We needed a hotel room for just one night, to run the Monterey Bay half marathon. Finding a hotel that was close to the start, allowed dogs, and had no two-night minimum was not easy and we had very few options, and this was the best of those options. We got to town a little before 3 pm and tried to check in early, and we were told it would be $15 to check in early. We declined and decided to walk to the race expo since we had time. When it was finally time to check in, the gentleman at the front desk had a really hard time finding our reservation, which may not have been his fault - he said it was his first day on the job. There was a sign at the front desk saying checkout was 11 am, but you could have a late checkout for $15. We said we’d like the late checkout, and he clearly was not familiar with the policy so we showed him the sign. He said late checkout was not an option and mumbled something about housekeeping. Again, I’m not really faulting him for any of this frustration - but for a busy weekend like race weekend, the hotel should have known better than to have a brand new person working the front desk by themselves. And why offer late checkout if you can’t actually have it? So we finally get to our room, and the keycard didn’t open the door. Ok, no big deal. Back to the front desk to get a new card that does work. We open the door and a strong perfume smell nearly knocks me over. I don’t know if it was from cleaning products or what but it is intense. It is not a bad smell, just a strong one. I am super sensitive to smells but I know there are no other rooms available, and the smell is likely to be the same in all of them anyway. So we open the two windows to try to air out the room even though it’s in the low 50s outside. The room itself is ok, it’s small but clean, and the bathroom is fine. The furniture is all IKEA but I don’t have a problem with it, my only complaint is that the bottom of the bed is metal and I keep kicking it on accident. And there are only three small pillows on the bed so I imagine my husband and I will be trying to share one of them. The bed is clean and comfortable enough though. There are two levels of rooms. We are in a room on the bottom floor, since we have our dog with us, and i think bottom floor rooms are the only pet friendly ones. It is loud. Both from street traffic and our neighbors. Whoever is directly above us has been rearranging their furniture or something, at least that’s what it sounds like. I haven’t taken a shower yet but my husband said it was decent, but the bath towels are tiny. Maybe we are spoiled at home with our big towels. There’s a small fridge, microwave, and hot water/coffee thing. So that’s nice, at least. I probably would not choose to stay here again, just because I am on the verge of a migraine from the smell, and it may be too loud to get much sleep, but you can walk downtown from here, you can stay here with your dog, and they don’t have a 2-night minimum on race weekend. And they have free parking. I’m pretty picky about hotels and would give this one 2-3 stars out of 5. For more than $300/night (on race weekend, it’s much less expensive other times of the year), I honestly expected better.…
I can only assume that these somewhat better reviews are for different rooms than we had! DON’T play Russian Roulette with your stay because their bad rooms are the worst we’ve ever had to deal with. We left in the middle of the night because we couldn’t stand it and they would not refund our money because we didn’t tell them we were leaving first….. It was 2AM! No one was in the office! We called first thing! They hung up on the Hotels.com operator as well. Reprehensible customer service. If you are going to stay there, make sure your tetanus shot is up to date.
We were celebrating a birthday. Our room had no carpet or rug, we stepped out of bed on to a cold grey tiled floor. The walls were grey. The headboard was black strips across the wall. There were no bedside lamps, just overhead can spotlights. No chest of drawers. No table and chairs. Peeling paint on the door outside. It felt like a prison. We left as soon as we could. Worst travel experience ever.
This Inn is is a hidden gem ! The location is great -you can walk to the Wharfs . It is very clean and the rooms are so so nice . Very modern and there is everything you need (hairdryer, coffeemaker , fridge…). We only stayed for one night but definitely would come back and stay longer .
this was just an overnight stay and the room was large and clean, bed comfy and bathroom spotless. However the cleaner hadn't checked the fridge and there was food in there that smelt like it had been there for some time. Like most hotels in the US there is very little sound proofing the neighbours were really super loud and had the TV blaring away. The location is good, short walk to everything and the free parking is a real bonus. There didn't appear to be aircon so imagine in the summer it would be hot and it was cold in the room in Feb
The Inn was newly renovated with new furniture, flooring & a total re-done bathroom. Modern & comfortable. However, there was no room cleaning during our 4 day 3 night stay. The reason given was due to covid, the cleaning staff was at a minimum and it was difficult to find & hire new staff, so cleaning was only done after checkout. Considering the price of the rooms at the Inn, this seems cheap and not worth the price.
My girlfriend and I booked a last minute Fourth of July weekend trip at Inn by the Bay with our dog and we had an awesome experience. The family that manages the Front desk was very friendly and accommodating. And we were very impressed by the room, it was clean and had everything we needed. This is a dog-friendly place and there is even a park right across the street for your dog to do it’s business. The Inn was a short walk from downtown Monterey and the Wharf with many restaurants, stores, and a gas station close by. I would definitely recommend
I wanted to like this place....I really did. The staff was very nice and the bed was comfortable, but that's the only good thing I have to say about it. The room is very small. It felt very pieced together. It wants to be updated and maybe its on its way, but it just felt sad. The bathroom was small and dirty. There was hair in the shower (YUCK) when we arrived. The walls are SUPER THIN! At 4am in the morning, the room above us was having some sort of furniture moving party for over an hour and a half. It made our walls and windows shake. We barely slept. This wasn't worth the money we saved from staying at a nicer place. I have learned my lesson.
Nice stay at the Inn By The Bay in Monterey. Great location as the inn is close to everything you need. Several restaurants and stores are close, and the attractions are within a short driving range. The owners are very friendly and accommodating. Great value hotel.
I'm not sure why this place gets so much love by Lonely Planet - my experience was completely average. Decent price, good location, but otherwise, its an average motel room. I would have no concerns booking this place again, but I also wouldn't single it out.
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