The hotel offers valet parking, but no Valet greeted us until after we had already unloaded the car. We had reserved a 2 bedroom Penthouse suite, which we found was located on the 5th floor right next to a stairwell. At the top of the stairwell was the ventilation system for the restaurant. The ventilation system vibrated and was so noisy that it echoed loudly throughout the stairwell and into the suite itself. We complained but were told that there were no other 2 bedroom suites other than the ones on our floor. We were told that the ventilation system would be turned off at 10 PM, however it remained running until 11:45 PM.

The 2 bedroom suites are located directly above the pool and restaurant so it stays noisy until late in the evening. The rooms are lacking in cleanliness as well as in need of repairs. Several of our lights had burned out bulbs and 2 of 3 remotes, for the TVs, did not work. The TV in the common living room was situated so that it could not be watched form the relaxing couch area, but would have to be viewed from the uncomfortable dining table chairs.

The room service was terrible for such an expensive hotel. Orders were not filled properly and when delivered the presentation was less than I have experienced at cheaper value cafes. The food itself was bland/tasteless and since there was only 1 restaurant at the hotel, one is a hostage to their terrible food, or one must get in the car and drive several miles to a better food location and hope you can find a place to park. Not only is the food terrible and the orders messed up but, if you complain, as my wife did the staff will argue with you about your order even though you are looking at the tray as well as any mistakes the kitchen staff has made.

Heaven help you if the night is hot, because there is no air conditioning. There are, however, ceiling fans that will help you move the hot air around. In addition, the "private" balcony was anything but. In fact, more than a dozen rooms had a clear, direct view of our balcony as well as into the living room and one of the bedrooms. Furthermore, one of the bedrooms in the suite had no windows, balcony nor ocean view, and was very dark and closet-like.

This hotel is quite costly, (our 2 room suite was $1300.00) and, in our opinion, is not worth half the amount we paid. In fact, we left the day after we arrived instead of staying the week as we had planned.

My wife needed to stay here in conjunction with a business conference she attended. Right on the beach is hard to beat. We were only there for a few days and a raw sewage spill nearby closed the beach. Not the hotels fault though. They have a great pool, and hot tub. Rooms were clean and beds were great. Well, we thought the furnishings were a bit dated to the 70's or 80's but everything worked. Our room did have a LG LCD TV in it though. But who stays right on the beach to stay in their room anyway? Some other reviewers mentioned being bothered by the sound of the ocean. Being from Kansas we enjoyed it. We did have one of the rooms overlooking the pool and thus were a little further away than some other rooms. Surf and Sand does not have air conditioning, but we stayed in October, so no big deal. The staff with the exception of the Concierge was excellent. The Concierge was not bad, just not good. Example: we had our three-year old along with us. If you have one of these, you know that they don't necessarily need five star dining cuisine. I asked the Concierge were I could find some kid food for lunch after springing for $15 kid breakfast. They said they could make kid food in the hotel restaurant, but there was not really anything else available close by. We discovered later on our own there was a Jack-in-the-Box just up the street very nearby a a burger joint, and a KFC. OK, so this is not really a big deal. The hotel restaurant was great by the way, but high priced by my Kansas standards.

You can't beat the location. The hotel is located right on the beach and lives up to it's name as the surf crashes non-stop on the beach, sometimes causing your room to shake. They do provide ear plugs for guests who don't like the sound, but I like it. Otherwise, the restaurant is OK, the waterfront bar is nice, and the room service is pretty good. The overall service at the hotel can't compete with some of the larger and more well-known properties down the street (Ritz, St. Regis), but I don't think that concerns them. The only other drawback is that there is no A/C and it can get hot even though you're right on the beach. It's probably only an issue for them for about 10 - 20 days a year, but I always go over Labor Day when it is an issue. I would absolutely recommend the hotel for people who are going to spend time on the beach and their patio, but not for those who are looking to go to a resort.

We arrived at the hotel on Christmas Day. The lobby was nicely decorated for Christmas, there was a bottle of champagne waiting for us in the room. Our room was right on the water. Laguna is a beautiful town and I have spent a lot of time there so I can say that although the view from the room was beautiful, that's par for the course in Laguna. I didn't think this hotel was anything special (especially when considering the price). The actual halls leading to the rooms almost reminded me of a motel. It just doesn't have that "luxury" feel to it. I was not impressed. My advice is stay at The Montage. The Montage is right up the road, far more luxurious and an even better view.

Other than that I can say I could see how kids would like it. Think "a nice Hyatt on the water" and you can imagine what this hotel is like.