The room was a little on the small size but it was “cozy”  It had a great balcony.  Large with 2 chairs and a table.  I really liked the decor.  Its a nice dark colored wood (real) and well you can see from the pictures below how nice its is.

The bathroom was small, but in 2 pieces.  shower in one room, and washroom in the next.  L’Occitane bath and body products, free internet, and free parking. Bed was comfy and in general the room was nice.

On the bed they leave you a large Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie which was really tasty.  You can order some to take with you but its faster when you order during the day.  If its the evening they aren’t baking anymore .

The hotel is down the street from a lot of shops.  I wish i had more time because I noticed a lot of lively looking places and the hotel told me some of the restaurants have “wine tasting” from some of the local vineyards.

This was such a short stay that I feel I’ll have to stay here again and test out some of the amenities to give a better review.  I heard they have a great restaurant on property and a spa.  I wasn’t clear if the hotel ran the spa or they were recommending a spa.  Anyway next time I’m in the San Jose area I’ll definitely make it a point to come back to The Toll House and stay a bit longer.

I was pissed! I stomped over to the desk, lugging my luggage behind me (even though I had to take it up and down some stairs to sit in the lobby, none of the hotel staff offered to help me) I go over there with a definite attitude I will admit. I think I gave the front desk clerk such a dirty look she was startled. I asked how long my room had been ready and she couldn’t tell me but she apologized that they had forgotten to call me when it was ready. I grab my keys and head up to the room.

It was nice and spacious with a big commercial grade treadmill. I took a deep breath I wasn’t going to let a bad beginning taint the whole trip which had started out on such a high (free upgrade to first class on US Airways & then free upgrade to a tricked out rental car by National Car rental). As I settled in I got a call from the front desk apologizing again for the long wait and offering to send me a bottle of champagne. Nice touch! Unfortunately, since they were so busy that almost 3 hours later the champagne hadn’t arrived and I had to call down to the front desk for it. I asked them for a bottle of red instead since i’m not a champagne drinker unless its mixed with orange juice LOL.

After that I settled into the room, ready to sit back, order some food and drink my wine. Except the treadmill was just staring at me in the face. It knew once I settled in I wouldn’t jump on and work out, so I put the wine aside and changed into my workout clothes and enjoyed a nice jog / walk on the treadmill. Then a few isometric exercises on the exercise ball. Yep this room was truly a workout room. In addition to the treadmill you have a balance ball, weights, a few workout books and a Pilates DVD. I really enjoyed having the DVD player in the room. Not just for the Pilates workout but since I had a few DVD’s with me I enjoyed watching my favorite show while jogging.

All in all the room was a typical Westin room, it was a suite sized room, unique to this room ( or maybe just this hotel) was a small room adjacent to the main room. I was thinking it was perfect size for yoga or stretching but not really close to the t.v if u are using a DVD.

The T.V was really large. I would say somewhere around 50 inches. The room had a desk area but what I found disappointing was there was no refrigerator. I called down for one but since the hotel was so full there was no refrigerators available. I would think for a workout room where you know the person will probably drink a lot of water, you would automatically have a refrigerator in the room.

There is no street parking available for overnight guest. If you have people visiting they should valet if they will be staying with your or staying late. I had a mixed experience with the Valet service here too. On the one hand, after my first night I drove over to Old Town Pasadena to walk around and tour the area. After leaving the hotel and finding parking, I got out and realized there was a HUGE scratch on the driver-side passenger door. I was really shocked and about to head right back to the hotel but my friend said, its too late you left the property. Well when I got back I was pissed about it, mad mostly at myself for not checking the car before getting in. I talked to Valet about it anyway and they said they would send up an incident report. I didn’t think it would go anywhere but the following morning I dropped off the report. The Valet manager called and we talked about what happened. He asked me if I was sure it happened on property and I assured him I was. He said they had some things that could get scratches out and would I mind if they tried to get it out. I said go ahead, better than taking it back to the rental company that way. Well when I went to go pick up the car, I couldn’t even find the scratch and believe me I was looking hard! So while I didn’t like finding the scratches and spent a lot of time worrying about how much the rental car was going to charge me for the scratch. To really happy that not only did they  NOT say too bad you drove away, but they took my word for it and fixed the damage.

In the final analyze I would say this is a nice hotel but too busy for my taste. Maybe its the season, but it seemed like non-stop weddings which tended to make service very slow. The room was nice and spacious and I couldn’t hear anyone in the rooms nearby, but anytime someone was in the hallway, I could hear them clearly.

