Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay

From check in all the way to check out, the experience was disappointing. When I first arrived, staff was unwelcoming. Not a single welcome or how are you in sight. As if it wasn’t enough that I dropped a lot of money for the room but I also had to pay $25 for parking per night along with, a deposit that was not specified on their website. On top of that, the pictures on their website did not look at all like the rooms. I was expecting a room with a view but instead, I got a room all the way in the middle of nowhere and the view was of the other neighbors. Getting to the room each night was like a maze. No house keeping unless requested and no room service. The AC was hardly working and the WIFI was horrible. The patio had no privacy as well. The pool and hot tub was completely over run by children. I will say, it was a good location… very close to the pier but that is the only good thing about this hotel. When I checked out, it was almost as if they were pushing me out. No “how was your stay” or anything like that. I tried to complain to the front desk but no one was there. Unfortunately, I will not be coming back here.

It was comfy, clean and the staff was accommodating. They put us near the pool and I had a friend and her kids make a last minute trip to meet us and they were able to get her a room and put them across from us. I was so grateful!

Great stay for our family. Wish we could stay longer.

This hotel has a great location. It’s nice you can walk to the warf or downtown (just a block or two in either direction). We’ve booked through hotels.com and had a wonderful room with a decent view when we booked a standard room. This time the room was just ok and it was a major trek to get to with a toddler and all of his stuff. My toddler was playing with the tv remote and ordered a movie ( that we didn’t watch) The staff was very nice and removed the charge without question.

You are paying a high price because of the location not because of the quality. I expected top of the line on everything but was disappointed upon checkin. I told the front desk agent I have a newborn and that it was our first time staying with them. No consideration was given for parking! He put us in the 600 rooms located what i felt was a mile away from the parking garage with no view. Even though we checked in on a Tuesday! We had to pay for parking at 22 dollars a day plus a 50 dollar dog fee. So on top of your normal nightly fee you have to pay resort style fees.. again location location location. This hotel is located downtown across from the main street in monterey.

This is our most favorite place to stay when in Monterey. A few things I was disappointed in, When I went to take a shower on our 1st day of the trip there was no shower gel in the container. It was completely empty. I had to call housekeeper but they brought a new container immediately. There were used tissues under the sink cabinet from previous guests. Family in the next room were very lound and the kids kept trying to open our adjoining door. Management did speak to them and no other issues the rest of the trip. We had a great time relaxing in the pool area. Even with these issues I will stay there again. It’s a beautiful place. The guys at the Valet area are amazing and very helpful. Big shout out to Art in Vallet area who remembers us from all our trips there.

I love this hotel. It’s beautiful, clean, and close to everything! It’s a great place to come with family.

The property really had a ‘resort’ feel about it. The outdoor area between the main building/lobby and the annex with the pool/parking/gym had lots of outdoor seating, eating options and pier access. Rey in the dining room was excellent and it was fun watching him interact with kids/ guests at other tables. Excellent wait staff if not easy to find these days, he’s a keeper! An early morning visit to the pool/hot tub was really pleasant as well.

Front desk staff was very welcoming, pleasant, and helpful. Beautiful and comfortable lobby area with plenty of seating, a reading room with a selection of art and design books, and a computer and printing room my kids loved. The property is so welcoming for dogs and I was happy to see so many well-behaved guest dogs with their owners throughout the hotel. The property is SO much closer to Fisherman’s Wharf than I had realized and surrounded by a wide variety of dining snd shopping options. The beds and pillows are SO comfortable and the room was unexpectedly quiet. It’s one of the quitest nights I’ve had in a hotel room ever. Spacious bathroom, nice lighting options in the room. We did not use the pool but it looked great and we’ll try it out next time we visit.

Fabulous for families. Upscale casual.