satori

The Highlands Inn gets a bad rep from people who feel they overpaid for what they got. I love this hotel over the hill from my home.

This location offers simple pleasures at a high price. Personally I have only stayed using FFN free nights. I find it a great deal as a Hyatt Diamond member who has always received the townhouse apartment rooms.


Upstairs sitting room with real wood fireplace. The fireplace is set up initially and ready to light when you arrive.


Downstairs bedroom


Bathroom with extra large spa tub and separate shower. Bath amenities are Gilchrist & Soames.


Spa Tub


The View


The lobby view

huskergreg

I'm currently at the Highlands Inn in Room 505, a two story suite with a terrific ocean view. The room is beautiful and the bellman said it was just refurbished last week. New flat screen tv's upstairs and down. Granite countertops in the kitchen and bath. New furniture (similar to the dark "modern" style furniture I've seen in other Hyatts). New carpet and new tile in the shower. New sink in bath and I think also a new sink in the kitchen. New sofabed also, I believe.

We had dinner at Pacific Edge last night and it was wonderful, with very excellent service.

The staff has been very friendly and helpful. Overall a wonderful stay.

Greg

Firewind

Thanks, Greg, and satori for the pics. I must confess that my only issue has been that in some of the townhouse rooms, the jacuzzi has seemed old around the edges, if you know what I mean. Looking at Peter's and your posts, one wonders if 505 is the "FTer Suite".

huskergreg

They are refurbishing the other rooms in this part of the hotel also. I've seen them getting rid of the old carpet, furniture, etc and bringing in the new for at least a dozen other rooms during the last couple of days.
By the way, Satori's photos show the old carpeting and furniture.

The spa tub in our room looks like new, but I assume it is the same tub that was here previously. They have a board in the lobby that shows some of the new furniture, carpet, etc being installed, similar to what a decorator would use to show their design choices. I've noticed a number of the employees doing the work are wearing a t-shirt that looks like a sports jersey on the back with a big "09" for the number and "RENOVATION" where the athlete's name would go.

My wife and I love this place too. It's so nice to sit on the balcony and look out at the ocean. Having a fire in the fireplace each evening is great too. And California Market is wonderful place to sit outside and eat breakfast while you look at the gorgeous view. We can't do any of that in Kansas City.

jumpdogjump

Had a wonderful stay last weekend for a wedding anniversary. Received a 1 br OV Spa Suite up the hill a bit (314), as the Flyertalk suites (500's) were full Great view from the balcony, except for the top of the 200 building in front of us (If you didn't know about the Townhouses, the view is wonderful). Bed area was able to be petitioned off from livingroom and spa/bath by sliding wood panels. Small kitchenette was completely equipped with 4 place-settings, pots and pans, etc. Had a fold-out leather sofabed in the livingroom.

Only 1 TV, though - a wide screen LCD that hung from the ceiling swivelled 360 degrees for livingroom or bedroom watching. Fireplace was great, and we had to call to get more wood (all the pine they provided lasted about 90 minutes). Very large 2-person spa tub was fabulous. One of the more impressive selections of adult titles. Not that we noticed.

Ate the 4-course tasting menu with wine pairing at Pacific's Edge. They've really brought the pricing down ($65/pp+40/pp w/wine) - I believe it used to be $90/pp + wine. Surprised not to see fish in the tasting menu - tomato 4-way appetizer, duck loin, rib eye and dessert. Very good.

Rec'd a $32 breakfast voucher - covers the cost of 2 cont'l breakfasts, but we opted for the 2 eggs, meat (we had ham) & fingerling potatoes + toast for $15/pp. Plentiful portion size, also very good. The room service menu adds $4.00 delivery gratuity and 18% service charge.

We were in a Vacation Club rooms (see virtual tour layout) (used a free night), and if this one were available next year in non-FFN times for 15,000 points, I'd do it again in a second.

Firewind

Ahhh... Had to put the virtual tour in, didn't you?

You didn't mention the weather ...Also "Not that we noticed"?

Seriously, was the continental breakfast @ $32 that you describe at the Pacific's Edge or the California Market?

Also, since I've seen you active in the discussion of the DEL5K and DELISH discussions, I wonder if you know how the "Highlands Inn, A Hyatt Hotel and Hyatt Vacation Club Resort" is treated as a "resort"? Does DEL5K apply? Can one use the DELISH voucher? I am doubtful, but I don't remember seeing these picky questions asked on the board before.

