skj

Except VBS is not "all inclusive". It's more accurately described as "full board" as most food and non-alcoholic beverages are included, but alcohol and some specialty items are not. If you order a bottle of wine to accompany your dinners, you'll blow through a F&B credit quickly.

SP03

But upgrade is based on availability and if there�s no other room available and you got a better room than booked, it�s an upgrade.

Unfortunately, while I understand disappointment but demanding recovery for this is going to push hotels/chains to hide pre-assigned rooms from guests.

nsx

This is normal for that property. About half the times that app show me an upgrade at Ventana I end up with a different type room.

olouie

Very true. I think they pretty much prioritize by fist come first serve of whatever rooms are open when you happen to checkin.

SP03

Ironically that�s exactly what people are arguing hotels should do.

lowkeyflyer

How the heck do you get a points reservation here on weekends?

coleslaw

It�s possible, you just need to be determined (and lucky).

lowkeyflyer

Aside from booking far in advance, are there any tricks like min stay requirements?

slariz

Many weekends have 3 night minimum. I also found much more availability closer in to travel dates.

lowkeyflyer

How do you know which weekends have 3 night min or just assume all of them does? I assume that means you need Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night.

neilana

Basically what the other posters said. Try looking for dates 2-3 weeks out from today or whenever you are searching. See if someone cancelled last minute, well, maybe more towards two weeks out because of the cancellation policy. If you do end up finding something, it is probably due to luck.

I do not want to speak for all the weekends based on my one data point, but I have definitely seen standard rooms for two weekend nights (Friday to Sunday) available to book recently. I actually booked a standard room with points for a Friday to Sunday stay in January a couple weeks ago. In fact, in that same search, I saw standard rooms for another weekend in January also available. Since booking, I have seen standard rooms available for a weekend in May and another weekend in September (2024), both weekends being Friday to Sunday.

The only reason why I saw all of these dates is because I literally searched for every weekend between now until thirteen months out. I did this every couple of days at all hours. Hence, the determination as other posters have pointed out. And honestly, you just have to be lucky that something opens up as you are searching. As soon as I booked, there were unsurprisingly no more standard rooms for my dates.

happychic

For those who plan to bring a dog for the Big Sur Suite, is it better to request for the upper floor or the bottom floor? Thank you.

RedPanda5

bottom floor, the sound insulation isn't great

also note if you don't explicitly answer their pre-arrival survey and say you are bringing a dog they tend not to charge you the $150 per pet fee. This is even the case when you bring your dog with you to the checkin desks in the "lobby" and they know you have a dog and give him/her a bandana with the Ventana logo on it

Soccerjoshj07

If were me, I would prefer top floor if you go to bed early/are a light sleeper, because you can normally here footsteps in the room above you.

joecool1885

Ironically, this is precisely why I'd suggest the bottom floor. On our first visit, our stay was seriously marred by a dog pacing in the room above us. Human footsteps are fine, because we don't usually spend all our down time walking in circles in the room.
It'd be very considerate to pick downstairs.