italian fireplace, a grand piano and superb antiques. Custom rugs scattered about the public rooms were loomed in Taiwan.

Still, with all its luxury, Chauteau Noel provides precisely eight guest rooms, all handsomely appointed with king- or queen-size beds, goose-down comforters, high quality fabrics and lavish baths featuring Jacuzzis, imported toiletries and rich towels to match the quality of his-and-her robes.

The noble Taittinger suite appeals to the guest desiring his-and-her baths along with a loft for peering into the valley or catching a sunset or watching spellbound while morning mists drape themselves over gnarled oaks gowned in Spanish moss.

Another suite, named for French designer Coco Chanel, is tastefully toned with gray satin to frame an antique fireplace and an armoire that conceals the TV.

Near the library the Don Quixote suite opens onto a private garden, and a few doors away the Venetian suite with its four-poster is the favorite of honeymooners seeking privacy along with garden views.

At Stonepine, other shelter is provided at the ranch’s equestrian center with its charming ranch-style Paddock House that features four comfortable suites, all named for famous horses raised and trained here, including the thoroughbred Bolero Lady, and Kentucky Derby winner Majestic Prince.

Behind the Paddock House a handsome gazebo serves as the setting for weddings and cocktail parties, while carriage rides and picnic outings are on the agenda of Tommy and Debby Harris, the quick-change artists who switch from Western wear to top hats and tails for those evening outings in the Victorian carriage.

Clydesdales provide the horsepower for families who slip away in an 1850-style Concorde stagecoach into a valley with bird songs, unpolluted air and the occasional appearance of a deer.

Stonepine’s guests are gathered at Monterey’s airport in a vintage Rolls-Royce, once belonging to the Maharanee of Jaipur. At the wheel on my arrival was Valentine Fine. Tall, bespectacled and impeccably attired, he could have invaded an episode of “Masterpiece Theater,” what with his urbane style and the approach of a Michael Caine.

Stonepine describes itself as “a luxurious refuge for the very few.” Certainly it’s elegant, and without question it’s expensive. Rates start at $125 a night double and range upward to $500, which includes a European breakfast (juices, fresh fruit, cereals, yogurt, home-baked breads and pastries), a surprise on the nightstand (chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate mints), plus a gift basket containing a bottle of wine and a loaf of home-baked zucchini bread, courtesy of managers Gary and Mary Margaret Tate.

In December, Stonepine comes alive with the spirit of the holiday season as antique decorations appear suddenly one morning. Carolers gather around the fireplace, and in the days just preceding Christmas the entire staff turns out in the Dickensian dress of Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and other characters who share the season’s joys. Later, Santa Claus arrives in a sleigh loaded with gifts and drawn by reindeer.

All this said, on occasion Stonepine fancies itself a trifle decadent. This is particularly true during certain galas and other occasions when the entire estate is given over to groups and theme parties staged by the Tates or Noel and Gordon Hentschel.

For $5,000 Stonepine will put on a dinner dance based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” (food and beverage extra) that features vintage limousines, period dress, period music and a teatime dance. Guests sip cocktails around the swimming pool and discuss the return of polo at Stonepine. Others get in a round of croquet or emulate Gatsby characters by uncorking magnums of Dom Perignon, or Noel Hentschel’s favorite--Taittinger.

The banquet, which is extra, figures out to $60 to $95 per person for such items as lobster salad, sorrel and leek bisque, iced vodka with Russian caviar, a goat cheese tart, marinated pheasant with wild mushroom sauce, all sorts of gooey desserts and a brandy to end the evening around the grand piano inside Chateau Noel.

The Gatsby party is mild, though, compared with Stonepine’s production of “Gone With the Wind.” With a cast of 100 members of the National Civil War Assn., scenes are re-created from that conflict using cannon and cavalry.

Indeed, the South rises again on the lawns of Stonepine. Later, with the surrender by Lee to Grant, Abraham Lincoln recites the Gettysburg Address and ladies resplendent in antebellum gowns gather beneath oaks while their escorts join the victors for a brandy inside the library at Chateau Noel.

To restage Civil War scenes, Stonepine bills party-goers another $5,000, which doesn’t include the buffet featuring Southern-fried chicken, black-eyed peas, collard greens, mint juleps, Southern gumbo, blackened catfish, okra, Dixie duckling and New Orleans coffee with shortbread cookies, all this being a mixture of menus with prices ranging anywhere from $35 to $75 a person.

Patience, there’s more. For $2,500 Stonepine will produce a theme party starring Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill and a bluegrass band built around a Western barbecue that’s replete with everything from homemade corn muffins and barbecued boar ribs to marinated quail and rabbit tamales ($25 to $45 per guest).

With the theme parties held only on special occasions, Stonepine is nearly always serene. Serene and seductive.

So my suggestion is to steal away with your sweetie, bring along a decent bottle of wine and then nourish the soul down by the river with the tranquil scenes that bless the Carmel Valley. Breezes carry the fragrance of flowers, and birds gather in symphony. Age has nothing whatsoever to do with all of this, of course. Only so long as the spirit is young.

Here are details on Stonepine, including rates and amenities:

Stonepine, 150 E. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley, Calif. 93924. Telephone (408) 659-2245. Rates: $125/$500 double. Evening four-course meals: $35. Facilities: swimming pool, health club, tennis, archery, croquet, instruction in English and Western riding.

Restaurants in the Carmel area:

--Wells Fargo (for steaks).

--Plaza Linda (Mexican cuisine).

--Running Iron (a cowboy bar/restaurant).

--Los Laureles (features Monterey County’s singing sheriff, Pat Duval, Friday and Saturday nights).

--Secrets (gourmet fare served inside an old stone ranch house. Menu changes daily. Everything is fresh from the sea and garden. Game a specialty).