The Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa Review

The hotel is under renovation and we were not notified at the time we booked (or after). We stayed here for the spa and pool etc none of which are open. You have to take a shuttle to an off-site gym, there is no offer of an alternative spa. There is a terrace with a jacuzzi which is being used as children's pool most of the day. You still will be told there is a resort fee you will pay daily even though you will receive no more amenities than you would at the Holiday inn. The renovations are running through May so be aware there is no spa, pool or fitness center access until then.

Beautiful very comfortable great hospitality and great service and beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean

Good hotel, nice view. Not enough time to enjoy the finer points of the location

Was here for a wedding event. The hotel was really nice with a beautiful view. The service was spectacular. My brother started at the hotel and the room was really nice Would love to come stay here.

Great wine dinner in the restaurant, fantastic oyster appetizers, lamb shanks and salmon. Beautiful views also!!

Sat outside next to the fire with a nice view, ask for blankets if you get cold!

I couldn't give this review zero stars. Although I booked through a third party, my whole party was inconvenienced and I needed to change rooms in the middle of the night due to Brown Recluse spiders. I was asked if I needed them to spray the room, duh, in the middle of the night? The rooms at what's exchange for had food in the corner of the floor.

I would return. Nice place with attractive rooms, refrigerator, coffee pot, spacious. Would have expected the shower curtain not to have mildew at the bottom and the make-up stained robe to be bleached or tossed. The price was okay for the area. It was tranquil, but don't plan on sleeping in too late with the street traffic. Not a problem as our daughter wakes early anyway. My daughter would have enjoyed the whirlpool but she was too young, I can also see that this is more of a place for a romantic get-a-way and thus they probably do not desire kids running about the spa area. However, the beach, sea lions and whales just off the pier more than made up for no pool. The area can easily be explored in the two nights we stayed. So many food options surround the area. The Aquarium was also fantastic. All hotel employees were friendly, helpful and top notch.

Love eating at Schooners. Great location and views.

Beautiful hotel right on the water. Rooms are quite large and well appointed. Mine was on the inland side of the street but I still had a nice little balcony overlooking the main street. Nice spot for coffee in the room. Restaurant/bar (Schooner's) is quite good but very busy. Make reservations if you're planning a large group meal.

From start to finish our stay was amazing. Helpful staff, beautiful ocean view room and a great restaurant with delicious options.

Visiting the restaurant that was below the hotel. Good food but when we called about sunset seating the hostess didn't mention that the sun sets on the other side of the coast.. (were not from the area so we're just surprised)

Our ocean view room exceeded our expectations! We were originally booked at an inn in Carmel, but we had to leave due to a horrid experience. If you're looking for a place to stay in Monterey, then the Plaza is hard to beat. The service? Impeccable. The attention to detail and cleanliness of the room? Also impeccable. And the VIEW from our room? Amazing! We look forward to returning. Many thanks to the staff of the Monterey Plaza for saving our wedding anniversary.

Amazing restaurant
Amazing spa day! I will come back there

Had two amazing nights at the hotel after the Fourth of July. Food was fantastic for all meals at Schooners, went kayaking right from the beach at the hotels, listened to live music in the lobby and sat out by the fire pit. Great trip all around.

We had a wonderful experience with the Monterey Plaza. After checking in and seeing our room at another hotel in Monterey which was totally unacceptable we needed to find 2 rooms in a hurry for the night. From the reservationist to the front desk, the rooms and the restaurant we were delighted. Not only did they find the 2 rooms, gave us an upgrade and made reservations in the Schooner Restaurant for that night. The manager came over and brought us a complimentary appetizer sampler, Beautiful views and great service. ***** 5 stars!!!

Good place to stay. Decent price. No continental breakfast. Valet parking is a must.

Wow! This hotel is fantastic!! The location, the view, the staff, the hotel decor, the lobby, the rooms! Thank you so much for making my birthday trip amazing, upgrading my room and for the complimentary rides around town! You guys are amazing!!

Managers aren't kind to employees the co is very sexist

We stayed here during our honeymoon trip down the coast. This was by far our favorite stop! During check in they gave us a complimentary upgrade and recognized our honeymoon with a gift. Really unexpected! Our room was beautiful! Overlooking the ocean, we never wanted to leave! I ve been to Monterey several times staying at the Hyatt and Marriott, this hotel far surpasses them in quality and customer service (I m a Marriott platinum elite) and I will now make this my go to hotel when I m in town. Thank you for the amazing experience!

Great hotel location, and the Schooner's Restaurant and Bar has a great ambiance and views overlooking the Monterey Bay.

We went to the restaurant located in the hotel. It has a great view of the water with some nice seating options. We went for breakfast and they had really great options for seafood and non-seafood.

I attended a wedding here. It was a beautiful venue and the food was excellent.

Went for drinks at schooners bar, and as always had a great time

Brought my beautiful bride here for our 32 year anniversary!

Beautiful hotel with breath taking views. Love that there are binoculars in the room. We were able to see sea lions and others from our room.

Came here to visit friends that were in town the staff was friendly and the lobby was nice.

