Concierge Spotlight

Sarah McMahon of the Grand Pacific Palisades

Born and raised in Carlsbad, Sarah McMahon feels right at home at the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel. Her career has been focused on helping people, from retail shopping to guiding adventurers on river rafting tours and rock climbing expeditions.

“I love working with people and I can’t think of a better way than to show visitors my favorite areas and things to do,” says Sarah. She received her bachelor’s degree in
communications from a school in Pennsylvania and after some travel, returned home to Carlsbad where she now supervises the concierges at the resort, oversees operations at the gift kiosk and supervises a team of bellmen. “We have an absolutely great staff and working with them is one of the best things about my job,” she says.

One of her favorite places to visit in San Diego also happens to be one of her recommended self-guided day tours. “Hiking and running the trails of Torrey Pines State Reserve is like a breath of fresh air for me,” says Sarah. “I send guests there for a hike and then down to La Jolla to view the tide pools and to enjoy the town’s great shopping and restaurants.”

When asked what one of her most memorable moments at the Grand Pacific Palisades was, she replied, “We just had some of the original Munchkins from the Wizard of Oz stay with us. They must have been 90 years old and were so cute. It was great to see such a happy, healthy, elderly couple signing autographs for everyone.”

Smitten with a love for travel herself, it seems Sarah has found her calling as a concierge.