White Water

The hosts at White Water are exceptional! One of the best service experiences I've ever had. I'm a snob about design and amenities are my expectations were exceeded again and again. There were free s'mores around the fire pit and a handsome free breakfast of pastries, champagne and, and strong local coffee. The service was TOP DRAWER. We felt so welcome and cared for from start to finish!

Beware, this was a really bad experience for us! We stayed here during a coastal road trip booked well in advance. It was high season on a weekend and we paid a premium price of $649 for a room with ‘partial ocean view or road view and upgrade if available’ across from Moonstone Beach. Touted as a luxury boutique property, we expected the rate to reflect the property and amenities but it did not. Noisy highway and parking lot view: Our tiny box of a hastily renovated motel room was about 100 ft from busy Highway 1 on one side and right in front of the parking lot on the other. People walked 1 ft in front of our window on that side. The Highway 1 window had a creepy cobweb fence with sand bags and the lack of promised air-conditioning meant we needed to open both windows - Highway 1 is LOUD and the parking lot busy and public. Not luxury or delightful and definitely not ocean anything. Deceptive reservation and lack of integrity: They claimed to be fully booked and forced us to keep our horrible room. We had reserved well in advance of our trip through a travel agent, yet the motel did not hold our room. The reservation also boasted a desk, but we had none. This was not the room we paid for and reserved. Additional creepy/dangerous aspects of the tiny and hastily renovated motel property include: 1. Slippery 4 inch square tile shower floor with creepy vinyl mat perfect for transmitting foot fungus and plantar warts. 2 inch tiles are safer, this was really unsafe. 2. Woven garbage basket with lid you must lift to access – what did all prior guests have on their hands when they touched that? 3. Moldy smell in closet with odd plaster on ceiling. The dripping noise in the ceiling may have something to do with that??? 4. Leather and wood toilet paper roll/holder set behind your bum, good thing we are limber, but again, porous surfaces. Same for the towel rack – cute but not hygienic. 5. Bathroom GFI socket kept tripping with hairdryer necessitating use of the socket adjacent to the front door – not a luxury property. 6. Shower water pressure that went to nothing if another room used water, yes I had shampoo in my hair when this happened. Breakfast – hmm, really: The property promised what sounded like a delightful morning “Provisions” breakfast basket of champaign, orange juice, pastry and fruit. My email notifying them I had celiac went unanswered. At check-in the cold and odd woman at the desk said they could not accommodate a celiac/gluten free option (there are excellent gf bakeries in Cambria) and offered me “a green apple” for breakfast. That’s just weird. Next, a kindly manager, who is also gluten/dairy intolerant said there are great gf/df options locally and she would see to it. Unfortunately, the breakfast staff delivered 2 glutenous but unmarked pastries. Good thing I didn’t trust them and eat one. Also, the promised champaign in the provisions was left out as was almond milk for my coffee. They did provide hardboiled eggs and a banana after I suggested those as alternatives to the green apple. I needed to call the desk for salt and a plate, turns out there was no salt on site so I ate the egg minus salt/pepper – again, weird. Promised “welcome treat on check in” not in our room and the $25 per day resort credit never mentioned on check in. We were NOT welcomed graciously or competently. Interestingly, after trying to get a room with the amenities we reserved and paid $649 for, the visiting regional manager apologized at length and sent a huge coffee table book as an apology. That’s just weird – and heavy. We left it. I would recommend one of the better priced adjacent properties that are honest about what they offer. This poorly renovated motel was way over priced and the staff were odd and inexperienced. I would take a simple functional room at a fair price minus. This is a pretend luxury boutique motel that fails all around.

Our stay at White Water was truly one of the most memorable experiences of our California trip. One of my favorite touches was the breakfast basket the team prepared for us. From our room, it took literally one minute to walk to the beach, where we could sit on a bench, enjoy our breakfast, and watch the ocean. It was such a peaceful and beautiful way to start the morning. The location is also fantastic for exploring the beach and discovering marine life. It was just a short walk to the boardwalk and the beach, where we were able to see so many sea creatures up close. Our child was absolutely fascinated and excited—it was one of the highlights of our trip. And the hospitality was exceptional. Juan was incredibly kind and even helped us warm up our child’s food. Bryce gave us great restaurant recommendations, and Isabella thoughtfully prepared s’mores for us. Juan and Mario prepared the breakfast basket for our family. Every person we interacted with was warm, helpful, and genuinely caring. We especially loved Room 17. As the sun was setting, our child was happily playing in the bathtub while my husband and I watched the sunset together. Later that evening, we sat together and looked at the stars. And, as if the evening couldn’t have been more special, we even happened to witness a romantic proposal on the beach. It was one of those rare evenings that you know you will remember for the rest of your life. Thank you to Juan, Bryce, Isabella, Mario and everyone at White Water for making our stay so special. We felt genuinely welcomed and cared for, and we will absolutely recommend White Water to our friends and family. We would love to come back someday!

What a great little gem. Right across from the wooden moonstone beach path. The lobby is so modern and cozy. The staff was so helpful. Definitely on our todo list again. The rooms are adorable and equipped with everything you need. Picnic basket breakfast with the best coffee!

A very overrated , overpriced accommodation . Located across the road from moonstone beach this property has more the feel of a pleasant motel . As world travelers, very willing to pay for good accommodation, it was difficult for us to understand how this cost more per night than many of the St Regis or Ritz properties that we’ve stayed in . The property is clean and tidy. The much vaunted breakfast basket pastries which are delivered to outside your room were nothing more than a total of one muffin and one croissant . Staff interactions were pleasant but overall, I could not recommend this accommodation at this pricing .