When I got to my sisters room I was surprised to see it wasn’t a suite.  We both have platinum status with Starwood and I had called ahead to see if there were suites available.   When they had asked if I wanted to book it, I said no but i wanted to make sure that our platinum number was on file so that when she checked in they would be able to upgrade the room.  I was told it was done by availability at time of check in.  the regular spiel, but in this case I learned that they DO NOT provide suite upgrades to Platinum members even if they are available. They will (if the rooms are available) move you from a resort view room to a pool view (which is actually a BEAUTIFUL view) we got that upgrade. And the room was nice enough with 2 queen sized beds and a HUGE balcony.  I unfortunately had work to do as soon as I got there, so my sister took her kids down to the beach.

In order to get to the beach you have to take a tram.  Its an EXTREMELY long walk.  Unfortunately the hotel doesn’t have enough trams running.  A large line forms and some people are very polite and wait their turn while some rush the tram as soon as it arrives and try to by pass the line.  As the week went on I heard horror stories from some of the other guest of waiting in lines for the trams upwards of 45 mins. On one such occasion my sister and her kids choose to walk back instead of to continue to wait.  She told me one of the men there had asked the driver to send 2 or 3 trams down so that everyone would be able to get back to the hotel when the next trams arrived.  Of course when the tram came, there was only 1 and at the most you can 2 or 3 families at a time. A max of 15 people basically.  Anyway my sister realized it would be 2 or 3 more trams before she and the kids could get on so she decided she could walk instead of wait the hour to hour and a half for the tram.

The long wait was a pain, but the beach itself was beautiful and not crowded since it was frequented mostly by the hotel guest.  They have a restaurant down there which quite frankly was one of the better on the property.  The cheeseburger was really good. The Chicken Caesar Salad was a bit dry.

The food on property was pretty poor.  Our first night we ordered room service and I ordered the spaghetti with three meat meatballs.  I really expected something wonderful and was shocked when after a few bites i realized that this spaghetti dish tasted alot like what would come out of a can!  The sauce tasted EXACTLY like Chef Boy-r-dee!  It was gross and cost almost $30 with all the fees and gratuity added on it.

We decided that maybe it was just the room service food that sucked and went down to dinner the next day at Motif.  Thats where i found out the bad food came from.  We went down around 6:30 and didnt’ leave until after 9pm!  My sister had to send back 2 meals!  The first dish my sister had asked if there were lots of mushrooms in the sauce and the waiter said no, barely any,  but when it came there were a LOT of mushrooms and she sent it back.  On the next dish she asked for, it was a Cheese tortellini, what came out of the kitchen was an artichoke concoction.  The waiter said it was a tortellini stuffed with artichoke hearts, onions and some other thing.  My sister HATES artichokes. We asked for the menu and re-read what it said.  NOWHERE did it say artichoke stuffed tortellini  we called the waiter over again and he said he wasn’t sure why the cook made the tortellini that way and took it back to the kitchen.  My sister finally choose the salmon, sure that they couldn’t mess that up. When it finally arrived most of the other dinners had left and my sister got it to go since my niece had fallen asleep at the table as we waited and waited and waited.  I was SHOCKED when the bill came and my sisters meal had not been comped.  They made a point of pointing out to us that we would not be charged for the other 2 meals.  We were all so tired we didn’t make a fuss, but my sister made a point of going to the front desk and canceling the kids club meals that she had prepaid.  We would not be darkening the doorstep of Motif again!

We ate Stonehill Tavern a few nights later and really liked it.  I ordered the Jidori chicken for two which was really good.  The food was taking a little long to come out of the kitchen and the chef sent out a complementary cheese and tomato dish (not sure what it was called) but it was really tasty and a few mins later the main dish came out.  It ended up that the Jidori chicken takes some time to cook and since we came kind of late I think they didn’t have one prepared.  Anyway it was a really good meal and the only restaurant on property that I would recommend.

