DiverDave

Doesn't surprise me. The booking page formerly had a banner advising that upgrades are limited, and advising basically that you should pay for the room type that you want. That went away when the construction advisory went up.

I will really miss the USA sports discount rate. I had a 10 night stay there last fall using that rate - $249 per night for a studio suite. Still, that stay was marred by the construction noise and I would not stay there again until construction is complete.

I had some great upgrades prior to that stay, but the manager that watched out for me took a job at another property so now I'm just one of the many diamonds begging for a better room..

I was just doing some searches and found one tip - there is an AARP rate that includes parking and that makes for a decent deal.

David

dealOCD

Any recent stays to report? have nights booked this weekend and wonder if the lounge was ever completed and state of any construction. Noted a tripadvisor report that perhaps one pool was closed while the new one was open and comments about excessive crowds and noise for memorial day so hoping things have settled. They had a wonderful fire show when we were there last year.

sinfonia

Yes, just checked out less than two weeks ago. I was waiting to write anything as I am still having a pending issue with the property, but to answer your questions, there is no executive/concierge lounge. The construction is mostly completed, but they are still doing construction in the whole area where the old pool was. If you look at a map of the property, there is the new Dolphin tower with a rooftop bar bragging great sunset views - this tower is most south/east and the construction has been completed on it, though I have heard reports of problems with internet and plumbing in that tower still. Just north/west of that is the new pool, new restaurant (The Boardwalk), a conference room and business center, and then the Huntington tower which is the old hotel. There is no construction being done in this tower. However, just north/west of that is the old pool which has been demolished and they are rebuilding it. As of last week, it was still dirt. Most of the really loud drilling is done, but there is certainly not a great view from the north/west facing rooms in the Huntington tower. The oceanfront rooms are still nice, but keep in mind that if you have a corner room that has part ocean and part pool, you may hear some construction still. There is also sporadic construction going on in the lobby. Just north/west of that is the old restaurant which has been totally closed and then the ballrooms. The ballrooms are open and in use, but the entire area where the old restaurant is (this is just north/west of the pool) is under construction. The Surf Hero market is still open but the door that faces the pool is boarded up.

As for crowds, the summer was busy, but staff members state that they expect things to quiet down a bit starting in September. Parking is a little bit of an issue because it is valet only and they still do not seem to have enough garage space for all of the guests that come in.

If you are diamond, you will still receive the same breakfast vouchers for $15 each person (up to two guests) per room to be used in The Boardwalk.

The renovation is attractive and the staff is, for the most part, very hospitable and accommodating. It is a great spot.

Note that with the exception of suites such as the Presidential suite, the Dolphin tower suites do not have doors, but partitions between the living room and bedroom.

I hope this answers your questions.

Edit to add: they still have the hula dancers and fire dancer through this Saturday night.

dealOCD

dealOCD

We love this spot and recently stayed Labor day weekend and a few days ago. https://www.flyertalk.com/hotel-revi...ip-report-2862

DiverDave

Enjoyed your review! Austin is great for sure. ^

I will be there for a few nights in November. I usually book a 5-10 night stay every year, but cutting this year's stay short due to my schedule and the construction. I just don't like being around a lot of construction. Hopefully my room won't be on the construction side.

MFLetou

This is really an excellent property. I've been meaning to post for a while. I had an August stay as part of a family vacation (4 kids). Dolphin Tower. As a Gold, I received the $15 F&B credit for 2 people, per day. They were vouchers and could be combined. I had a 4 night stay so that I meant I could buy the entire family the full buffet breakfast in the (very pleasant) Boardwalk Restaruant one day, and still have some left over to defray costs on other days. The buffet had a chef's omelette station and everything else you'd expect, with either indoor or outdoor seating. We didn't eat there for any other meal but the food actually looked really good for dinner.

We stayed in the Dolphin Tower which is an ideal set up if you need more space. 2 queens + queen sofa in 2 rooms. Rooms are well finished, with a bright, cheery nautical theme and a very spacious bathroom with some nice touches. Our room was toward the end of the hall (where views are better) on a high floor facing the other tower with the new pool area below. As others have stated, the pool area on the other side of the hotel is under construction, my understanding is that they are building an "adult" pool over there. However, from my room, you couldn't see or hear any construction and it was literally a non factor except when I walked over to the Surf Hero market. The grounds themselves are also really nicely finished, the interior hallways between the two buildings are lovely. We arrived well after midnight after a long day at Disneyland and as we walked over to Dolphin with luggage my kids were like "wow, what is this place?" Lol. The room was dead quiet, we never heard anything else except waves crashing outside.

