Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach — Hotel in Dana Point

My husband and I stayed in mid-Sept '25 at Waldorf Monarch Beach resort @ Dana point CA for 3 nights.  We had an absolutely awesome time.  The resort was spectacular (clean everywhere, all upgraded/remodeled from what I can see), the service was beyond belief (in a good way), and the food fantastic.  We have stayed at 2 other Waldorfs (Maui and Vegas) and nothing compares with the Monarch Beach one.  OK, to be fair, we are diamond members so we are used to the upgrading of our reservation, always addressing us by name, and other perks.  But they went beyond with what we are used to.  We did tell them we were on our 26h anniversary and that might have been the reason for the excellent service but we did our 25th anniversary at the Maui site and didn't get this type of service.  Our 1-bedroom suite was very clean and beautiful; very impressive.  The only thing is we kinda expected a bathtub (which we did get at the other Waldorfs) but this one did not come with it.  But we did have the robes and the slippers.  We sampled all their restaurants:  (1) Steak house was definitely "upper-class", had the filet mignon and delmonico ribeye - all were done superbly; the french fries that were complimentary were fried just right and had great sauces; desserts were awesome. (2) Monarch Bay Beach club was definitely more laid-back and why not, it was right by the beach.  The Poke was good; I only say "good" because if you have been to Hawaii and tasted their "great" pokes, nothing else can compare.  We had lunch and dinner there.  All the food was good to great.  Nothing was "just okay". Bartender makes wonderful concoctions too.  And before I go on to the next restaurant, I need to do a shout-out to the service on the beach.  Someone basically sets you up with chairs and umbrellas; there is no food/drink service but that is ok.  So one doesn't need to lift a finger for a set-up. And, (3) Aveo - did breakfast and dinner.  Breakfast was pretty good but nothing too different/odd, which is ok to my taste.  Now, dinner was SUPERB.  I think our waiter was Bruce and if I got his name wrong, he is the tall, older gentleman who likes to research the drinks and food that they serve.  He was such a pleasure to chat with.  Anyway, I had the sea bass - OMG, this is the BEST BEST dish on the premises.  My husband and I like to eat very good food when we go out on dates so I know a thing or two about great food and this SEA BASS was just beyond words.  I am still thinking about it. ... We didn't get to sample 33 North since we definitely had our fill at the restaurants.  But we did sample some bites at Sombra Cantina by the pool and they were appetizing; drinks were good too.  POOL: There are 2 pools (well one more by the spa) and 3 large hot tubs with salt water.  Lots of umbrellas and the pool handlers all will help with positioning them to where you want them.  Also lots of loungers.  One thing:  this place is NOT cheap or average on prices.  Don't expect to be able to nickel and dime.  The restaurants are expensive, even more so than in Vegas and Maui (except for Nobu restaurant).  But despite the cost, this place is definitely worth coming back to.. We are not far from this place; I have been looking for a classy getaway place that we can quickly drive to and have a very restful stay.  Oh, another thing: Unfortunately, like many resorts, they allow for "resortPass" entries. This can bring some riff raff, so try to avoid special holidays and some summer days.  I did check resort pass site and it looked like they only allow entry if you rent a cabana, which is not cheap, so the party who rents needs to pay up to even get a pass here; however, a party of 4-6 can obviously split the costs making it much cheaper to go to this resort.  This is my only issue.  I have been to resorts before expecting rest and quiet and instead I get LOUD and annoying and no place to sit at the pools.  So be watchful of popular days and avoid them.  I need to do another shout out to the spectacular service of the night-time manager, Blanco, who accommodated one of my requests, which NO OTHER hotel as ever done for me (and I have stayed at Marriotts, Hyatts, Hiltons, and obviously Waldorfs).  And another shout-out to Eric at the front desk who kindly upgraded us and was super-nice.    We plan to come back hopefully often for that restful, quiet stay.  Oh I forgot to say one more thing:  for those of you who have stayed in Asia at Shangri-la and experienced their service, food, and hotels, this Waldorf Monarch Beach I believe is at par with the Shang-ri-la style.  Monarch Beach people:  Thanks for a GREAT stay.  Looking forward to seeing...

AMAZING housekeeping and stellar service, beautiful views/garden and an incredible location. Great for young families but not ideal for adults or families with teens.

The room was nice but had no bathtub or bathroom fan. The bathroom was oddly huge, as though it had been built to accommodate a tub that was never installed. But it was nice and clean; had lots of plush towels, slippers, and robes; delightful Aesop amenities; and nice hot water. The room was all manual. Germy fingerprint-covered iPads are disgusting and half the time they don't even work. None of that hassle here!

The property location is lovely. There are actually monarch butterflies here; saw several each day!! Even the "pool view" room we stayed in had an ocean view. The room decor was stylish and comfortable. And the room was spotless, both when we arrived and each time it was made up. This is the cleanest hotel room I've stayed in for decades. I cannot emphasize how much joy this gave me. The housekeeping staff deserves a raise!!! It's SO nice to have a spotless room, not only for yourself but especially when traveling with your dog or toddler who is inevitably going to find all the disgusting things under the furniture and try to eat them. Not a problem here!