If you guessed from my first paragraph that something would go wrong with my car, you guessed right!  Everyday as a thank you to my sister I would take the kids to breakfast at ihop we ate at the hotel only 1 day.  The kids liked it but for me paying over $30 for an omelet that was just ok wasn’t worth it.  I was really glad when my sister canceled the kids club I didn’t want to spend that kind of money each morning for something I probably wouldn’t pay more than $10 for anywhere else! Anyway I would take them to Ihop which is their favorite pancake place and luckily it was less than 5 miles from the hotel.  Every time i went to valet to get my car I would notice that the little rubber cover over my foot brake would be on the floor.  When I brought this to the valets attention he gave me an over the shoulder sorry and went on his way.  Another valet saw me starring at it and told me it was a quick fix and put it back for me and apologized again.  I got in and took the kids to Ihop, brought them back and then left to go down to the production company down in Laguna beach.   I drove around all day and the rubber cover never came off.  The next morning when we were leaving for breakfast, guess what was on the floor again,  and again I got an apology and a quick fix and we left.  Again I had a full day and it never came off the rest of the day.  Guess what happened the next morning….yep it was on the floor again.  This time I stopped the valet and told him, look,  my car isn’t the best one here on the lot, but its MINE and if anyone is going to destroy it, it should be me, not their staff!  I told him what was happening and I wanted it to stop!  So he fixed it again and he comped the valet fee for the days we had been there so far (nope they weren’t so sorry that they would comp it for the whole stay).  From that day forward, the rubber cover wasn’t on the floor when we would get the car.  It just so annoying knowing that now it could happen again (although the cover hasn’t come off again) I have no idea what those guys in valet were doing, but I know they were not treating my car with the utmost care.   So think about taking a rental there instead of your own baby!

All in all we had a good time doing things off property.  We didn’t eat to much there and when i would be in the room working I used that great service grubhub.com to order food.  I found a great place, NY’S Upper Crust Pizza, that would deliver to the hotel.  They serve HUGE portions of food.  I had spaghetti and homemade meatballs.  It was DELICIOUS.  I ordered something called Pinwheels for the kids.  In my mind it would be these small little appetizers.  They were really quite large in all actuality. It was dough layered with cheeses then dough then cheese or the filling of your choice.  It was SOOO good i couldn’t believe they were charging $4 for them!  I ordered them a cheese, a spinach, and a sausage.   They were so large we were all able to share them.  After all the bad food we had received at the St. Regis we laughed at how good the food from the Upper Crust was!  My order of spaghetti with meatballs, and extra side of their homemade meatballs and 3 pinwheels came to about $30 including delivery & tip!

My experience here makes me wonder why the St. Regis has such a good reputation.  I will never stay at this brand again.  Every other night we had to call them to bring us soap.  I mean every day they cleaned the room and it never occurred to them that we need more soap even when I throw the soap bottle in the trash! Did they expect us to wash with the shampoo?

The experience of the beach, beautiful golf course (although this course was really hard and not really for the beginner you should be able to do 9 holes in 2 hours, it took us almost double that) and location were almost overshadowed by bad service, bad food, and an un caring attitude. I went on trip advisor after our trip and found more than 1 review that pretty much mirrored my experience here.  Some people said it was just this particular St Regis that sucks, but for the price the value isn’t there.  My sister doesn’t mind paying for luxury but even she said that if she looked at it like was this trip worth the money spent based on the service received at the hotel, she would have to say no.  But if you look at the location, the beach, beautiful golf course,  the surrounding areas, how close it is to San Diego and such and base it on EXPERIENCES then it is.

Probably in two months I will need to go back to the Laguna area to check on the process of the videos and I won’t be staying here.  At one point I actually went down to the Marriott down the road to scope out rooms, we were that unhappy with the service at the St. Regis.

If you do stay here, do so at your own risk!  Some tips to make it more affordable,

• Buy the kids club that will cover your kids meals but be prepared for poor service and bad food.
• Become acquainted with www.grubhub.com you will save a ton and get good food
• Check out the surrounding areas, my sister went to the spa 3 times and I nearly choked on what she spent.  I on the other hand, I went down the road to get my nails done before going to the production company and my mani – pedi cost less than the tip she left for her massage!
• A great restaurant in the area is Sapphire its down in Lauguna beach, great place to eat out, enjoy the weather and is kid friendly
• Bring good walking shoes just encase you need to walk back from the beach to the St. Regis
• Be prepared for everything to be really expensive and have mandatory tips for the subpar service
• Don’t forget to use your AAA card.  Sometimes they will have sales that will include free breakfast for two (worthless) and free Valet parking
• Don’t forget there is a Ritz Carlton across the street.  While it is more expensive the service there I here is top notch so you will get what you pay for there.

I’m a Starwood girl all the way, but in this case, on my next trip out to Laguna beach, I’ll be staying at the Marriott up the road.

