Stayed in November and have been meaning to write a quick review.

Location is great and Laguna is a great place to visit. I would certainly return to Laguna, but would be equally certain not to stay here again.

The staff were friendly and the location perfect, but this is an old motel type property that has had a quick makeover with fresh paint and not much else. Walls are paper thin and we could here almost every word our neighbours spoke, plus we were woken late at night by people walking past the room door returning to their own rooms. Not necessarily making a lot of noise, but sound proofing to the outside is non-existent and the large gaps around the doors don’t exactly help.

We were lucky enough to be moved from our initial room before even unpacking and pity anyone that ended up with that room. It was located by one of the pools and adjacent to the loud restaurant next door. To say it was tatty and tired would be a massive understatement, but you have to congratulate the hotel on maintaining the 1960’s refrigerator in the room! We peered through open doorways into several other rooms and this seemed typical of all rooms.

We knew of the valet parking beforehand, but this was still a money grab / rip-off. Maybe it’s needed in the height of summer, but not in November when the hotel is far from capacity. I much prefer parking my own car / keeping the keys in my possession and would prefer to avoid valet parking, but that wasn’t possible. Most days we just grabbed the keys from the valet in the morning and walked to the car ourselves. No need to wait 5 mins for them to get the car when you’ve already walked past it to get to the valet desk!! Not exactly a secure setup either with the key cabinets unlocked even when not attended. We could have very easily driven off in the car of our choosing without any difficulty.

Our flight was early evening and we assumed that we would be ok to leave the car parked for the day and relax around Laguna. Having paid the $20 to park overnight we naturally assumed that we could leave the car at the hotel no problem, but were informed that we would be ok up to midday and thereafter a further $15 would be due! Needless to say we moved on at midday.

You obviously get what you pay for, but I was very disappointed with the hotel and very much wish that we had stayed elsewhere.

I wanted to let all of you know; if you want to see the ocean and hear the waves, the Pacific Edge is a really nice place to stay. My room was kinda art decco style, clean and comftorble. Small kitchen, stove, microwave, two sided patio and the water was only feet away.

The staff was friendly, polite, and very helpful. I believe there are a few swimming pools, and jacuzzi's. The jacuzzi I used was very large and did the job. I stayed for 4 days, and plan to stay again for a week.

I recommed getting the ocean front room. I believe corner units have a two sided patio.

The Pacific Edge will not disapoint you.

Dave

My husband and I took an overnight trip here in late December. It is easy to get to on PCH. The room itself is okay, but being on the beach with waves lapping all the time is incredible. There is a balcony with Adirondack chairs. Even in December with a blanket around me, I enjoyed watching the early morning fishing boats and sunset the night before. We walked on the beach and had a great time. The staff was very eager to please.

I wanted to take my (then 15month old) son to the beach for the first time and thought Laguna Beach would be a good start. I chose this little hotel mainly because of convenience. It's located adjacent to the shore. Due to a recent health issues, I decided to book a room that is simply steps away from the ocean. I originally booked a first floor oceanfront king room but was somewhat disappointed when we were given a 2nd floor oceanfront king room. I didn't want to ruin our mini vacation so we kept the spirit up. Upon entering our room, I was again somewhat disappointed, the room and the building felt a bit like a motel than anything. But our room was clean, spacious with a medium size refridgerator and a little kitchen sink. No microwave, apparently that cost extra. Our room was also not too far of a walk to the water. I mean, it was definitely not just steps away like I initally have thought but not too bad at all. The elevator also helped.

I would rate this hotel a 3.5 stars if I could but pushed towards 4 stars than 3 stars as follows:

PROS:
- Location, location, location: 5 stars for this alone. The hotel is beachfront and conveniently situated. Our oceanfront room have absolutely stunning view. We can hear the waves crashing all throughout the day and night. Hotel is also walking distance to a lot of establishments. There's restaurants, shops, cafe and even grocery store (RALPHS) just accross the street.

- I love that our room have a good size veranda with 2 chairs and a table. A great place to just relax and watch the amazing view; enjoyed the sunset view the most!The veranda is also enclosed by a plexi-glass railing system. This makes it very safe for my toddler. I don't have to lift him so he can see the waves or the ocean. He can also run around the veranda without me fearing that he might fall over the railings or slip between the railings. I mean, you still do not leave a toddler out there by himself but I can just sit, relax and not have to follow him around like I would in other hotel verandas.

- Staffs are helpful and accommodating. Our porch light did not work one night and the maintenance guy came rather swiftly and fix the problem in due course. Barbara or the hotel manager also sent us champagne the next morning. That was a nice touch.

- Towels, beach lounging chairs and umbrella are provided. You just pick a spot and they will set it up for you. Very helpful esp. when you have a toddler and/or have health issues.

- 42 inch Flat screen TV.

- Clean and heated outdoor pool

CONS:
- Valet parking fee daily (plus tips if you come in and out). I was actually already prepared for this, thanks to yelp reviewers. But it doesn't mean I like it.

- No bellhop. You will have to load and unload your own luggages. They will provide the trolley but you will need to bring it back.

- Building and room looks old; almost feels like a motel than hotel. But our room, our overall floor and building was clean and well maintained.

BOTTOM LINE: Yelpers, you'll need to adjust your expectations if you want to enjoy this hotel. The pictures they posted here and on their website was cleverly and professionally taken (as expected) but this hotel does not look as elegant as they portray. Personally, after seeing the old building and room, I did not think $250-$300 a night was worth it but after our 2nights and 3days stay here, I realized that I really had an enjoyable and relaxing mini vacation here. Almost everything here was easy and convenient. I did not need a vacation after a vacation. I went back to work rejuvenated. So, the price we paid was worth it to us. Will I come back here again? Yes, I would but there's so many competitive hotels around Laguna Beach that I might want to try as well.