Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach

Stayed at this resort with husband and two teenagers at this property for 2 nights. As a Diamond member I had two reward nights that I claimed to stay at this luxurious property. This was considered a staycation as we are from southern California. I inquired about a Diamond upgrade and was denied. Received Food and Beverage Credit daily. The setting: Amazing setting on the coast. Expansive grounds with manicured, matured greenery. The property has a very “old money” grandiose aesthetics. However, every is very welcoming and warm. The service: All staff was extremely welcoming and helpful. Monarch Beach Club is a must. The property has shuttles running regularly to the beach. This ride in itself is a treat, as it has expansive views of the golf course and beach. You may eat the their restaurant, order to go and eat at one of their first come first serve fire pits or just walk on the beach. This was a real treat. The room: Well appointed and clean rooms. We had 2 queens. Muted serene colors were very inviting and calming. The food: Optimal eating option. You can have a casual drink and tapas at their bar, have a fancy upscale dinner at their steakhouse or pick up some thing fast and casual at there grab and go cafe. The extras: Valet parking is $70. Recommendation: I most defiantly recommend this resort. As this is a 5 star property expect to pay 5 star prices. Read less

Pros: 1. Private beach, never crowded. Provided towels, chairs, umbrellas, kids toys and even help to set them up! Amazing! 2. Beautiful and large grass area for kids to run around. Our children loved it! 3. Room service was super quick and great! Love it! Cons: 1. Pool is tiny and so cold! They need to heat it up with higher temperature… 2. Food was just ok. We were probably just spoiled by hotels in Europe where many have Michelin star… we tried the steak house and they over cooked the wagyu !!! What? How could a steak house mess up the steak? We had kids so we didn’t want to complain… The restaurant at the beach turned out to have much better food… 3. Checkout lady with blond bob cut and an injured finger was kinda rude. We wanted to max out the benefits on our cards so we used a few cards to pay, I think the card reader timed out. My husband told her it was the car reader not our cards but she was arguing and short temper and didn’t want to restart the card reader or try a new one. My recommendation is to just do your job and as long as you get paid. Read less

This property is beautiful with well manicured gardens (although they do have artificial grass in some parts which is quite a shame). Highlights: -Food was good in all restaurants but the steak at Bourbon was the star of the show -One of the best gyms I have been to in a hotel -Renovated and very clean room -Service was overall good -Tram service to the beach was very frequent Flaws: -No adults only pool. Both pools are an absolute chaos which kids and parents shouting and playing ball so if you want to relax by the pool, this is not the hotel for you -Lack of adults only spaces overall. With a property this size, adults without kids should have at least a couple of options -Valet parking is 70 dollars a night for guests which I find quite excessive -It gets extremely busy on weekends Read less

There are many things to love about this hotel, but too many issues to give it a 4 or 5 star review. We have stayed there several times and this was our most recent stay. One of the biggest issues is the check in (and check out) process. We arrived on a Saturday and there was a fairly long line. After waiting in line, one of our 3 rooms was ready, but the others weren't. No problem...it was well before checking. The problem is that once your room is ready, you may be forced to wait in the same long line.....they have no provision to just pick up your key. At a 5 star hotel, this is quite a big flaw. We have mentioned this issue in the past and they have never addressed it. The same issue goes for check out....but then it gets worse. There was a huge line (same as the check in line) when we departed, so I spoke to a bellman and he said they would email the bill (which they did...but in pieces) and there were a few errors. So I called and was told the billing department didn't have the bill in the system, so they tried to transfer me to the front desk. But there was a long wait. No problem...I just asked that someone called me back. No one did. So I called again the next day. Same thing. You have to talk to the front desk. I asked for a call back....I am still waiting. As far as the billing issues go, one was the fact that I said my grandson MIGHT stay in our room (he was in a different room with his dad). We had a huge suite we had (paid) to upgrade to. No problem, they said, we will send a rollaway up. Which they did. I didn't need it, and the next day I asked them to pick it up (which they did). BUT, they charged $100 for 2 nights of a rollaway (they never mentioned a charge, and they just sent it up when I said that I might need it). The food is VERY expensive....but I guess you can check that before you go. The beach club is beautiful, and we went there for lunch and waited an hour for our food, and our drinks never came. Overall a very mixed experience. The location is great, and most of the staff is very good, but there are some easy fixes which they seem to be unwilling to implement. Read less

What a great place to stay. The room was very nice. Upon arrival the service level was 100% also the frontoffice employees where very friendly and as a hilton honors gold member we did receive a complementary upgrade to a higher room type. Also a daily f&b credit of $25 pp per day. Very nice. The resort have great options for hiking and walking arround the property. Also the shuttle tram to the beach was a great perk. Loved the turndown service. Only point of critique is that the servers in the lobby bar where not very friendly. We found on the daily calendar that there is a complementary sunset drink at the terrace, the lady seemed very annoyed when we asked how this worked, i did not feel comfortable after i asked, the lady treated us after this as the cheap folks visiting the WA. This was a bummer on a very nice stay. Read less