Thank you.

huskergreg

My wife and I also got the $32/night breakfast voucher. The "continental breakfast buffet" at California Market is apparently only offered on weekends. The credit can be used for anything on the menu. If I recall correctly, pancakes or french toast were about $13 and an omelette was about $16. We typically ended up spending a couple dollars for breakfast with juice or coffee, plus a tip. Pacific Edge doesn't serve breakfast.

The weather when we were there was perfect. About 65 in the day and low 50's at night. Sunshine most of the time and no fog. I ended up with some minor sunburn on my face from sitting on the balcony in the afternoons enjoying the view.

I agree that 15,000 points for a free night would be well worth it.

jumpdogjump

Weather was overcast morning and sunny mid-60's afternoon, with virtually no wind - ocean was as glassy as a lake. Not a complaint, but I would have loved to have seen sizeable waves, as rocky as the coast is there. I highly recommend Casanova Restaurant for lunch in Carmel.

I was told that breakfast was served in the California Market, but we used room service.

The property is not listed as a DEL5k property, and the rate didn't come up there. or on the DELISH list (HR monterey is). So, I guess it's not really a resort. For $450+ for the cheapest rooms, a free night seemed a bit more reasonable.

SanDiego1K

We are really enjoying this hotel. It has the feel of a mountain aerie overlooking crashing waves. The view is spectacular. My attention was drawn to the hotel thanks to a blog post by satori. At that point, there weren't many positive reports on FT about the hotel. But the view, oh, the view.

The hotel is at the north end of the area considered Big Sur. We drove up a very windy hilly road to get to it. On entering the lobby, we saw thru to a wall that was pure glass to a 180 degree view of crashing waves. We were mesmerized. Pacific Edge restaurant is in this area, with the bar a few steps above. The restaurant only opens at 5:30pm, a shame as sunset is 5pm at this time of year. California Market on the ground level is open for breakfast and lunch. It has a heated deck, and has a view to the south coast. If I hadn't seen the straight out view, I would have been delighted with it.

We were given suite 504 in the townhouse section. It was an easy walk from the main building. It is a townhouse, with the bedroom on the lower level, and the living room and kitchen on the main floor into which you enter. There is a tiny bathroom and shower on the main level, as well as a fully equipped kitchen. In the living room, there is a table for four, a wood burning fireplace with wood, a sofa, and chair, and a flat panel TV with a DVD/VCR player. The bedroom has a very spacious bathroom with a walk in shower and a large jacuzzi tube. There is a great ocean view from both levels. The suite has been freshly renovated, and everything in it looks great.

We had the $65 tasting menu at the Waters Edge. It was very good. I recommend the restaurant, whether the tasting menu or individual dishes. We didn't eat at the California Market, but the menu looked appealing.

We like the place so much we are already talking about coming back. However, we want to come back when sunset is later. We want to sit in the restaurant and be able to see the sun go down.

I believe that this property is an overlooked gem amongst FTers.

Pickles

Not really. It ranks as one of the worst hotel stays anywhere for me, so YMMV.

FD1971

Actually, it is one of the properties where opinions differ massively, partly, because of the different room categories that exist ranging from the suite you got to very small rooms with no balcony but two chairs overlooking the parking lot. It was also ( completely ? ) renovated throughout the last years.

Additionally, this is one of the properties where expectations are sky-high, because of the high price and exclusivity, but also because this place was very tough to get, almost impossible on weekends due to their rumoured one room ( if one at all ) for awards per night policy.

I strongly recommend to have lunch or dinner at Sierra Mar at the world-famous Post Ranch Inn, about 20 minutes south. Views are even more amazing, if you add a couple hundred ft. to your position

http://postranchinn.com/

peteropny

Hey, you're in one of our rooms Did they replace the furniture and renovate the kitchen? In May the living room furniture especially the table & chairs were decidedly downscale as was the kitchen.

I can definitely say that there is more than one room available for award redemption per night, in May we had 2 rooms (504 & 505).

FD1971

Just judging from Carmel and PH Paris, times have indeed changed and right now award availability is really solid, even at those prime properties.

Back in the good old days, the Hyatt options after leaving San Francisco heading south were really disgusting ( Rickey's, Hyatt San Jose Airport or Monterey pre-renovation come to mind ) so I always tried to get Carmel.

On weekends, it was actually a rhetoric question calling GPP and even on weekdays it used to be a tough one.

Really good to see that Hyatt has upped the ante in the greater San Jose / Monterey Peninsula area. ^

SanDiego1K

I noticed that from your report! Yes, the rooms have been gutted and renovated. They are really nice.

tdml68

I stayed there several years ago; after reading all of the posts about it being renovated I'll have to give it a try.