I had high hopes for the Chaminade Resort & Spa located in Santa Cruz. The company I was meeting with highly recommended them for a nice relaxing 3 night stay. By the time I finished work for the day, my client dropped me off at the Chaminade around 9pm. I had booked their room with one queen bed. For some reason I ended up in a room with 2 queen beds. Normally I would have called about it, since I didn’t need the extra bed and I was hoping the 1 queen bed rooms would have bigger bathrooms. But at the Chaminade, the lobby is in one building and you have to drive to your room. Since my client had driven me there and then was nice enough to wait while I checked in so he could drive me to my room. I didn’t feel like walking back to the main lobby with my luggage, getting a new room, then walking to that new room. Fine, I would deal with it, but while the room was large the bathroom was EXTREMELY small. I mean claustrophobic small. Think stall with a full size tub.

The bed was comfortable but not on the caliber of a Starwood, Marriott or Hilton bed. I was actually thankful for the 2 beds because one of them had a HUGE dip in the middle. When i went to lie down, I rolled right into it. So I switched to the other bed.

Usually when I stay in a hotel I stay at the top floor, never the ground especially when there is a patio that leads out and faces woods.  Unfortunately they don’t have elevators and my client while kind, piped up that he would prefer I stayed on the first floor since if I choose the 2nd floor he would need to lug my luggage up for me.  So first floor it was.

I had heard a lot about the Chaminade’s restaurant and since by now it was close to 10 and I didn’t want to walk to the main lobby ( I was told the restaurant was open till 11pm)  I ordered a burger from room service.  I ordered it cooked medium.  It came back EXTREMELY well done.  Almost hard.  As you can see from the photo below there was nothing special about this burger, but when a burger cost $23 you really do expect it to taste at least decent.  To be fair, it was late at night and maybe their good cooks only work regular hours, but the food was another disappointment.

What I did like about the Chaminade was the color scheme.  It was really nice rustic feel to it.  I love a place with a balcony / patio so you can sit out and enjoy the weather.  The air smells like Eucalyptus and in the morning when I left I really got a chance to look at the grounds. Yes you read that right, I decided to leave and check into another local hotel.  For the price I was paying I didn’t feel like I was getting very much value.  I definitely didn’t feel like this was a “resort”, but then some people have accused me of being a diva LOL!  Now I will confess a guilty little secret.  I LOVE taking the soaps and shampoos at the hotels I stay at.  I have a great collection of Bliss products from Starwood hotels, Marriotts products aren’t that great and I do leave those behind.  Here they don’t set out little bottles of anything.  In the shower there are 3 bottles attached to the wall one with soap, one with shampoo and one full of conditioner.  Nothing to take home  They had a little thing of body lotion and thats it.

Well thats my review of the Chaminade.  Would I stay here again, probably not.  I think if you are in the Santa Cruz area and you are there looking for a nice place to stay while you hike or go to the beach.  Then this is a nice rest stop.

If you are looking for a luxury get away.  This isn’t it.  They do have a spa on property that maybe nice, I didn’t get a chance to try it. But to me luxury goes far beyond having a spa on the property.  Its the amenities, the room, the staff etc.  When I checked (again it was late at night so maybe during the day its different)  The rushed out the door not to greet me and take the bags, but to tell me to keep the bags in the car since we would need to drive to the room.  I guess they don’t have a golf cart or anything to take me.  My client said no problem he would wait while I checked in, but I knew his wife was waiting for him rather impatiently from the way she kept texting.  Anyway, I would have to say this is a 3 star hotel.  Its clean and comfortable but not the Luxury Resort they advertise.

I got a great deal on an ocean view room (AAA $242 a night). Really nice room, but i felt a little crowded. What I mean is there wasn’t a lot of “free” space for those of us that like to get up and do some exercising. Its location makes up for the small size though. I loved walking up and down the pier.

Furniture was nice and was quality. The bellman told me that a lot of the units are privately owned and the hotel rents them out when the owners are not in residence. There is a small cabinet that is locked in the room, he said thats full of “personal” belongings of the owners, but its kind of small. My thoughts are they probably don’t leave anything valuable in it.

Regardless I loved the balcony and sat out there for a while just enjoying the sun , the view, and people watching. It was a quick walk to the pier and all kinds of great little restaurants.

The service was good, the rooms clean and the amenities really nice. I’m totally sold now on Aveda products! I didn’t call for room service here because there were sooo many restaurants within walking distance.

