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By the Sea Inn
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$$
5 reviews for By the Sea Inn
I stayed here with my Special Lady Friend not more than a few weeks ago. It's close to the Royal Hawaiian and Las Brisas and in the off season it's a good deal. About $120 with AAA discount for the cheapest non-ocean view room.
The place was recently renovated and they did a spectacular job. Outside they simply repainted it in nice beige and brown tones that look more modern that old. Inside our room they'd added all new modern and simple dark hardwood furniture as well as a nice sized flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. Vastly improved accommodations for a very affordable price.
The pool is the same but the patio furniture is all new. The hot tub is still there, but seats only about 4-6. Also nice in the off season.
For comparison: down PCH we used to stay for about the same price at the Capri Laguna, which is actually on the beach, but can be assaulted by bass coming from the joint next door. Capri's rooms are fair... they have little fridges and TVs but the place is starting to show it's age.
By the way, I believe the Royal Hawaiian has gone the way of Trader Vic's BH and the Lava Lounge: closed/remodled/gone. I know, the place will be re-opened but will likely be Sharkeez Laguna. My kingdom for a Lapu-Lapu!
I'll say this, it's pretty clean, and it's obvious they did some renovation recently, so the inside of the room was ok..... but I'm less than pleased with what I actually got.
Decided to make a last minute run to Laguna for the weekend with my wife, and have never stayed on this side of the 133... Normally stay down at the Surf and Sand - pricey, but you wake up to the sounds of the ocean right outside your room.
When I called last night to prep the last minute trip, spoke to a guy, and explained that while I understood this wasn't right on the beach, I was wondering if he had any rooms that had ocean views. He said they were up on the hill, directly over the ocean, and had a room with a view of it right over our balcony and he said, "You can hear the sounds of all that Laguna Beach offers from your room at night"..... What he should've stated was that the room had an obstructed view over the balcony, which is actually the walkway outside our room, and I'd be privy to the sounds of traffic, the tv in the next room and the frat boys around the corner. That girl wasn't kidding in her review when she said you had to lean over the railing to see the water. The only water you'll really see from here is if you stare down at the pool.
There also wasn't a single parking spot to be had in the place. Every spot was taken (lot is obviously used by the public), and some wedding party getting baked in the back end of the lot. I asked at check-in where to park, and he asked me to park on the street, and he would make a note that someone needs to wake me up before 8am when the meter goes active.
Not sure what my wife and I were supposed to do with just one towel in the room either..... I guess they're really trying to go green here and cut down on the amount of laundry they have to do... so after I washed the bugs down the drain in the shower, we took turns using "the towel"...
If the price was a hair lower, and this placed advertised itself for what it really was - which is a Super 8 near the water - I wouldn't be as displeased... at least I'd know what I was getting.
I don't have the heart to give it one star, because someone obviously went through the trouble to renovate this place, and must want it to work for someone, but they shouldn't bill it as the kickass waterfront spot that it is...
With that said, it's check-out time, and I won't be staying here for night #2.....
WORST HOTEL EXPERIENCE EVAR!!!!!!!
Quote of the trip, "This reminds me of those hotels in the horror movies right before someone dies..."
You couldn't pay me to return to this hotel, seriously, it was that bad! A bit of background on me: I am a New Year's Eve baby, and every year, I like to spend my birthday in a different location. This past year, I chose Laguna hoping for a quiet and romantic getaway with the bf...here's what we got over our 3 night stay:
1. I reserved an "oceanview room," I got a room that you literally have to go out on the balcony and LEAN over to see the ocean. And that was just our first room...
2. After returning from dinner on our second night, we discovered our room had become infested with ants...move to room #2
3. Room #2 was a handicapped room, pure basics, ground floor, no possible way to lean anywhere to spot the ocean and I was disappointed. The front desk told me to stay there for the night, and they would move me again the next day.
4. While in Room #2 (this was on NYE, for whatever that is worth) we got a knock on the door at 2am from a gay Texan couple looking to score blow...this is no joke. WTF, are you kidding me????
5. Next morning, irritated and hungover, we move again to room #3, again, no ocean view unless you lean over the side of the balcony and disregard the parking lot...
6. Only one night was comped, even though my entire trip was affected and essentially ruined. Thank God I had good company!
Overall, do not believe anything on their website!!! There are no ocean views in this hotel, the place is run down, infested, seems empty and desolate even though they are "booked up" and some seedy people stay there...stay away! There is another hotel in Dana Point that doesn't look like much, but offers MUCH more than this place...I can't find it the name at the moment, but will update with it.
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Low prices, clean rooms and the location can't be beat. Sure, you can find more luxurious hotels, but if you plan to spend your day out and about at the beach- there's no better place then here.
Continental breakfast (pastries, fruit, juice) comes with the room.
People thought this was:
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Change of name and attitude at this place. Have stayed here several times and enjoyed it. But they have changed the name (Laguna Cliffs Inn) and the quality has gone down. First they did away with the complementary continental breakfast. On the most recent visit (7/14/09), they royally screwed up our room reservation. We have enjoyed coming here because they have rooms with great little balconies with nice little views. On this last visit we requested and were told we would get one of these rooms. Because of our frequent visits, we were "preferred customers." Upon our arrival we were told they didn't have any of those rooms. We were put in a room with no balcony near the stairs, elevator and maintenance room. So much for "preferred customer." Part of our reason for staying here is that they have nice little balconies with views. We enjoying sitting out there, watching the sun set and drinking some wine. They did make an effort to make up for the mistake with champagne in the room, an additional discount for this stay and a gift card for our next stay. On the second day of our stay, the front desk called to let us know there was a room available with a balcony. So we moved to the new room and the remained of our stay was nice.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/1/2009
Stayed here several times. Clean room with nice amenities. Some rooms have views of the ocean from a… Read more »
