236Dakota

We went back to the 38 Mile Marker shoreline access and had lunch there again (Partington Cove Trailhead). We saw just one other couple. There is a pedestrian tunnel along the shore that goes through a mountain to another cove; pretty cool. Because Highway 1 is closed about 10 miles south of Ventana there is very little traffic. There is smoke, but like I said yesterday, all of California is immersed in smoke. Wife is now doing laps in the pool.

The restaurant was closed last night and again tonight so there is only in-suite dining but that is perfectly fine with me because while eating at the restaurant Tuesday evening I had several yellow jackets attacking my food and I'm highly allergic. We finally packed up and finished desert in our room. Because of my bee allergy we wouldn't have gone back again anyway.

We are still very much enjoying our stay and we will be leaving as planned early tomorrow AM.

236Dakota

Partington Cove
Because Big Sur is really high above the ocean Partington Cove is the first place south that one can easily walk down to the ocean. Anywhere else you'd either be repelling or doing a Thelma and Louise launch.

myperks

revenue manager is definitely on top of adjusting inventory and minimum stay restrictions as they go along. You can get a single night Saturday this weekend on awards (maybe lots of cancellations due to the fires)

fls114

From the east coast so not very familiar with the California wild fire seasons.
We literally just booked a trip to Ventana Big Sur + Yosemite after our planned trip to St John had to be cancelled due to COVID restrictions.

We are supposed to arrive on September 7th. Do the fires usually last weeks? Unpredictable?

ComplexAnalysis

Pretty unpredictable. Large chance that these fires will not last until then (fires mostly last fewer than 2-3 weeks ... but generally there are 1-2 / year in CA that can last upto 2 months or so). There may be more fires later though. 2 weeks from now you'll probably know better.

236Dakota

Unpredictable, but with climate change, becoming more predictable, like all year long. But don't let that stop you. Dive in, the water's fine.

CIT85

We're watching the fires situation closely. We're flying into SFO on 8/29, spend 2 nights in Monterey, then 4 nights in Ventana. I'll decide on 8/27 if we should cancel, only if air quality is very unhealthy.

beardedmeerkat

we are here now. I can’t imagine staying 4 nights here even with the state parks open and improved air quality.

Definitely not 5 stars. I requested foam pillows, towels, slippers, creamer, weights and yoga pad and got slippers, razor, shaving cream, face wipes, weights and yoga mat. No towels, no foam pillows (I can’t sleep with the pillows they have), no creamer. Not really sure if I want to send another request.

we brought our dog. It’s in our reservation and they saw him during check in but no dog bed or dog bowls.

ralphs

Our dog got a (subpar) dog bed and two dog bowls, so that piece is unusual.

boolean64

Did you get actual fabric slippers? There were rubber pool shoes in our room. I called to get actual slippers and was told that the pool shoes were the only "slippers" they had. I was stunned.

myperks

Is it customary in the USA (unless catering to the Asian clientele) to have fabric slippers like they do in Asia? I can’t recall any properties that have this although I never really requested it and generally don’t stay at $2k a night properties so expectations may differ.

liondragonx5y

I think a 5 star hotel that charges $2000 should have literally just about anything someone might think of requesting.... or know how to easily source such a request. And they certainly shouldn’t be forgetting about people’s requests. $300-400 5 star hotels I’ve been to have been so much better at granting requests. Heck, I was at the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve in Puerto Rico two months ago and at $150 a night, they still granted every single request without hesitation.

abcx

Somebody really should write to Hyatt corporate about all the screw ups at this property... but that might just alert them to the outsized redemption value, so perhaps not a good idea!

liondragonx5y

First, I would be shocked if Hyatt Corporate doesn’t look at this forum. Second, I don’t think there is a single person here who thinks the hotel is worth $2000. There is the theoretical value of this being 6 cents a point or whatever, but in reality I’m not sure Id pay more than $500-600 for it — $300 for the hotel mostly because of the hard product and the remoteness, $200-300 for the three meals (remember alcohol isn’t included). I give 0 value to the service currently here, and would rate the service more like a 3 star than a 5 star. Most of the time, the service of a 5 star hotel is what makes a place more expensive and justified. The hard product can only get so good.

At $600 or 2 cents a point, this redemption is average. When you start looking at 30,000 point redemptions, there are other options that I think I’d take, especially during peak times. If the Ventana was actually worth $2000, this would be a different discussion. By the way, since Alila took over, they were charging $1000 a night in most peak months, and the hotel was still struggling (less during non-peak). They added $1000 as a cool Covid hotel and for the food.

For example, if Lahaina Shores started charging $2000 a night in Maui, would I say “Wow! This is a 13.33 cent a point redemption! I’m going to book this place out.” Probably not... because it’s really worth more like $200 a night when comparing to places nearby.

liondragonx5y

$2,000 hotels should be able to accommodate “absurd” requests. Most hotels in general, at major chains especially, offer foam pillows as many are allergic to feather pillows. Not even 5 star places. I’ve been to random Hilton’s and Hyatt’s across the country where they advertise offering foam pillows. As for the dog bed and bowl, they advertise as a dog friendly place. I don’t think either of those requests are far-fetched. I’ve never requested things like that, but I see those are pretty basic requests. I’ve heard of much crazier requests get granted at 5 star hotels.

Same reason as why do people pay for premium credit cards? You pay a high price, you expect high service. And the more expensive things get, the more expectations are to accommodate “absurd” requests and make them seem easy to fulfill.

You are bashing someone on this thread, yet based on your comments I’m wondering if you have stayed at luxury properties around the world costing $2000 a night for perspective. This isn’t the Hyatt Place. And frankly, I don’t care where I’m staying, I (and most people) would never use their luggage space on packing their own pillows.