La Valencia Hotel

La Valencia is stunningly beautiful and everything that guests describe that it is: it’s pink, grand, historic and with THE BEST location in La Jolla village. We loved being able to walk everywhere. Upon arrival, our check-in (male) staffer seemed inexperienced. He was nice enough, handed my husband a card and said “this is for you, I don’t know what it is”. We were confused but went up to our room. We got up to our room and it was beautiful!!! We had a vintage king on the 9th floor with an incredible view. We were also welcomed with champagne, and treats. The card we were handed was a lovely greeting from our travel agent. We were excited. That night we had dinner at the terrace bar and had amazing service from the hostess & our server. We loved the live music and my husband really appreciated that our server was intuitive. He’s vegetarian, I ordered a burger and noticed there was no veggie option on the menu. Our server immediately said, we can make a vegan or veggie version for you with falafel. Great service there. The following day we went to use the pool and have some food. We noticed 7 empty lounge chairs with towels on them. When I asked the pool server (female) she said let me ask my manager. This guy Mike comes out, tells us “we are saving those for guests. I can set you guys up on a sofa”. I asked for how long? He said “for 30 min to an hour”. I said I don’t want to sit on a sofa. In my mind at the rate I’m paying, that towel should not be taking up a lounge chair with no person in it for an hour when other guests are present and waiting. And there were 7 of them like this! None of these guests were in the pool or hot tub. So my husband asked what can we do. I noticed 2 empty lounge chairs in separate areas. An experienced & service-forward manager should have said, I see one lounger here and another there, let me put you guys in these two and move them together or let me set you up in a cabana since those are free. But no! He asserts, “I can put you on a waiting list”. My husband says ok can you call our room when it’s ready? Oh no! He tells us we have to wait there for it. Needless to say we were not having it. He was rude, not to mention poorly trained. So I texted the guest number and informed the hotel. This staffer single-handedly ruined what should have been an awesome pool day for our anniversary weekend. I cannot get that time back. We ended up coming back later to do maybe an hour at the pool at the end of the day but it was not the same. I received an apology from Rich the manager & he comped our one drink & snack. But honestly the vibe was awkward being at the pool around Mike the rude manager. He never apologized for his earlier behavior he just quietly did his job but the awkwardness was palpable. It would have been so much better had he said, hey I’m so sorry about this morning, it was so busy and I didn’t realize you’re here for your anniversary. Let me make it up to you. No, he acted like he was doing his job couldn’t look us in the eyes and when I asked for the bill he said Rich took care of it. No accountability for his poor service and earlier behavior. Disappointing to say the least. The following day we asked for an hour later check out so we could redo our pool day, we were again denied by yet another clueless front desk person, Joanna. That would have been so easy for the hotel to do. We decided to leave. It saddens me to write this review because the property itself is lovely but the poorly-trained staff needs more training of what “luxury service” entails especially on a busy holiday weekend when they charge a premium. On a positive note, kudos to the excellent valet team who were all great! Super friendly and elcoming, also great service from them all weekend. We would still recommend La Valencia but guests need to be vocal what their needs are from the beginning so you get the experience you pay for. Otherwise some staff might ruin it for you.

We booked the king ocean view room, it was spacious with a separate bedroom. We had the view of the ocean and overlooking the pool. Breathtaking views and absolutely prime location to local parks, restaurants, and shops. If you are a looking for just that, I highly recommend staying at the La Valencia. Fantastic customer service!

Check in and check out was a very good experience with friendly and informative staff . Room was very comfortable and cleanliness was top notch. Food and drinks were great.

Everything was top notch from the moment we arrived for our anniversary weekend. We entered our villa to find champagne, macaroons, and a personal note waiting for us. The historic hotel is beautiful. So were the grounds and our room. The food was great, and best of all - the service was warm, attentive and efficient. We enthusiastically recommend La Valencia and will absolutely be back for another stay.

This is our third year vacationing at La Valencia and we will return next year. It is the perfect way to enjoy our younger family members. Everything about the property reflects pride of ownership. The food is wonderful, the staff delightful and helpful. It is a short walk to visit the sea lions and a short drive to the beach. Excellent restaurants and shopping are just outside the front door. What an exceptional place!