Laguna Surf — Hotel in Laguna Beach

It is hard to find a better location. Walk down the stairway and you are on the sand immediately. A terrific beach for walking and if you like surfing, sun bathing, or venturing into the cold Pacific waters this is terrific. It is also an easy walk to the main business district full of restaurants, bars, and art galleries. My first impression was that the building is older, but it is also extremely well maintained. My first impression of the room was only okay because the layout of our unit is a bit narrow and also dated. Again, the unit was very well maintained and exceptionally clean. The bedroom is spacious enough with ensuite bathroom and tub. The bed however is small, maybe a full size rather than even queen. I might be wrong on the size, but for those accustomed to king size, this was not good. Having said that, once you lower the wall-attached dining table you can pull down a Murphy bed leaving a narrow space to walk between kitchen and the living room area with a gas fireplace (nice). Both beds are too soft for me but I just had an extra glass of wine and didn't notice much. Adjusting to the oddities did not take long, but I would not recommend for four people unless on the smaller size or really like cuddling. The kitchen was completely sufficient and stocked with just about all needed to cook a meal if so inclined. The patio area was very big and a slice of the ocean could be seen from the corner where there was also a large barbecue. The patio mostly looks right over Coast Highway, so traffic is constant and motorcycles are especially annoying when outside. Once the door is closed it is not too bad. The staff is very efficient and pleasant. The parking was secure and underground. There is an elevator from the garage and luggage carts. Our unit, 209, required going up some steps requiring you to carry luggage from the walkway at elevator level. It was nice to have two full bathrooms and plenty of storage space. I would definitely stay here again. It would have been nicer with a full ocean view, but in the end it took little effort to take a few steps from our door to an expansive deck available for all guests. If you are accustomed to elegance, you will not have it here. If you are mostly interested in exploring Laguna Beach, you will find the accommodations more...

What a world of difference! Out of the 20 rooms (according to our estimate), all but maybe 6 are ocean front. The odd-numbered rooms are "Village View" which means bus and truck exhaust and lots of street noise. All the rooms are located on 3 floors with the majority of those rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors. ||||But this time wow! Our room #312 was all we could have hoped for (view-wise). Breath taking sunsets and steps-to-the-beach proximity were perfection. Those "steps" do include a very large staircase between Laguna Surf and the beach.||||The rooms are pretty much the same in all the units: smallish queen-size bed, 1 and 1/2 bathrooms, a functional kitchen (a bit snug) and all the appliances one needs to prepare meals.||||There is a creative solution to the 2nd bedroom set-up: it is a Murphy pull-down bed but it occupies the same space as the tilt-up dining table. When we set the table up, it immediately collapsed and we were thankful we hadn't set the table yet. All I could imagine was wine glass and plates flying everywhere.||||The solution was to take a barstool and wedge it under the table. ||||We appreciated that the resort had a laundry room with one dryer and one washing machine. It free to use. Just plan accordingly as others will need to use it, too.||||The gated secure parking holds all the assigned parking spaces and they certainly are nicely sized. ||||Laguna Surf sits on PCH about 2 blocks away from Ralph's grocery store and, in the other direction, maybe 3 blocks to Main Beach. Forest Avenue has become a pedestrian zone for a block or so off PCH and it pretty much marks the heart of this beach-y little downtown.||||Laguna runs a free trolley that ends up at the Ritz Carlton hotel and Monarch Beach. The walking paths go through the golf course area and along the beach. Lots of grass, attractive picnic areas, and loads of vistas worthy of photo opportunities.||||Would I come back here in the future? Yes, but only if an Ocean front...

The Dr. and I have a timeshare here. We go every year. For some reason this year hit different. The weather was more cloudy or marine layer most days so not near enough sun for me...Not their fault. We were in room 312, Third floor, corner. Pretty much the same as the other rooms we've had over the years but the view is a bit compromised by the next door room's big patio sticking out. Now for the inside: The shower for some reason was super puny...worst shower pressure I've had in a long while...not sure why but this was bad....took forever to wash me body..The kitchen is kinda sorta outfitted for those who do most of their own cooking like us..It was missing some stuff we'd expect to find in a kitchen that's suppose to be functional for us for the week. The bed...oh the bed...was like sleeping on a sponge...a not very good sponge..I'm 6'3" and 245lbs..I thought the thing was going to cost me my back it was so soft..no support at all if you're a bigger human being like I am. They know the bed is sorry because as we were' playing with it after the first night of no sleep, we discovered they have a sheet of plywood between the top mattress and the box springs, a sign of a cheap mattress or a worn out mattress or both. It was one miserable week for me, worst than the last few years...maybe this is the room with the old bed, I don't know. I do know I was glad to get home last night and get into my firm Cal King and out of the bendy Queen...I told the Dr. maybe we're going to have to buy and truck and bring out own mattress...