Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach

This property is beautiful with well manicured gardens (although they do have artificial grass in some parts which is quite a shame). Highlights: -Food was good in all restaurants but the steak at Bourbon was the star of the show -One of the best gyms I have been to in a hotel -Renovated and very clean room -Service was overall good -Tram service to the beach was very frequent Flaws: -No adults only pool. Both pools are an absolute chaos which kids and parents shouting and playing ball so if you want to relax by the pool, this is not the hotel for you -Lack of adults only spaces overall. With a property this size, adults without kids should have at least a couple of options -Valet parking is 70 dollars a night for guests which I find quite excessive -It gets extremely busy on weekends Read less

There are many things to love about this hotel, but too many issues to give it a 4 or 5 star review. We have stayed there several times and this was our most recent stay. One of the biggest issues is the check in (and check out) process. We arrived on a Saturday and there was a fairly long line. After waiting in line, one of our 3 rooms was ready, but the others weren't. No problem...it was well before checking. The problem is that once your room is ready, you may be forced to wait in the same long line.....they have no provision to just pick up your key. At a 5 star hotel, this is quite a big flaw. We have mentioned this issue in the past and they have never addressed it. The same issue goes for check out....but then it gets worse. There was a huge line (same as the check in line) when we departed, so I spoke to a bellman and he said they would email the bill (which they did...but in pieces) and there were a few errors. So I called and was told the billing department didn't have the bill in the system, so they tried to transfer me to the front desk. But there was a long wait. No problem...I just asked that someone called me back. No one did. So I called again the next day. Same thing. You have to talk to the front desk. I asked for a call back....I am still waiting. As far as the billing issues go, one was the fact that I said my grandson MIGHT stay in our room (he was in a different room with his dad). We had a huge suite we had (paid) to upgrade to. No problem, they said, we will send a rollaway up. Which they did. I didn't need it, and the next day I asked them to pick it up (which they did). BUT, they charged $100 for 2 nights of a rollaway (they never mentioned a charge, and they just sent it up when I said that I might need it). The food is VERY expensive....but I guess you can check that before you go. The beach club is beautiful, and we went there for lunch and waited an hour for our food, and our drinks never came. Overall a very mixed experience. The location is great, and most of the staff is very good, but there are some easy fixes which they seem to be unwilling to implement. Read less

What a great place to stay. The room was very nice. Upon arrival the service level was 100% also the frontoffice employees where very friendly and as a hilton honors gold member we did receive a complementary upgrade to a higher room type. Also a daily f&b credit of $25 pp per day. Very nice. The resort have great options for hiking and walking arround the property. Also the shuttle tram to the beach was a great perk. Loved the turndown service. Only point of critique is that the servers in the lobby bar where not very friendly. We found on the daily calendar that there is a complementary sunset drink at the terrace, the lady seemed very annoyed when we asked how this worked, i did not feel comfortable after i asked, the lady treated us after this as the cheap folks visiting the WA. This was a bummer on a very nice stay. Read less

Beautiful property, very friendly staff, great location, and fun atmosphere. It was a quick one day staycation and we had fun. Unfortunately the room we got upgraded to 1st floor garden view with firepit smelled. It almost appeared as if the room was cleaned quickly and they missed a few details. The chair at the desk had a red stain on it that we had to wipe off. HSKP tried to get rid of the smell with no luck. I asked valet several times to make sure my car is plugged in and charging. They told me it was even when I showed them that the app said it was not charging they assured me it is and that it is located in a lower level and the car had no signal to update the app. At check out I noticed the car had not been charged at all. Read less

We recently stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach in Dana Point for two nights over Memorial Day weekend, and it was an amazing experience. Thanks to our Hilton Diamond status, we were upgraded to a fireside terrace resort view room, which was a delightful surprise. The room was beautiful, with a cozy fireplace and a lovely terrace offering great views of the resort. It was the perfect place to relax after exploring the area. A big thank you to Kinza K from guest relations and Erik at the front desk. They went above and beyond to make our stay special. Kinza took care of all our needs, and Erik’s warm welcome made us feel right at home. We enjoyed the resort's amenities, like the pools and the spa, and the food was fantastic. Each meal was delicious and offered a variety of options. We had such a great time and made wonderful memories. We can’t wait to come back and enjoy it all over again! Read less