mjh69

Anyone had a recent stay here? Last post i found was like back in 2005. Anyway i've got weekends to plan on my next business trip and was thinking about spending 3 nights here considering i've never stayed in this area or aorund this area before. So question would be is the area a good place for a solo traveler? (eg walking distance to go night life/restaurants?) and is the hotel decent? Plus i wonder what the weather is gonna be like at end of Jan?

dd992emo

If I knew what the weather was going to be like at the end of January I'd be filthy rich and not posting on FT...

This hotel is okay. Nothing special. It isn't really very close to the beach and it sits right next to Hwy 101. I imagine the front rooms might get a little freeway noise, but the back rooms should be fine. It's pretty close to downtown Ventura, which is a really nice area with lots of restaurants and shopping. Not really walking distance, but only about a five minute drive. If you're there on a Saturday, check out the farmer's market downtown. ^

I work in that area, so feel free to PM me if you have any area questions.

jtp1947

There is an In N Out burger across the street and a couple of other fast food places within walking distance. The Ventura Harbor Village is about a 5 minute drive south with a few nice restaurants, http://www.venturaharborvillage.com/...tcategory_id=1. As stated in the previous post, the hotel is just okay.

WolfManDoug

I stayed there last spring and thought it was the worst "full service" Marriott that I have ever stayed at. Not much of a restaurant or bar, rooms were smaller than most, rooms at the "back" of the hotel were a long walk from the front, and it was not near much of anything else other than some apartments and homes. If you have any other options, I would use them!

mjh69

Well seems like i'll give this a miss then and look elsewhere, thanks for the info.

bokeyes23

I have been looking for hotels in the area and heard nothing but negative reviews for this area/hotel. If your going to do the beach area I was told there are a lot better options around FYI!

TRAVELSIG

It is not that bad- but not that great either.

The room I had here in August was pretty large actually, with the typical Marriott decor to the tee.

Pool is quite small, and was full of screaming children.

You can walk into "town"- it is about 15 minutes via the boardwalk across from the park.

Breakfast in the lounge is fine if a little bit crowded- they seemed to have a lot of longstay customers (I take it there must be some type of IT/consulting place nearby based on the customers I saw that has long-term contractors).

I can suggest there are better options- but it depends really what you want, and also the price point (I think I paid ~120 USD including taxes IIRC). The Crowne Plaza is not too bad either, has a great view, and is closer to the main street with all the restaurants etc.

Tiojelly

Stayed there a couple years back.

The hotel is pretty close to the beach (a block or 2) and is right next to a park. My room overlooked the park and had partial ocean views. It will likely be brisk at the end of January .. certainly not sun tanning weather.

Downtown Ventura is fun, but aside from restaurants and bars, not much a day of strolling couldn't accomplish. There are some good golf courses very close if that is your thing.

The Marriott in Santa Ynez is good for wine tasting and exploring, but not much within walking distance.

adventurous

I was here in October and enjoyed it. It's perfect for conferences for a small city. The restaurant's adequate. Parking is great.


I do not see myself vacationing here. It's pretty near the beach but not really a beach hotel.

thegoderic

Just spent the weekend here as an escape from LA - in town on business and wanted to get out bait.

It's actually perfectly fine. Nice public area, decent room on concierge level and free breakfast in Restaurant which was rather nice.

Had a beer and snack in the bar last night and that was also nicer than you might expect.

Heck of a lot better than the Long Beach Ren where I'd been staying for business.

SkiAdcock

I take it the lounge was closed for the weekend. Do you know if it was key accessible? Is there free wifi or i-net terminal? Do they offer brekkie coupons to both Golds & Plats? Any info appreciated, and I'll update the sticky.

Cheers.

thegoderic

The lounge was closed for the weekend and I as a Plat was offered free breakfast in the restaurant - not sure about Golds. I didn't try to get into the lounge but there was nothing on view in terms of fruit, coffee or sodas to pick up in there.

postnobills

Despite the somewhat blah views above, I can report that I stayed there last weekend and have nothing but positive things to say about this property. Among the four hotels that my wife and I stayed at over our recent trip to SoCal, this was the ONLY hotel that actually noted our request for a feather-free room and acted on it proactively before we arrived.

We arrived shortly after noon, realizing that a room was not likely to be ready since check-in was not until 3pm. The front desk clerk contacted housekeeping and was told that it would be ready in about an hour (we could have had another room, but this one was already noted to be switched out to feather-free). The clerk completed the check-in except for key issuance, took my phone number and said she would give us a call when the room was ready. Call received in less than an hour.

The room was large, although it can be a bit of a walk from the elevators.

Absolutely everyone we encountered on the staff had a cheerful, service-oriented attitude - front desk, restaurant staff, maids, even the valet parking guy. Our rate did not include breakfast, but we we had the breakfast buffet, which we felt was pretty high quality and very reasonably priced.

I thought the pool was a very nice size and in an attractive setting. Very attractive lobby with some interesting art on display. The beach was a short block away.

I don't have experience with other hotels in Ventura, but I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

roadman3313

Just arrived to this property... C-Lounce is decent... quesadillas for an afternoon snack and little cheesecakes for dessert. Did not receive a plat upgrade... upgraded rooms showed on the reservation system but the front desk said that no other rooms were available as they were fully booked. Received a room with two double beds instead. 3rd Floor is reserved for Marriott Reward members... 4th floor is the lounge level.

Had trouble with the parking cards but the front desk quickly fixed that. This is my second stay here... I'd say this property can be hit and miss. Overall not a stand-out Marriott but by no means is it run down either. Great for a Business stay or when passing through town.

jtp1947

Plus In n Out burger is across the street.