The hotel is designed around a lovely grassy courtyard. There is a large open area in the center of the courtyard, perhaps 100 feet from the rooms. This area is totally empty, while the edges of the courtyard, which are about ten feet from the rooms, are packed with children's play items like jumbo Jenga, puzzle blocks, and cornhole. Screaming toddlers were joyfully playing next to the rooms from 6 a.m. until well after 11 p.m. every day. I do not hold the hotel responsible for rude parenting, but I do hold the hotel responsible for failing to have or enforce quiet hours, and for setting up play areas literally outside hotel rooms when there is plenty of empty space in the courtyard further away from the rooms. And the hotel was absolutely packed with young children. The pool was teeming with them (there are no adult-only hot tubs or pools; you have the noisy splashy pee-pool or nothing). If you want to go somewhere with your children, bring them here and you will fit right in. This is your place! Despite my rating, this is a five-star property from a young family point of view!!! 💕

But if you are here without kids, or with your teens, or for a business conference, a golf weekend, a spa weekend, or a romantic getaway, this is not the place for you.

There is no self-park here; every time you want to leave, you have to stare at your oh-so-close car for 10 minutes while the valet finds the keys to drive it 15 feet/open the door for you (assuming you remembered to call ahead to have them queue up your car). This is a pet peeve of mine with many places and I do not blame the property for it. Just be warned if you are trying to choose between this property and another one that does offer self-park.

The restaurants at the property are nice but, again, packed full of kids, some of which are noisier than others. We mainly ate at the beach club. The food and drink were okay but not nearly worth the prices. As everywhere on the property, the service was phenomenal. It more than compensated for the mediocre quality of the food and wine. The beach club has a great cozy-beachy-garden vibe. Those things all seem like opposites but somehow combined so beautifully!

You access the beach club via shuttle from the hotel. (Again, full of yelling children.) The shuttle drivers and the shuttle concierge were absolutely lovely, as was every other employee we encountered at the property. Every employee we talked to was kind and did everything within their power to make sure that we were absolutely spoiled and as comfortable as they could make us. From check-in, to food and drink service, to housekeeping, to valet, the staff here was absolutely amazing and was the only Waldorf-quality aspect of what is otherwise a JW...

My husband and I took a few days to get away to this beautiful resort. We were greeted by the valet who was very insistent in taking our car even though we told him we are dropping off our luggage and going to park our car somewhere else. He was very pushy trying to park it just for a few minutes while we unloaded. He even went as far as not allowing my husband to help me transport our bags to the front door. My husband had to stay with the car at all times, the valet said. This first interaction made me quite hesitant on what I should expect as I checked in.

Check in: It was absolutely amazing and the exact opposite of our experience with the valet. Russell greeted me with a warm, friendly smile, welcomed me to the Waldorf and offered me cold waters. He was prompt in looking up my reservation and acknowledged me as a Diamond Hilton member. He quickly told me that even though we arrived super early (11:30 am) he would put me on the list to get a room ASAP. He went over all the benefits they provide Diamond members and took my contact information so they could contact me when our room was ready. My husband and I then went on our way to park our car off site (the hotel charges $70 for valet). It wasn’t more than 15 minutes after that we received a text saying that our room was ready. We quickly made our way back to the hotel where they immediately told us we had been upgraded to a suite and had their bell hop, Marcel, help us up to our room. Marcel was so friendly and had so many great recommendations for us on what to do at the resort, in the area, etc. He recommended the pizza at the local coffee/food bar in the resort. We did take his recommendation for the pizza and it was pretty good. Marcel was another gem that helped us!

Our room: So it was beautifully appointed with a large glass shower, walk in closet with comfy slippers and robes, a separate water closet, double sinks, a bar area, living room with desk are and patio and of course the main bedroom with a comfortable king bed. I was impressed! It was very clean throughout, which is VERY important to me. The only thing missing was a view but I am not complaining at all. I feel very fortunate to have been upgraded to this beautiful room.

Our Visit: We took the bus trolley to the beach after we unpacked and changed into our beach wear. The trolley was easy to find and ran throughout the day. It was very convenient! The beach provides chairs and umbrellas for their guests. They bring the chairs and umbrellas to whatever location you want on the beach. Great Service! The Beach House was great with options for food and drinks, and wonderful places to sit. It had a fabulous vibe! We spent many hours on the beach reading, walking the shore and then going up to the Beach House to watch a volleyball tournament. So fun! For dinner we actually ordered a pizza & a Caesar salad and ate it on our balcony. It was perfectly relaxing. We were able to take advantage of the beautiful grounds and walked around the premises and found so many cute seating areas to have a cocktail and relax. The next morning we found an outdoor fire pit where we sat, read and had our coffee. I inquired at the front desk if we could have a late check out so that I could join the yoga class their gym offered. They didn’t hesitate and allowed us to check out late. I was able to join the yoga class which took place on their spa’s pool deck. It turned out to be a small class of only 3 of us and our instructor, Laura. Laura was wonderful and very helpful in making sure I was doing my poses correctly. I truly enjoyed the class! Before we left we ordered a chicken caprese sandwich at the coffee place again and the sandwich was delicious. I recommend it.

Check out: Super easy and fast. They had our bill ready and it was correct. They asked if our stay was good and thanked us for visiting and that they hoped to see us again.

We will...