The Resort at Pelican Hill

My wife and I wanted to have a four-day break in southern CA, and we whittled down our choice to this property or one of the other nearby Marriott upmarket resorts. And, broadly, we were pleased with Pelican. We got an upgrade to an ocean-facing 'bungalow' and the view was lovely as was the room. It was not what I really expected - bungalow conjured up the idea of a self-contained building, but they are a strip of what (in the UK) you might call terraced housing! But, as I say, very lovely. The area is delightful, and we enjoyed excursions to San Juan Capistrano, and several of the beach towns nearby. There are lots of good restaurants an easy drive for lunch/dinner, and lovely walks nearby. We are not into golf, but clearly if you are, this is a great place to be. The downside is that really the place just has no soul or character. It is bland and feels fairly modern. After our first restaurant dinner out, we went to the bar at 9.30pm for a nightcap... and we were the ONLY people there. After that we bought a bottle of Scotch and had our nightcap in our room. And the blandness was evident at breakfast. The menu could have been a hotel anywhere in the USA. Nothing suggested we were not far from Mexico (other than the fact that many staff were Hispanic) - no chilaquiles, for instance, or anything reflecting a more local sense of cuisine. By the time of our fourth and final breakfast, I was so bored. And the breakfast staff were very warm - but found it hard to think remotely outside the box. One day we came for breakfast really quite early. There was ONE other diner in the outside area - a guy on his own. We were seated right next to him. I asked if we could leave him in peace and sit at any other table, and was told they were all booked later in the morning. I said that if we were served well, we'd be done in half an hour and I simply did not believe we could not sit somewhere else. So they seated us elsewhere - and, of course, it was still empty when we left. But that did not stop them putting the next guests (to occupy only the third table in a big place) next to the lone man!! The service in the rooms was superb. Turndown and cleaning at precisely the times we wanted and great texting service to arrange it. All in all - a great place in a great area. Just a bit bland and boring. Breakfast (and a glance at the lunch/dinner menus) put us off eating in the resort (which is overpriced), but it was a great base for us and felt happily indulgent. A lovely time as a one-off.

This was my 4th or 5th stay at Pelican Hill. Truly, there is nothing like it. Feels comfortable and luxurious at the same time. The Coliseum pool is the star of the show. When we started staying here, the pool was ultra posh with white foam pool mats which you could float on and absolutely no pool toys/balls/floaties allowed in the pool. Marriott has taken over and things have changed dramatically. There are tons of kids with balls and toys and floaties. There is a small adult pool for a more peaceful experience. I did not care for most of the pool food. $40 for handful of chips & a cup of guacamole! $24 for soggy, overly cheesy and saucy margarita “flatbread”. I also didn’t enjoy the lackluster and inconsistent service at the Coliseum Grill. And one last suggestion: since Marriott has taken over, having self laundry facilities on site would be a great addition and much appreciated Most Marriott hotels and resorts do offer self laundry on site. I feel like this would make these stay even more comfortable.

A nice one night get away for my 7 year old son and I. The pool is fantastic and the service is outstanding. We received an upgraded room which was so spacious and felt like a real luxury for us. We took the shuttle down to Crystal Cove which was an added bonus.

Unbelievable location with a tremendous staff. The staff at this property is amazing including the shuttle drivers, servers and all other staff who are always friendly, professional and accommodating. I highly suggest taking the shuttle to Crystal Cove beach. Shuttle trolly service runs hourly and you can grab a convenient beach bag on the shuttle. The health spa is great and highly recommend. Traveler Tip: All gratuities for housekeeper (daily $5 fee) & Porterage service ($17) are included conveniently making cash tips easy.

What a MAGICAL experience! We flew out from the East Coast to celebrate our daughter's 24th birthday with her -- she lives in L.A. We spent three glorious nights in a two bedroom North Villa, looking out over the ocean. The accommodations were impeccable -- clean, up-to-date, spacious, beautifully decorated, top of the line appliances, including a washer and dryer and a wine fridge. A short walk to the Villas Clubhouse and we were sitting outside near the pool, with the best food and beverage service one could ever imagine. Each day at breakfast they had an outdoor omelette bar, followed at lunchtime with a specialty taco bar -- skirt steak tacos one day, Australian Wagyu Steak tacos and shrimp tacos the next... My daughter took a 2 hour golf lesson at the amazing golf club. We all enjoyed the spas, the massages, the morning yoga classes. I could go on and on. The food at The Pelican Grill was to die for, and every single service worker always greeted us with a smile everywhere we went. If we needed a robe, we texted the Concierge and it arrived within literally a few minutes. Never were any of the places crowded -- in fact, on Memorial Day, I had the entire Men's Spa to myself -- started with a sauna, followed by the steam room, followed by the hot tub. Yes, the place is very pricey, but once you experience it, you understand and appreciate why. We even had our own garage at our villa. Getting there was a breeze. We flew into Orange County (John Wayne) Airport, about 20 minutes from the resort. The Concierge even helped us arrange for birthday balloons to arrive in our room before our arrival, and they left us a scrumptious fruit platter with birthday wishes written in chocolate around the platter.