Well, Pelican Hill may now be the #1 resort according to Conde Nast, but they have become more than complacent in their service. Butlers for every villa, whatever for? Ours was not seen nor heard from again once he'd taken his initial $30. tip. And we discovered shortly after he left that our mini bar in the premium kitchen had been vandalized and looted! He hadn't even bothered to check that the bare minimums were on hand for his new arrivals! The keyed lock had been roughly gouged out with some sharp instrument, apparently by someone desperate to steal the liquor! Inside was mostly bare space where snacks should have been. When we summoned someone to fix the lock, they left no new key. In our one-week villa stay, our mini bar was not replenished once. We stocked the refrigerator ourselves from a nearby Pavillion's supermarket. But, in this economy, that was a missed opportunity for resort revenue. And from what we could tell, the resort was, at most, half occupied.
Our first (and last) meal at the resort was one at the Coliseum Grill where we invited local family friends to join making us a party of twelve. We ordered three-course meals with plenty of drink refills . We were one of three occupied tables in the entire place. After an hour and a half, the sommelier came to the table and asked if he could have our valet tickets so that our cars could be brought around! True story. And it wasn't even 9:00 yet! We were appalled that they would treat their best paying customers this way. Are they insane? The Irvine Company surely doesn't know what their staff is up to and must be scratching their heads as to why they cannot profit from such a beautiful resort. We've been week-long guests here on eight different occasions and found the service to have seriously slipped. The earlier days had better butlers and sommeliers. And with so many unemployed people in CaIfornia, why are they hiring complete idiots now? Irvine Company, where art thou?

My husband and I were looking for a resort to celebrate a special occasion and birthday. We found Pelican Hill and couldn't have been happier. First, the "bungalows" are beautiful and feel very luxurious. Ours had a beautiful ocean view, two fireplaces and was almost as big as a modest size house. The service from the staff was exceptional, and both the golf and spa were as lovely as advertised. The place is definitely expensive, but was just a perfect spot for the special occasion. The weather was nice, but a little too cool for swimming in their huge circular pool, set in a colliseum and protected from the wind. All of the restaurants were also great, so there is no need to leave the property for a long weekend. We did use the shuttle to visit Crystal Cove State Park and walked on the beach. The history of the State Park is quite interesting, as much of it was used as a setting for movies in old Hollywood and has been preserved by the State.

Our stay at Pelican Hill was beautiful. We arrived and after check-in, they show you how to drive to your villa. The room was gorgeous and the view is beautiful. You feel like you in Tuscany. The only bad thing in the room was the shower head, it was really bad with the worst water pressure ever. And no hand-held shower head. It really didn't match the rest of the opulent bathroom. The breakfast delivered on our terrace was amazing. The coliseum pool is fabulous with very good service. The lunch menu is ok but not great. We drove one day to Laguna beach which is fun. We went to Sol Cocina for dinner one night and it was excellent. As well as Pizzeria Mozza. My husband loved both golf course at the resort, said it was amazing. We would definitely come back.

I just returned from four nights at the Pelican Hill Resort. I went to Newport Beach to visit family and was told that this would be a beautiful place to stay, right on the Pacific. Our spacious room with a large terrace hovered over lush greenery with a breathtaking view of the ocean. Everyone on the staff was helpful and greeted you by name and with a smile. The food was excellent at all of the restaurants. We enjoyed breakfast each morning overlooking probably the most magnificent pool I have ever seen which also had a view over dunes to the ocean. While I am not a golfer, i couldn't help but notice how inviting the course looked, but also quite challenging with hills and valleys and the ocean. Unfortunately, the weather was most uncooperative but it gave me hours in the cafe chatting with family. There we got to sample the homemade gelato which was delicious, especially the blood orange. The best part however, was the spa. I have been to spas all over the world and this experience was among the best. The facilities are excellent and the technicians all excellent. The resort is located within steps of a state park along the beach where you can walk and bike along trails. In the mornings we would head down for a morning fitness walk with a trainer from the gym. I highly recommend the resort and hope to return myself, perhaps when I can enjoy the outdoors a bit more.