The valet is expensive but they do a good job, we never had to wait for the car. The resort provides things like sand toys, blankets and basic beach stuff for free. It's a fairly easy walk across PCH to the Beach and there are several beach shacks/rentals/food places in the area around the hotel on the beach. The prices for umbrella rentals were reasonable. It's a beautiful stretch of beach, wide open and very well maintained and guarded by the City of Huntington Beach. The new pool area had 2 fairly zippy water slides and a little beach play area as well. When we were there, it was crowded, but no excessively so. We had no problem finding lounge chairs in the afternoon. There is waiter service around the pool if desired.

There is a lot in this area and its all walkable. The Pier is a nice walk, with Duke's and Ruby's at the end of it. There's a newish shopping mall with a big food hall almost next door to the hotel, so there's a ton of food options.

The staff we encountered were virtually uniformly friendly.

Overall, this is a fantastic place to stay, especially with a family. All things considered, I thought the pricing was fair for what was provided--a large, spacious room big enough for a large family and a resort atmosphere in a premium waterfront location. I would absolutely return and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anybody. While as I said this was a family trip and there were a lot of families, the place didn't have that "overrun with kids" feel that some places have, so I wouldn't necessarily be scared away if you're just a couple or traveling for business.

DiverDave

Sadly, this fine hotel has joined the growing list of hotels that gouge their customers for resort fees. Even more sadly, the associated benefits for the $30 fee are quite lame. 50% off a bike rental - seriously?

" Daily Resort Charge will be added and includes: Guest internet access; $5 food and beverage credit in Surf Hero Market; two bottled waters daily; 15% off Drift Spa services and cabana rentals; $15 spa credit for retail products; 50% off bicycle rentals. "

ChurnieEls

Anyone got a read on this property lately? Considering it to burn through the Aspire resort credit.

dealOCD

Are you wondering about something specific outside of the above details?

ChurnieEls

Any construction or further deterioration of Diamond benefits would be notable to me. For example was going to book the Coronado in San Diego but read the FT thread there and that outlined its being renovated over the next 18 months.

Edit: Also any insight on seasonality affecting operations/offerings would be appreciated,

firrainbow

Stayed here in Aug by using Aspire weekend night. So the resort fee is waived. But you have to pay the parking. Basically the resort fee benefit is useless. But you do get 20% off if you dine in the restaurant.
Beautiful lobby and hotel. The pool area is very nice and it has two pools. It is not "Beach front" hotel and you need to cross the street to the beach.
Free upgraded to the high floor room and the pool view is good. Room is standard. If you close the door, you won't be able to hear the noise from pool.
On summer weekend nigths, there are some performance near pool during night and kids are welcome to join.
Diamond breakfast is buffet for two and buffet is excellent. But be prepared to wait in line until the waiter call your name. We spent about 20-30mins to wait.
Overall, I think this is a solid beach hotel and will definitely come back with my kids.

DiverDave

Noticed that if you visit the hotel website directly (waterfrontresort.com), it pops up an offer for no resort fee and a $25 daily restaurant credit through the end of May. Could be a decent deal depending which rates apply.

Also, valet parking is discontinued at this time and self-parking is $20 per night. Makes sense to reduce contact between customers and staff.

edit: also not seeing any non-refundable rates. Guess that's logical since Hilton has made them refundable, but it makes for a bit of a price increase if you wanted to get that price and stay refundable.

DiverDave

Just completed a one week stay at this property, checking out Monday 6/22.

Valet parking has resumed at $42 per night. No housekeeping or bellmen, but Boardwalk restaurant is open with less seating. The Diamond breakfast benefit is a $30 credit at the Boardwalk towards a fairly limited menu. I think Henry's just reopened.

If you need toiletries, bedding, or towels you can ask for them to be brought up. I asked for some toiletries and they were delivered promptly.

My room did not display the Hilton Cleanstay sticker, but those began to appear on other rooms the day after check-in.

Overall I think the hotel is doing a good job with Covid, but sadly their guests are not. Very few guests are wearing masks, and there is not much social distancing on the weekends when the hotel is at a higher occupancy.

I am told the hotel is selling about half of its rooms, and a number of rooms in the upper floors of the old tower are closed for renovation.

The resort fee was being waived at the time of my stay, but I don't know how long that will continue.

Jailer

Even in summer, free, and in my mind safe, street parking can be easily had a couple of blocks inland on Huntington Street.

Sorry, I can just imagine the grave-spinning from my depression-era parents at eschewing a five minute walk and spending $42 plus tips to park.