I was recently at Bacara searching for a venue to hold our next company event. I did not call the sales department to plan a visit or a tour. I was just driving by an noticed the property from the freeway. My wife said "hey lets go look at those condos." To my surprise it was a resort hidden away for us to explore. As we arrived we were waved up to a smiling Doorman which quickly opened the door for my wife and handed me a valet ticket. He directed us to the bell stand to set up a tour. I asked the young lady at the desk which seemed very busy but took the moment to acknowledge our needs. We asked if we could be shown around and she indicated it would be about 10 minutes for the tour. She pointed us in the right direction to find a nice glass of iced tea on the house. As I was enjoying the tea I noticed a woman yelling at a valet about her car. I told my wife whats up with her? I excused myself and went in to the courtyard to see what was going on. Unfortunatly her keys were locked in the car while it was running. I laughed to myself saying wow can you imagine what would happen if she locked herself out of the house. She was not being calm about the situation at all. She was not only making herself look bad but also her guests. The poor valet had a look on his face like he was ready to be terminated. He asked the woman would you like me to call AAA? She yelled at him and said yes, you and the hotel will pay for this. Isnt that why we get AAA for little accidents like this? Well as 15 minutes went by the truck showed up and she was on her way. As all this was going on I noticed a group of seminar attendees (about 40 ) were departing as check ins were rolling in. The bell staff were rushing all about but still had time to smile. It was interesting to me after 25 minutes a young gentleman by the name of Shea gave us a tour. I asked him all the questions I could think of without sounding like I was shopping the Resort. He brought us back to the front desk where he shook our hands and wished us a safe trip. I was so impressed with the gracious service we started to leave and I thought to myself wow he did not stare me down for a tip like you would get at a four seasons. I ran back in to the lobby and presented Shea with a ten dollar tip and he acted like it was christmas. He was one of the most appreciated employees I have ever ran across. As we were walking back out to the courtyard we noticed our fellow unhappy guest with her flower child yelling at a niced dressed asian woman whom I assume is the manager. I looked at the woman and shook my head in dismay. I said to my wife it is people that are not in to respect by going somewhere quite to discuss thier grief. I felt so bad for the manager but I know that is her job to make up the world to this woman.
As we handed our valet ticket over and older gentleman that looked like Billy Bob Thorton asked how our visit was. I told him we had a blast and Shea was the greatest. The gentleman shook my hand and introduced himslef as the Bell Captain (Manny) and said its comments like that which make him feel proud to be a Bell Captain. Manny ran for our car due to the valets taking care of the upset guest and cars rolling in for check ins. As he pulled around the car he jumped out and ran around and opened the door for my wife. After he closed the door he walked around and wished me a safe drive. He also let me know my gas light was on and where the nearest gas station was. I passed him a tip and I saw something that made me feel fortunate that Bacara has employees like Manny and Shea. As I was pulling away I noticed Manny passing the 20 dollar bill I gave him to the valet. One of the first Bell Captains I have ever seen do that in my career of shopping hotels. Well we are coming back and bringing 100 employees with us. If Manny and Shea are running the show I know we will receive five star service. Suggestions to keep in mind: Do not lock your keys in the car while its running.
Ask for Manny or Shea on your visit and you will be guaranteed 5 star service.

Thank you, A General Motors Employee

While the wedding ended up being fabulous, the catering and conference management had to be led by the hand to get anything done right. It took tons of emails, phone calls and visits to get everything done properly. Even the final contract had over 20 errors, which eventually got corrected. The pastry chef couldn't even make the cake that we wanted, so we had to go to an outside vendor.

Upon arrival we waited with a sea of angry guests for one hour to be
shuttled to our room by golf cart. Since we checked in on a Thurs.
night we could see no reason for this. The valet and bellman are
unprofessional, rude, and not properly trained. They loiter for tips
and dont even open doors! The whole staff is seemingly sticking their
hands out like beggars while they act like they are doing you a favor
by assisting you in any way. At the Four Seasons this would never
happen. Empolyees should act like it is a pleasure to help you. Not the
case at Bacara. The valet even locked my aunt's keys in her running car
and failed to apologize or offer to fix the problem. The situation was
only remedied when I asserted that they take care of the situation
immediately. 45 minutes later the AAA came and she was off with a
measely gift bag with gum and lip gloss.
The wait staff is also unprofessional and dosent even know basic ettiquite. You could be better served at Coco's or Hudson's Grill. Everything is extremely expensive. Bacara is not worth the money and we wont be returning.

Bacara is a wonderful place. We have stayed on three occassions. The employees are hip, young, friendly and provide great service. The resort is spread out over approx 80 acres. It is secluded and exclusive. I recommend going mid week when it isn't sold out! In Miro, the food is well presented and deliecious. The spa has an extensive menu. They have a ranch across the road with hiking trails. The rooms are well appointed with Frette, Fresh, saltillo tiles, candles and DVD players. The concierge can send you a DVD from their library.