Alila Ventana Big Sur

Absolutely horrific experience here. The food was great, the location was great, and we had a great time at the spa. However, I want to caution everyone that there was a RODENT issue in our room. We were staying 2 nights for my husband's 40th. The first night, there was a rodent in our room who scampered away into a hole in the wall. The staff first tried to stuff a rag in the hole... They did shuttle us to another room asap, but that room is essentially a stowaway room, a third of the size of our suite, and we were told isn't even sale-able. Terrible experience, but at the time, I was confident the hotel would try to make up for it. The response was extremely underwhelming after all of it. First, they upgraded our room to the Cottage, which was a bit better than the suite that we had booked. They comped us an activity and gave us a $150 resort credit. Mind you, the room we booked was thousands of dollars a night. Because we booked through a third party with points, Ventana said they couldn't do anything else. So when we got back, we talked to the third party. The third party emailed the hotel, and Alila Ventana had the gall to say that we were compensated already by them. I have no idea how a slight room upgrade for one night, when the other night was in a cramped tiny room that was a third the size of our suite, and a comped activity and $150 (which didn't even cover the resort fee) means we were compensated. In addition to moving through 3 rooms in a stay, it was supposed to be a special occasion. While everything else was fine, the management response and the lack of anything close to an appropriate resolution, means I will never stay here again, and I will highly advise anyone who asks to never come here. You can have great service through food, etc. but if you fail to show up for guests when there's something wrong on your property, that's the worst of customer experiences.

We have been coming for the past 5 years and the Ventana has never disappointed us. The all inclusive meals are unique to the local area and very tasty. The service was very prompt and eating outdoors with the views of the ocean and mountains are fantastic. Our suite room was spacious with a soaking tub, fireplace, and outdoor hammock on the deck. The outdoor pool and hot tub were warm and relaxing. All the employees everywhere on the property were smiling and seem happy to be working there. I always consider it a blessing to come here and relax.

FABULOUS PLACE!! Must visit! Gorgeous hotel in gorgeous setting, incredibly friendly staff, super clean and so warm and special. The food was amazing!

Great location, awesome staff, beautiful property, dog-friendly, and lots of great amenities. Highly recommended.

So close to being great but just not there. For the price, it should compete with resorts like One and Only or Rancho Valencia. It falls well short. The setting and views are spectacular and the staff is warm and friendly. The rooms are nice but not quite at the level of the competition. The single restaurant has a great setting and friendly service but the food is just fine but not at the level of alternative resorts. The big miss with this property is the spa. With the setting, a world class spa would make this resort a true destination. Unfortunately the spa here is a C+ at best. The facility is tiny with cabanas that were installed on a low budget years ago. The entire spa is small enough that it can’t accommodate a lot of daily treatments so it’s a bit of a lottery to have a true spa weekend. The locker and changing facilities consist of two single-use bathrooms and the sauna is comparable to one you could buy at Costco. Overall, a tragic miss for such a spectacular setting. Even a quarter of the facilities of comparably-priced resorts would elevate this property.