Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa

I’ve stayed here before and I would love to come back again. The grounds are stunning. The pool area is beautiful and the rooms are nice.

My low review has nothing to do with the beautiful property. Instead it is due their policy on gift card reserved rooms. I have been to this resort numerous times for business events and it it truly is a special place - which is why I was surprised at such stringent rules about using a gift card. My wife and I "won" a silent auction during a charity function for one nights stay, along with comp'd resort and parking fees. I believe we paid around $500 for this (which went to the charity of course -not the resort). I was planning to use for our anniversary weekend only to learn that they black out weekends in the summer. This is no where on the certificate that I was presented. I offered to take a picture and send it to the gentleman in reservations but he said it would do no good - those are the rules. I accepted this as I don't know if the lack of detail on the certificate is due to the hotel or the charity. But what really irritated me is that he could not really tell me when I could use it -he gave vague guidance that basically said - if they have below a certain availability of rooms - then we cannot use the certificate. So the only way to use it is to call close to when you want to stay, and if they are not highly booked, they will honor it. BTW - I had just checked the price on AMEX travel - Fine Hotels and Resorts and you can get a room for only $329 plus fees and taxes and that includes a $100 resort credit and free breakfast for 2. So my complaint in that is that a 5 star hotel is pissing off a routine customer over one nights room that they are selling for $329. Doesn't seem like a good policy. Again - the inability to use for our upcoming anniversary is not the issue - it is the lack of clarity on when we can use it which makes planning difficult.

Phil at the pool bar is AWESOME!

Set on a beautiful lush landscape with flowering gardens and pathways, is a well hidden hotel with the best customer service I’ve ever seen. Having traveled to multiple countries I felt customer service was the one thing I always looked for and this hotel had it. From the moment we pulled up in the valet parking to the front desk, to the multiple staff we ran into during our stay, Estancia was the best! It’s not a tourism spot. It’s a place to relax, dine, and enjoy the amenities. I wanted to find a place where I personally could unwind and refresh. I wasn’t concerned with seeing local attractions, even though they were all a short drive away.

Nice hotel but service was horrible. I reported at the front desk that there is mold on our shower head. They said that they’ll take care of it. No one came so the day after I asked on front desk again and they told me that we had sign “Do not disturb” on our door but ironically we didn’t have this sign at all we had to request that as well and and they also told me that they sent me text message and guess what I didn’t received any message. I am doing big deal of it not because it’s 4* hotel but because we were there with our 7 months old baby and I definitely don’t want any mold to be close to her. Overall pretty disappointed!