Kimpton Shorebreak Huntington Beach Resort — Hotel in Huntington Beach

We had high expectations when we booked at this hotel based on the reviews and the website. They are listed as a 4 star hotel, but I would rate them closer to a two star hotel. We came here for a romantic anniversary getaway. The hotel is close to the Huntington Beach/Pier, as well as Duke's restaurant (a favorite of ours). This and the fact that most of the room was fairly clean were the only redeeming qualities. One towel still had stains on it (looked like blood maybe), and the shower tiles were black but had either hard water stains or chemicals on them that made them look unappealing.

Parking charges are outrageous. They charge $500+per night for the cheapest and most basic room, and add on $35 for parking - ouch! The walls are paper-thin. While expressing out love to each other in honor of our anniversary, a dog in the next room could be clearly heard barking...of course we suspect their owners also heard us even though we were trying to be quiet and respectful. There was a lovers quarrel that carried on for over 30 minutes as they were in and out of their room, slamming the sliding glass door, yelling at the tops of their lungs at each other (and God apparently). Nobody in the hotel staff did anything to remedy the situation. We could clearly hear the row even with our doors and windows securely closed.

We requested additional pillows as we arrived to our room and were told they would be sent up right away. After 30 minutes we went down to the front desk to ask for pillows. They said they would send them right up to our room. We let them know we had called down 30 minutes prior and still had not received them. They assured us they would be sent right up right away - and they did arrive - 30 minutes after that making it over an hour from the initial request.

We did not pay the extra $300/night for the ocean view room, but we didn't expect to only have a view of the HVAC system for $500/night either. They also have signs that indicate they require masks for anyone who enters the property. Maybe 20% of those we encountered were wearing masks and the hotel staff was not enforcing (hello people - we are still in a pandemic and the law still requires masks to be worn). We did not feel safe or secure.

They also boasted several amenities that I suppose help them justify their outrageous prices. We discovered that several of these amenities were missing from our room. They have signs in the rooms indicating they will charge guests for any missing items like the "Do Not Disturb" sign and yoga mat. We made sure to point out that these items were missing when we checked out so we weren't charged - I am sure they would have.

I called the front desk to inquire if they allow a late check-out. They asked what time and I suggested two hours after their normal noon checkout. They said they would have to charge for an extra night. I asked the latest they could allow without the extra charge. They said they would have to charge for anything over the normal checkout. Why not tell me that up front instead of playing games with questions?

As a final note - while the checkout was at noon, the housekeeping staff was trying to enter our room shortly after 9 am - we left to eat brunch and they were ready to pounce on it again. I appreciate their enthusiasm, but give us a little space until we check out.

Not sure I would ever stay at this hotel again - there just wasn't enough to entice...

I recently stayed at the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel, and my experience was deeply disappointing, especially as a Platinum Elite IHG member. While I understand that some benefits depend on availability, the lack of care and attention to detail during my stay was unacceptable.

One of the key perks of being a Platinum Elite member is the possibility of a complimentary room upgrade. I made sure to contact the hotel 48 hours before my arrival to request this, but no upgrade was provided. Additionally, late checkout is another benefit I rely on, yet it was denied as well. While I understand these amenities are subject to availability, it was frustrating to have neither of these benefits honored during my stay.

As part of the Platinum Elite perks, guests are also offered a choice of snacks, points, or a cocktail. At this hotel, I was advised I would receive $10 off my bill if I dined at their restaurant. Unfortunately, this discount was not applied to my final bill at checkout. I had to specifically request that the $10 be deducted from the total, which should not have been necessary if proper attention had been given to my account.

Before arriving, I also made a specific request for a water kettle, as I prefer to drink hot water rather than cold. The hotel confirmed via email that one would be placed in my room, but upon checking in, there was no kettle. This small but important detail was overlooked, adding to my dissatisfaction.

To make matters worse, when I checked out, I asked to review my bill, and I’m glad I did. I discovered I had been charged twice for parking—$45 twice for the same service. It’s clear that double-checking your bill at this hotel is a necessity, as mistakes like this seem to happen.

I also understand that I redeemed a complimentary anniversary night for this stay, so I wasn’t expecting too much. However, in my experience with other IHG locations, I’ve always been treated with importance and care, regardless of whether I was using points or paying. At this property, I didn’t feel valued as a guest. I didn’t notice that the hotel was particularly full during my stay, nor did I see many other guests who seemed to be dressed up or celebrating anything special, which made the lack of effort in honoring Platinum Elite benefits even more glaring.

The only reason I chose the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel was its proximity to the beach, as having a beach view is very important to me. However, despite the convenient location, the service and overall experience were far from what I expected from a hotel that claims to be among the top 500 in the world.

I would not stay at this hotel again, nor would I recommend it. For a property of this caliber, I expected much better service and greater attention to detail, particularly when it comes to honoring loyalty benefits and creating a memorable experience for...

Not impressive in any way other than the fact that it is right on the beach and they let you have dogs in there. There is no bathroom/grass/turf for dogs so you have to trek up and down this segmented building using multiple elevators multiple times a day and go walk along the street in some dirt flower beds that are owned by the city.

The front desk staff was understaffed or untrained because the only thing they seemed confident about was the wine pouring. There isn't even a sign or some sort of visible marking to denote that the guys standing here pouring wine actually are here to check you in. I asked questions about my bill and what their billing procedures were and they had no idea what I meant when I asked if the amount I was charged before my stay was a security deposit, or the partial payment of the total stay. So im not sure if I'm paying $1200 total or $900 and neither are they apparently.

The room was pretty but there's no microwave in case you wanted to eat leftovers from one of the restaurants surrounding the hotel. They've got a vinyl record player but not a coffee pot; so what they lack in basic necessities they make up for in useless knick knacks. The bathroom looks gorgeous when you first walk in to the place but the longer you look the worse it gets. The shower divider/door only covers half of the shower so you're going to get water all over the floor, which doesn't have a drain in it. So be prepared to use all your towels to keep the floor dry which again wouldn't be a big issue if they didn't have only ONE TOWEL HOOK for a 2 queen bed room which feasibly sleeps up to 4 people. Don't expect it to get steamy in there either you end up freezing everytime you shower.

You can't use their tv's to stream unless you pay for their wifi which is a daily rate and is super slow. I also feel like they have capped the volume on the tvs (which I understand why) because there was almost no difference in volume level 30 and 70.

They felt the need to test their fire alarms for 20 minutes on a whole floor at a time (which they notified us about a test, but not someone needing to come in to the room) and then still needed to come in to the room and verify it. Which I'm no expert but can't that be done over the course of a week and all in person after a guest has vacated a room?

There was also road construction right outside our window which I know isn't really the hotels fault but it could have let us know ahead of time so we could plan to be gone.

Small little things really add up to ruin a stay and when you're paying almost $300/night+ I expected a little more customer service and...