My husband and I took a detour on a recent vacation and ended up for 2 weeknights in Monterey. We wanted to stay near the water as we are from out-of-state and do not get to the coast often. Upon looking online at the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa website (directly) there were a few options available. We were interested in the King Room listed for $581 (for 2 nights - total). We were just up the street from the Plaza so we dropped in. We asked the lady at the desk about the online price (and even showed her what we had pulled up online on our phone). She asked if we were AAA members and we said no. She said, I can give you the AAA discount anyway for a King Room with an ocean view for 2 nights for $386.00. We thought that was incredible for this hotel (over the water and within walking distance to Cannery Row). We questioned her that this was the TOTAL COST for the 2 night stay not PER NIGHT. She assured us it was total cost and said there would be roughly an additional $27.00 in hotel charges and taxes. We thought for just about $420.00 for 2 nights, it was a fantastic deal. We gladly accepted and she asked my husband to initial the price of $386.00 as discussed. Ecstatic that we were staying at this beautiful hotel, we were directed into the valet parking area to unload our luggage. The valet parking is mandatory, but it is not at any additional charge to the guest. We went up to our room (we stayed in 1204) and were pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness and size of the guestroom. The bathroom was spacious and very clean. Plush bedding, nice sitting area, flat screen TV. The entire room was great. We had small balcony with 2 chairs and a small table just outside the sliding glass door that hovered a few stories above the water crashing below. It was a great view, facing the wharf/municipal beach direction. At the end of our stay, my husband went to check us out. The bill was printed and handed to him, he was thanked for staying there and he met me out front. Before pulling away, we glanced at the bill (as usual) to make sure it was as discussed and to our dismay, it was not. We were charged $386.00 PER NIGHT. With hotel charges and tax, our total came to within a few dollars of $875.00!! We thought it had to have been an error, so we went back in. The lady informed us that we agreed to pay the estimated price. Yes, true, but the estimated price was $386.00 total, which we confirmed TWICE verbally with the original woman we spoke to, before agreeing to stay at the Plaza. It turns out that even though the original woman we spoke with said the total for 2 nights was $386.00, when she asked my husband to initial next to the cost, she failed to point out that it said PER NIGHT. So much for being able to trust what someone tells you. Politely expressing our disappointment at the incorrect information provided to us was of no concern to them at this point. We had already stayed our 2 nights and they said our bill was our bill and we were responsible. We stated that we could have made the reservation for 2 nights online for $581.00 (which we stated originally) which was less than what they apparently quoted us with a courtesy AAA discount. So, while we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at a beautiful hotel with a great view and friendly staff, we felt taken advantage of in the end. Had we known the cost would be $386.00 per night, we probably would not have stayed here. It would be reasonable for a weekend rate, but not weekday. They had several open rooms. We assumed that was why they gave us a so-called courtesy AAA discount - so they could fill up the available rooms. Overall, disappointed.

Walked in and was impressed with how cleanit was and the professionalism of the employees. Everyone was super helpful during my visit. Will definitely come back.

Just went for food. Everything was good, presentation and service were on par.

Absolutely one of the best hotels in Monterey. Had an awesome experience staying over there, you can also have a great ocean view at their hotel restaurant! Would definitely revisit this place for another vocation, highly recommended for couples for staying!!

It is a quiet and pleasant place.
The view is so good I can spend the best time
It is a place where you can have a happy time with your family with your lover.

Staff was very friendly, and the location was great; close to the beach, aquarium, and other attractions. The hot tubs by the spa were nice, and had a great view of the bay.

Room is nice. Room service is great. There's free chocolate and Dasani water (there's a Keurig too with coffee stuff). Lots of extra pillows and chairs. Lamps and radio have USB ports for charging (the fast charging didn't work on my phone when I tried, so I wound up using the outlet.). Toiletries get replaced, even if barely used. There's a makeup area with a mirror. There's also an iron and ironing board in the closet. The TV channels don't seem to match the guide (not a big deal since I didn't really watch, but I tried it just to check). Everything is fine, except the valet parking is a nightmare. I was told it'd take 10 to 15 minutes to get my car, but it wound up taking 20-ish minutes. They seemed to be experiencing peak hours for people coming and going (about 12PM-1PM on a Sunday) and should've adjusted the time it'd take accordingly.

The worst part is when I was trying to leave, there was a SUV with a small trailer backing up and trying to park. The car behind me was also trying to leave and just pulled out next to me, only to be met with the reason why I wasn't leaving (the SUV with the small trailer blocking everything). Then another car pulled in right behind me and I was essentially pinned. When the SUV finally parked and the car next to me left, I could finally leave, but the SUV and the car behind me barely left any room to maneuver. I couldn't see the trailer, so one of the valets was signaling me, but his hand movements were very confusing. I had been snailing back and forth slowly getting out, and then the valet signaled very quickly to come forward. I thought I was in the clear, but nope, my car wound up getting nicked.

Overall, this has soured my experience. Why'd they have to put me in this situation? I don't want to think about a trailer I can't see. I just wanted to leave.

Great custermor service. Very impressive. Sorely with schooners! Slow poor service. Over cooked seafood. Very rubbery!

The egg white omelette was delectable. My hash browns, a crispy golden blanket of crunchitude. I can not recommend breakfast at the plaza enough.

The best hotel staff and service on the west coast! Love this place!

Chic but not corporate, feels very homey. Staff super nice and rooms large and comfortable. Oceanside views are awesome!

Very nice service. People are friendly and helpful.

The hotel was gorgeous and the staff was well versed and prepared for our needs. We went in winter for a little staycation and the spa was fantastic.