I found the bed to be a bit small for a King sized bed and a little hard, but still comfortable. I loved the little kitchen since I tend to eat half my food and take the rest back with me. Most of the time I have to throw out the left overs but since this suite had a partial kitchen (2 burners, refrigerator and a microwave) I was able to actually store and eat them later.

My first day there when I arrived their room service was not available.  After driving for about an hour I was too tired to walk around the beach looking for a good spot to eat.  Thats when I discovered a site called grubhub.com. You just put your current address in and it will find all the restaurants that deliver in your area. It also has reviews so you can see what others say about it before you order.  I usually have it arrange itself in order of best reviewed.  Anyway grubhub.com isn’t nationwide yet, but they have an iphone app that I use all the time as I travel.

Perks here are the free wifi. Parking is $20 something a night but they are really quick about getting your car. I liked the little refrigerator in the room and little stove top for cooking.  This hotel has become one of my favorites in California and I can’t wait to have another mastermind in that area so I have an excuse to book a few nights here again!

I LOVED this place! I was lucky enough to get upgraded to their WOW suite and boy did it deliver! It was huge, comfy and very nicely decorated. It had 2 window seats with what seemed like a twin sized mattress in them with some comfy pillows. Perfect for taking a nap and relaxing in. I had friends up to the room and even w/ 6 guys and 2 ladies everyone fit comfortably on the couch or in the closest window seat.

Service was wonderful, but I’ve come to expect that at a W. The room service was good and fast, also available 24 hours a day. We had drinks at Drai’s one night and the drinks were great and the atmosphere was fun, perfect way to kick off a conference.

The location is really good too.  Within walking distance there are alot of GREAT restaurants.  You never know who you will run into either at this hotel.  As I was leaving Keifer Sutherland (of 24 and Lost Boys fame) was also leaving the hotel.  I’m not a star watcher but was pleasantly surprised to run into him.

I valeted but I noticed there was some (very limited) parking on the street and it also looked like a big parking lot across the street (not sure if that belongs to the W or is a public space)
All in all I really didn’t want to check out when it came time to leave! Loved this place and would be back again.

I make it my room and order room service. Their Chicken Panini sandwich. When it arrived it was cold and the bread wasn’t even toasted let alone pressed in a panini press. I sent it back and they brought me another sandwich. This one was pressed and the cheese somewhat melted but it was dripping grease. I just threw it out and went to the Subway up the road. If that wasn’t enough, I open the minibar to find it 1/2 empty. I call down to the front desk to ask them to come do an inventory. I didn’t want to be stuck w/ someone else’s bill. They wouldn’t come. The rep asked me what was missing, I told her I had no idea, but i could see several empty spots and in most cases you see 2 of everything in the fridge but not in this case. Anyway, they said just by my calling that was enough for them to know not to charge me for the missing items. So far (its been 2 days) they haven’t charged me for anything from the minibar but they haven’t refunded my money for the bad sandwich either.

Except for the poor service the hotel is older, but still comfortable. The location is great, really close to the mall with a walkway that will take you there. The location is the only good thing about this place. I ended up being in the area longer than expected but switched hotels as soon as I could. I stayed at The Hotel Hanford, which was a breath of fresh air after the bad service I received from the Westin. Look for my review of that property, if you are looking for great service, really nice rooms and lots of great FREE amenities (parking and wifi) check out that hotel!

I will definitely be visiting Costa Mesa again, but I will never grace the Westin South Coast with my presence or money again! Sorry, didn’t take pics.  Nothing special about this place, its older than most of the hotels I’ve stayed at and the furniture was just standard.

Update: I posted this review on tripadvisor and the management responded

Management response from CostaMesaWestin, Manager

(Management representative)

Jan 2, 2011

“W” stands for Wow! The W is fast becoming my favorite SPG brand.  I was here for a business networking and training event and really not familiar with this particular brand.  I’ve stayed at the W in Atlanta (review to come) and honestly thought it was nice, but I wouldn’t stay there again.

This hotel was NICE!  I got my platinum upgrade and they put me in the Spectacular Suite.  It has a HUGE living area (see pics below) and separate bedroom.  Its 650 sq feet with this huge L shaped couch that was really comfortable.  It had large flat screen t.v , a small glass desk and small minibar in the living room.  The room was well lit and had a bank of windows that you could adjust how much light was coming in by adjusting the wooden plantation shutters.  I LOVE plantation shutters, want them in my own house but they can be a bit pricey .

