My wife and I went to a retreat at this awesome resort in March 2013. Upon arrival I was expecting a snooty experience in light of the very upscale physical plant. Instead, everyone from the valet to the food service people to the pool attendants were all very warm and friendly and unpretentious. The rooms were beautiful and comfortable. The meeting rooms were amazingly kept at a comfortable temperature (not too hot or too cold as is usually my experience at a conference). The food was very good even for large group catering. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. The conference was paid for by the group I was going with so I can't comment on the value or price. We would go back any time!

This is a beautiful resort (when the fog lifts and you can see beyond 4 feet). The grounds are large and gorgeous. Flowers, trees, shrubs -- all amazing looking AND smelling. The golf course is amazing. (It offers tennis too.) But for a place this gorgeous it's surprising how it misses on the small things. My room-service breakfast this morning was 10 minutes late, which is a lot when you have to be on time to a business meeting. And then the oatmeal came without a spoon! Later I asked an employee which direction the running path was and he said, "I only know the pool area." OK if it were his first week on the job, but he provided no such caveat. Horrible training or a lack of personal curiosity? The rooms are big and nice and I am all for going green but the water pressure in the shower is so bad it's hard to get the shampoo out of your hair. On the positive side, the front desk and concierge are staffed with helpful, knowledgable people. The wait staff is well-trained and personable and the food at Vivace was terrific. The gym is first rate and all the public spaces are well done. Tip -- ask for a room on the 4th or 5th floors. The lobby is on 3 and the rooms on the 2nd floor (at least where I stayed, #280) got all the sound from the bar and that made it tough to get to sleep. Overall I enjoyed my stay and I can't say enough for how pretty this place is but it just falls a bit short of the experience a resort like this should offer.

We stayed as a combination business trip and personal weekend. We were in a room facing the pool that was very close to the staircase and there was frequent noise from people using the staircase. Someone decided to let their children YELL Marco Polo at 8 am one morning and that was very well heard from the room.

Maid service was sporadic - didn't get a cleaning one day until turn down service. Toiletries that we used were not replaced. Basic service was not up to par.

There is no coffee maker in the room. Free coffee is available from the lobby - unappealing if don't want to have to get dressed for coffee.

Beach shuttle was great! It's a complimentary service - they drive you to the beach and set up your chair and umbrella and also remove it when they come back to pick you up. We tipped the guy $10.

Thermostat range is 66 to 70. I hate hotels that lock the thermostat. Middle age women need greater variation in the temperature.

Tennis courts, pool (quiet and family), playground, multiple walking/jogging paths.

I did not visit the spa but manicures/pedicures are handled in the salon which will not get you access to the spa. This is a separate $20 charge.

The grounds are beautiful - the meals and cocktails were great and staff is very friendly. When you walk into the lobby you see a floor to ceiling window that overlooks the grounds. There are two very large paintings that hang on either side of the window. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the paintings - upon close inspection you can see multiple screw heads stuck in the painting itself. While I understand securing paintings against theft - this not only is disrespectful to the art/artist - but a hotel of this caliber should not have screwheads sticking out of the artwork.

The hotel is slightly inland but well situated and a short distance from the coast. Beautiful extremely luxurious hotel with grea facilities and bedrooms. Also extensive grounds a great pools. Restaurants matched the rating of the hotel with great food and service.The staff even charged my iPad because I forgot my charger! Could not find anything to complain about plus it is in driving distance to various beautiful towns on the coast.