Ayres Hotel & Spa Mission Viejo - Lake Forest — Hotel in Mission Viejo

Very pleased with location in relation to the business we had in SoCal for the weekend. Check in went well with both ladies manning the front desk. For the first evening vs heading out to eat, as we sat around the the neat courtyard and firepit made acquaintances and ended up hanging out at the Old Camp Grill, watching Bowl Games and chatting more. I'll go into more details where asked in the following survey questions. On room comfort as mentioned as we'd seen in other reviews the tv situation is a challenge, yes 2 tv's are great but with no adjustment arm to move their location and make them easier to face the bed and sofa.... and yes as others noted they are small BUT having viewing adjustable would help a lot. We were not fans of our pillows, maybe feather pillows?- we did request other pillows which helped. Maybe both styles of pillows in the rooms available would be an answer? The sofa style seems to be from the 50's and not fit the rest of room aesthetics, not super comfortable but adequate. Overall pleased with staff, maybe some letdowns would be when I let staff know of the horrible condition of 8am first floor public men's rest room, filthy, garbage, no toilet paper- over an hour later still not addressed when I headed there after breakfast. The cleaner was just arriving at the women's to clean it, and not aware of the men's. Stairwell that morning looked like at sometime coffee was spilled all the way down steps at some point from the past. The fitness center- used towel basket overflowing onto the floor as well as trash bin, we were in there for 1 1/2 hours and no one came in to clean and it was late morning. One other area my wife noted was trash in elevator not addressed. I requested help walking over to the front desk.with tv set up next to treadmill and no one ever came over- finally figured out whole situation myself. something I have to note, which unfortunately is a set up in other hotels- toilet paper location! i mean on the back wall BEHIND the toilet where one has to twist over, or dislocate shoulder reaching back? It's a challenge. I've taken to removing roll from roller and setting it on vanity during our stays. Maybe the bathroom configuration should be where vanity located at toilet area, and toilet right inside door? lol, just sayin'. One note.... WiFi apparently doesn't carry out to pool from Spa building because I was not still signed in. Have to go over improvements to breakfast offered. The variety of choices are impressive- the quality of the choices not so much. Oatmeal which we love , in a crock pot both mornings was soupy and luke warm (brown sugar for topping- one large rock and unusable.). Hash browns only half done. Coffee was on the watery side. Love half and half in my coffee- the coffee mate used is hydrogenated to say the least and too sugary- maybe leave the flavored ones there and have a carafe available of whole organic half and half. The juice machine- both mornings only juice available was orange even though other choices were mango and apple. the other choices had straight water pouring out. Finally second morning I approached the attendant whom was totally unaware of it. Here the boxes of juice were not empty, just improperly seated, which I believe staff should've checked on previously to make sure everything offered in working order. One more thing... first morning Pam had to run English muffin thru 3 times to get it hot, and not even browned yet. I believe the settings were incorrect which is also an area which attendant could've had on a check off list. Last but not least...... the Old Camp needs a happy hour say 4-6 every day. Was really surprised it was not an option. Lots of reading I know. I gave good ratings on TripAdvisor while there, but we hadn't experienced the other challenges yet (cleanliness in areas!), and were ignoring some...

This was our 1st stay at an Ayres Hotel. If we could we would give it 4.5 stars.

The rooms were clean though a little tired looking. The sofa was torn away from the seams on two cushions and the corner tiles in bathroom were broken. We took pictures and showed staff who immediately notated this info. We were told the couches were on the list for removal and replacement.

The staff was friendly, courteous, and helpful. A shout out to Deanna, the front desk clerk who was engaging and joyful. Shannon, the Assistant General Manager was also very pleasant and helpful.

We chose the hotel from the good reviews and we were not disappointed. The family liked the homeyness of the grounds with the water fountain, sitting areas, and the fire pit. We were able to enjoy the family togetherness since their were so many of us.

The rooms were great with the sitting area, desk, TV's, refrigerator, microwave, and counter space. It felt like a mini home.

An idea for improvement would be to add a barn door or some sort of curtain to separate the bedroom from the bathroom sink area. It would add a bit of separation for a dressing area, as the bathroom itself is quite small. The sink area with its long counter top would make for some much needed dressing privacy after a shower. A small, not to costly thing to do for a great improvement.

The breakfast was great....real eggs, the best waffles we have eaten, and a nice variety of drinks and cereals. Coffee was good and liked the Tazo mint tea. Our grand kids (picky eaters) gave the food thumbs up and said it was the best hotel ever! They also enjoyed the swimming pool at the adjacent Ayers Suites.

We were attending our Mother's funeral in Lake Forest and this was a convenient location. The atmosphere in the hotel was warm. It was comforting to have such a nice family place to stay at such a sad time. We booked three rooms for all the family and from the adults to the children we found your hotel a cut above the rest.

Thank you Ayers family. We hope you will be expanding as this is an affordable, warm place for us middle class folks.

P.S. The chocolate chips cookies in the afternoon were the icing on the...

Check-in staff not very friendly. When I asked about the daily morning newspaper (clearly described on the brochure available at any Ayres hotel) I was told it was not available. I was not even told about it's availability at the facility on the other side of the parking lot where the pool is located. When I went to the other facility I was greeted by an extremely affable and friendly woman (blonde--don't remember her name) she stated that I could get the paper there each day and suggested I come early Friday as it goes quickly. The next day I showed up later in the AM and there were no papers available. When I asked her where they were, she actually held one for me and gave it to me. That is a service I cannot forget. I asked her to work on the Spa side as she was infinitely friendlier and nicer than anyone I personally experienced.

When I arrived at the unit I noted a Mustang parked in the EV parking area. When I asked the front desk person about it she informed me nothing could be done about it. I asked her if at least a sign indicating the parking was intended for electric car charging could be installed I received a frankly look of "are you kidding me". Later in the stay I discovered it was HER car parked in the slots obviously intended for electric car charging. I was flabbergasted by this to say the least-- an employee who cares nothing about the client base for which she purportedly works.

The room was nice. Several minor issues promptly repaired when asked.

All in all a nice facility. However it is the little things that prompt a return visit. The lack of friendliness by the front staff, the dissing regarding the paper and the fact that an employee parks her non-electric car in the inappropriate location would mean a never return for me and a non-recommendation for this facility.

As a postscript, the WIFI was unusable the entire 8 days...