Angela B.
Yelp
My husband and I had two rewards nights that were set to expire soon and decided to use them for a stay at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach. We chose this resort because it is listed as one of the best places to use rewards certificates and it is driving distance from Los Angeles. The resort is beautiful and almost everyone working at the resort was super friendly. The only exceptions were the lady in the valet booth (although the actual valets were very nice), and the woman who checked us out. When we went to check out on Sunday, the woman was not friendly at all and acted like we disturbed her by letting her know we were checking out.
Check-in was great though. We arrived a few hours before check -in and we were able to get in our room. Since we are Diamond members, we asked about an upgrade. We were provided an upgrade but it was just to a bigger room and not a better view. We still had a basic garden view. It was fine but after hearing a waitress at the Monarch Beach Club mention how slow they were that weekend, we wondered why an ocean view was not offered. No big deal but it would have been nice. On our walk to the room we notice the carpets were not that clean (crumbs and trash). In our room we had chip crumbs on the floor and an empty sinus pill package on the floor in the bathroom. We are not big complainers so we just cleaned it up and headed to the pool to eat. I only mention those cleanliness items since if someone is paying $900 a night for a room, they might be upset to find these items in their room.
We sat by the firepit at the main pool and ordered lunch and drinks. Service was great. We then walked to Club 19 for a drink. The view was great, the service was fine. That night we took the cute trolly to eat at The Monarch Bay Beach Club. Jon, one of the trolly drivers was great and provided some information about the resort. At the restaurant, even though we had reservations (and requested a window seat), they say us in an overflow area. It was fine but strange since this is where the waitress said they were slow. Service was great though, just the atmosphere wasn't as nice.
We took the trolly back and were excited about the live music at 33 North. The musician was talented although 33 North is a lobby bar and the musician did not look thrilled about playing there. She played the keyboard and sang and didn't interact with the crowd at all and would take breaks and not let anyone know when or if she was coming back. We stayed for one drink and went back to our room.
The next day we went on a walk on their walking path around the golf course and down to the beach. On the way back we stopped for a very friendly and yummy breakfast at a little place on the golf course (even though it is on the resort property, it is not on their website). I recommend checking this out for a friendly, casual, great breakfast.
I met a friend for lunch at the Aveo Table + Bar. We made reservations and were able to sit outside. We were celebrating her birthday and they acknowledged this with a yummy dessert! Service was excellent and the food and drinks were excellent. That night my husband I went back for dinner there and sat at the bar.
Even with the free rewards night, for the two nights we ended up spending close to 1k on food, drinks and parking (we are not big drinkers or eaters although food and drinks are not cheap!). Parking is $70 a day (on top of a resort fee). We did not receive any type of welcome gift and even though the pamphlet mentions an amenity for eating at certain establishments (we ate at both), we were never offered an amenity but we also didn't ask. Would we stay again? Maybe. It is a good halfway point to meet my friend who lives in San Diego although a few things were lacking for the price point.