Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa

Able to check in early, and the first 10 hours, it was a 5 star experience. Huge room, small balcony, literally right on the water. Bed was terrific. Quiet (well, except for the seabirds). Nice bathroom. 55” LG TV. Centrally located, walking distance to Aquarium & shops. Unfortunately, the 1st night, at around midnight, the water failed in the entire hotel. My wife has a physical issue that requires a bathroom on occasion. They told us water would be on by three, 3:30 and 4:00. Finally, it was! Thank you to Oscar, who manned the night phone, and was very responsive. And to the hotel, which gave us one free dinner as a customer service gesture. Staff were uniformly great. Schooners restaurant was fantastic. We had great service, great food. We were gonna go someplace else the second night, and we said, You know what? It was so good last night. Let's do this again. And again, it was superb. So thanks to Oscar and Monica, our two servers, and to the hostess, who gave us blankets to keep us warm. We had a great time both nights. Side Notes: valet parking $50 a day with tax; bring warm clothes - we're from SF and didn't realize that 67 at the beach, with a breeze, is chilly.

The facilities, staff, location and amenities were all amazing. From our reception to check out, we had a great experience throughout. Everyone was helpful, the rooms had a great view (we were overlooking the water) and our kids loved it as well. Good location to walk to Cannery Row and the aquarium and a short drive to downtown Carmel made this ideal for us. It will be the only place we stay when traveling to the area from now on.

This hotel is absolutely beautiful! The lobby and hallways are stunningly beautiful … with rich wood paneling against beautiful marble floors throughout. Rooms are very spacious, and decorated very smartly. Beds are King size and extremely comfortable. It is well worth staying here!

Overall a very pleasant experience. The entire staff were friendly, helpful, answered all of our questions, professional, and efficient. The valet parking was ideal and the attendants were very attentive and helpful. The location was ideal with everything within walking distance (eg, aquarium, gift shops, the Pier); so plenty to do. They can't control the weather, but our timing seemed to be about right with overcast skies all day long with mild temperatures right around the low 60's. 2 minor complaints, there is no small microwave (seems to be a norm for the upper price hotels), and the valet parking was overpriced (but they did an excellent job).

I am not sure if there is any difference when you book directly with the hotel or through Amex. After booking my room which was above the base category with balcony I kept my communication with the hotel quite regularly for a better room and to avoid inter-connected room. But I landed with a room with a balcony which faces the wall of the swimming pool if I may guess. Point here is if you are paying extra for a room with balcony and no view (at least not of a wall) you better stick to lower category room. This might also be because of the high occupancy during my check in. But still keeping in mind how fast the check in process was at 7pm (which is also good factor) I doubt the front desk had put much effort to find me a good room. The room itself was spacious and well kept. House keeping was good. I used both the restaurants - Coastal Kitchen and Schooners. The hostess/host for both the restaurants were very courteous. Coastal Kitchen lives upto the expectation for which it's known. It was perfect at every level - Food, Service, Ambience. Then next door Schooners was very inconsistent. Some times it was absolutely great and some times it was below average with delayed service and even declining to take very basic requests. This was entirely on how efficient the server was. Food was good. The property has a well equipped fitness center and upon request the front desk present early morning the first morning helped me to access the facility even before the opening time. The spa experience was bit disappointing. I had book a 50 mins treatment one of the day at 6pm which started late but finished exactly at 6.50pm. Though the treatment was good but I felt it was rushed and I didn't get to use the full time I paid for. Bell desk only bothers to drive in and drive out cars, the staff don't bother to welcome or help with your luggage. In general most of the staff whether its concierge or front desk were helpful and professional. Location wise its perfect, close to the beach and other spots worth visiting in Monterey.