First, the positives. This hotel is absolutely beautiful with great architecture, very nice lobby, and very well-maintained grounds. The main hotel is very large, and many of the rooms have great ocean views. The buffet breakfast included in the stay is very good. Far superior to every other "free" breakfast that I've had at a hotel.

This hotel is also billed as a "green" hotel, which I have found usually means that visitors will get less amenities than they are accustomed to. For example, the rooms have no television, no coffer maker, no microwave, and no refrigerator. Most of those people can live without, but if traveling on business alone, a hotel room with no TV can be awfully lonely, even with the fabulous views and setting. Also, without a TV to block out noise, it is easy to hear noises from nearby rooms. The basic room rates can be very reasonable. However, my wife and I brought our two-year-old toddler on our stay. For this, we had to move into a larger room at $40 more per night. This was understandable to a point, as the larger room had two beds instead of one. However, we also had to pay an additional $30 per night for the extra person. I can see $30 if it's a teenager who's going to eat a large breakfast, but we paid a total of $70 per night extra to have a two-year-old in our room. This seems excessive. On top of that, had we wanted a refrigerator or microwave for keeping milk, warming up cereal, etc., those would be $30 per night EACH. It's safe to say this is not exactly a kid-friendly hotel, at least if you are on a budget.

All-in-all, this hotel is still a great place to stay but did come across as being at a crossroads. Many of the accolades they reference are from the late 90s or early 2000s. They have not spent much upgrading the rooms (one thing I noticed was both lamps and the very nice clock radio were all plugged into an extension cord -- scary). They are keeping their basic rates low, but charging a lot for upgrades. It is in many ways a first-class hotel, but in other ways a basic budget motel. Given a decent rate, however, I would definitely come back.

Very reasonable and nice rooms! Nice views from the lobby and restaurant. I would definitely stay here again.

Traveling with our dog, we ended up at the Colony Hotel last minute having to leave another hotel that was horrible. They gave us Room 720 in the East Wing. Even though we checked in at 9:20 pm, we had to wait for a bit, but they were kind enough to lower the price of the room as it was only for one night. The cleaning staff finished and we found a room where they had just sprayed air freshener. I personally hate that, but luckily the windows opened and they were screened, so we were able to air out the room pretty good. I think it was a former smoking room as it had a slightly stale old smoke smell in it. But it had two queen beds, was comfortable and clean, renovated bathroom with decent shower head (although the bathroom was pretty narrow and small). No view from our room, but the hotel itself is in a magnificent location next to the beach and the outside of the hotel is incredibly grand and beautiful. The staff was very nice and all dog-lovers and made us and our dog feel very welcome. The buffet breakfast was actually fantastic, and I am not one for buffets. The only problem was it was so crowded and busy in the hotel and we happened to get stuck next to a mob of rude young French people crowding around us talking at breakfast, which was annoying. It is a very big place, but if you are traveling with a dog they are very nice there. You won't find that much serenity in this hotel -- it's busy!

We stayed here 2 very very long days just a week ago . Dogs were everywhere, you couldn't get away from them . Barking and fighting all the time in the parking lot, lobby, hallways and rooms on either side . You couldn't even sit on a chair in the lobby or tv room without getting dog hair on you .
One of the nights I almost got bit when a beagle decided to attack a lab and I was in his way.

I like animals as much as the next person but this was just crazy !!