Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa

Reviews 3

LI

Linds V

My husband and I took a detour on a recent vacation and ended up for 2 weeknights in Monterey. We wanted to stay near the water as we are from out-of-state and do not get to the coast often. Upon looking online at the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa website (directly) there were a few options available. We were interested in the King Room listed for $581 (for 2 nights - total). We were just up the street from the Plaza so we dropped in. We asked the lady at the desk about the online price (and even showed her what we had pulled up online on our phone). She asked if we were AAA members and we said no. She said, I can give you the AAA discount anyway for a King Room with an ocean view for 2 nights for $386.00. We thought that was incredible for this hotel (over the water and within walking distance to Cannery Row). We questioned her that this was the TOTAL COST for the 2 night stay not PER NIGHT. She assured us it was total cost and said there would be roughly an additional $27.00 in hotel charges and taxes. We thought for just about $420.00 for 2 nights, it was a fantastic deal. We gladly accepted and she asked my husband to initial the price of $386.00 as discussed. Ecstatic that we were staying at this beautiful hotel, we were directed into the valet parking area to unload our luggage. The valet parking is mandatory, but it is not at any additional charge to the guest. We went up to our room (we stayed in 1204) and were pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness and size of the guestroom. The bathroom was spacious and very clean. Plush bedding, nice sitting area, flat screen TV. The entire room was great. We had small balcony with 2 chairs and a small table just outside the sliding glass door that hovered a few stories above the water crashing below. It was a great view, facing the wharf/municipal beach direction. At the end of our stay, my husband went to check us out. The bill was printed and handed to him, he was thanked for staying there and he met me out front. Before pulling away, we glanced at the bill (as usual) to make sure it was as discussed and to our dismay, it was not. We were charged $386.00 PER NIGHT. With hotel charges and tax, our total came to within a few dollars of $875.00!! We thought it had to have been an error, so we went back in. The lady informed us that we agreed to pay the estimated price. Yes, true, but the estimated price was $386.00 total, which we confirmed TWICE verbally with the original woman we spoke to, before agreeing to stay at the Plaza. It turns out that even though the original woman we spoke with said the total for 2 nights was $386.00, when she asked my husband to initial next to the cost, she failed to point out that it said PER NIGHT. So much for being able to trust what someone tells you. Politely expressing our disappointment at the incorrect information provided to us was of no concern to them at this point. We had already stayed our 2 nights and they said our bill was our bill and we were responsible. We stated that we could have made the reservation for 2 nights online for $581.00 (which we stated originally) which was less than what they apparently quoted us with a courtesy AAA discount. So, while we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at a beautiful hotel with a great view and friendly staff, we felt taken advantage of in the end. Had we known the cost would be $386.00 per night, we probably would not have stayed here. It would be reasonable for a weekend rate, but not weekday. They had several open rooms. We assumed that was why they gave us a so-called courtesy AAA discount - so they could fill up the available rooms. Overall, disappointed.

AU

Austin Hamm

We stayed at the hotel for two nights, and really enjoyed it overall. The staff were extremely helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable about the area. We were here on vacation to see Point Lobos among other things, and the concierge who checked us in, Wes I believe, handles all of our questions very thoroughly, especially considering that we checked in at 10:30 p.m. We stayed the first night in an "inland view" room, which was basically a view of the parking garage, but much cheaper than the ocean view as well. The room was what you would typically expect for a well-kept higher-end hotel. All the amenities like coffee, tea, a small cooler (it States vehemently on the front that it is NOT a fridge, and only cools to 45 degrees F). There wasnt too much noise most of the time, except for the random motorcycle blasting by on the road, and a couple emergency vehicles. Two other things to note offhand: 1. There is no parking (its all valet, and the $27 charge is billed to your room), and 2. There is no included continental breakfast, but we were expecting as such. For our second night, we decided to upgrade to an ocean view room, for which the staff was again very accommodating. Since the whole hotel was booked solid, we were really fortunate to have a cancellation open up. The staff moved our bags from the original room to the new room while we were out sightseeing, and once we got back, they switched out key cards for the rooms, and we were good to go! The upgrade was totally worth it just for the view, ambience, and no more road noise! The view and weather was gorgeous. This was one of the best stays weve had on a vacation, and were hoping to go back in the future. Oh, on a sad note, the Schooners Restaurant that is attached to the Monterey was a huge disappointment. The food was completely flavorless (sole and mahi mahi). Even the sides on the plate had very little flavor, and was definitely not worth the money. The view is nice, if you can convince them to give you a decent table - we were seated at an extremely small table with only a partial view - not even enough room to sit across from each other. We requested a new table, though, and they obliged. Overall, though it was an excellent stay - just that well have to dine elsewhere next time we visit.

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Anonymous User

This was a family trip for us to celebrate my moms birthday. We were really looking forward to our time in Monterey and were excited to be staying at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. Thats why it was so terribly disappointing to have our stay go so badly. Our first night, I have no complaints. Our rooms overlooked the dolphin plaza and out onto Monterey Bay. This is truly and beautiful view and we left our windows open all night so we could listen to the surf and the seals barking. Saturday night was a nightmare. There was a large wedding out on the plaza and we were quite relieved when the noise stopped and the participants moved inside. But that was just the beginning. Once the music started our rooms were turned into a dance club. The noise level was so high that we could here the disc jockey and every song they were playing. I kept calling down to the front desk and they kept promising to contact banquets and get them to reduce the volume but that never happened. As it got closer to 10pm and my calls were getting more irate the front desk switched to "well, the music will stop at 10." The music did stop at 10 but then the participants spilled back out on to the plaza and we were treated to screaming kids and drunks for the next several hours. Now, obviously, you cant blame people for enjoying their wedding and whopping it up. But I do blame the hotel for renting out those rooms over the banquet hall when they knew far in advanced that a wedding was booked directly below. We had such a short time in Monterey and I really feel that the hotel disregarded our concerns and certainly did not provided us with the experience that we payed for. I cant in good conscience recommend that anyone stay here. Its a beautiful building, and a wonderful location but if youre there when there is a party or convention, youre just going to have to live with noise. This hotel doesnt seem to value the individual traveler or family as much as its banquet and convention business. I wanted to update my review. The hotel has contacted me and apologized and resolved this issue to my satisfaction.

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