The bedroom wasn’t really large, but it was comfortable.  It had a large built-in dresser and flat screen t.v.  As always the bed was very comfortable.  Even though this was a suite, the bathroom was kind of small.  Not complaining.  I loved how large the main living space was.

The restaurant was good but a bit pricey.  I went in and just had wine and an appetizer since the deal i booked included a food credit.

You have to valet your car, there is very limited street parking and you can waste a lot of time trying to find it.  You also have to pay for internet.

Overall, this is a great hotel.  The room was so comfortable I really didn’t want to attend the mixer!  Staying in, ordering pizza and watching a movie with co-workers would have been a lot of fun.

W actaully stands for their level of service.  ”Whatever, Whenever”.  You can really ask them to get you anything you want (as long as its legal) and they will get it for you.   If I ever have another function in Westwood, this will be my place to stay!

The  U.S. Grant is part of Starwoods luxury collection…and boy did it live up to its name!  I was just in San Diego for 1 night to meet with one of our business coaches on a new telemarketing campaign we are rolling out in 2010.  I got to stay here in one of their 28 signature suites.  Here is the description from their website.

Offering a sophisticated, self-contained stay, our 770-square-foot Signature Suites—with views of either downtown San Diego or the hotel’s rooftop garden—are a top choice of discerning guests. The spacious and open floor plan comprises a dining area complete with a four-person table. Adjoining the dining area is the spacious living room lit by an exquisite chandelier and equipped with a refreshment center….you can read the rest by clicking here for their site

I stayed here for $32+tax! Yes you read that right!  $32 bucks!  SPG ran a promotion that if you have 4 stays within a certain amount of time you get a free night.  So I had that promotion running on my account and decided to use my free stay for the 1 night I would be in San Diego.  The $32 was for parking.

This hotel was great!  It was perfect for our meeting and was within walking distance of some great restaurants and Horton Plaza (a HUGE outdoor shopping center) is directly across the street, so was NBC san diego, which if I had more time I would have visited them both!

The room has 2 king sized beds that were SOOOO comfortable!  Usually I say I love the beds at Starwood properties but at this hotel the feature I loved the most was the HUGE shower!  It was like a small bedroom!  The shower had 6 heads in a “T” formation.  I loved it.  It also had seating LOL!  You can kind of see the seating from the pic I took.  I should have opened the glass door and THEN took the pic.  Sorry for the quality!

This room had 2 flatscreen t.vs.  One in the “bedroom” area and one in the “living room” area.  The one in the living room had an optional Boise sound system!  Loved listening to T.v thru their surround sound system!  I think I’m going to look into getting myself a system for my house!

The service here was great too!  I got back late from dinner and I wanted to put my own water and juices in the mini bar.  I had called earlier and had the mini bar emptied and as I put my own water and juice in I noticed it was kind of warm inside the mini bar.  I called down to the front desk to see what  could be done and was pleasantly surprised when they had someone up in my room to fix the problem only a few minutes later!  Did I mention it was already after 1 am Monday morning!

Those hotel was elegant and luxurious and if you get the opportunity to stay here I would suggest you do so!  If you are a SPG elite member keep an eye out for their stay 4 nights and get 1 free.  There is no price ceiling on these offers so even if the night is over $300 like it would have been if I had paid full price for this room, you get it for free.  You do have to book it thru their reservations service though and is not available online.

The Ayres Hotel & Suites is a really nice boutique hotel. The style of furniture here is French Provincial. The hotel room was really comfortable but it wasn’t really my style of hotel. It felt like its more for a romantic weekend get-away then a hotel meant for the business traveler.

Things I liked about this hotel.

• Was close to the freeway – being close to a major freeway made this hotel really easy to find
• Was really comfortable – was a nice change of pace from the usual hotels I stay at
• FREE parking
• FREE internet
• Small bar area that had a mini fridge

I liked the hotel but the location was a little tricky to get to if you mistakenly drove past the hotel entrance. The road its on is one way. If you pass the entrance you have to drive quite a distance to get to the point where you can around and go back. Also the parking lot tended to get full at night. I felt lucky to get a space.

The hotel had a lot of beautiful paintings hung all over the property. It was nice to just walk around and spend time down in the lobby. It also had a beautiful courtyard that you could sit and read in or order dinner from the restaurant.

If you are in Costa Mesa, this is a good choice for a couple, but if you are here on business you may want to stay at the Hanford Hotel, or the Marriot (reviews to come shortly)