Casa Munras Garden Hotel & Spa — Hotel in Monterey

Given some of the reviews online we were a bit weary of staying here, especially given the price. My family and I are so glad we did! Complications with travel seem to follow us everywhere to the point where it's a running joke and we pack a rosary for good luck. We need to be careful where we stay. ||I booked our room over the telephone, and though I can't remember who I spoke with, they were extremely pleasant and accommodating. I brought up my concerns from the reviews stating some of the rooms were outdated or noisy. I just asked to be in a more updated room in the quiet section. This was no problem at all. I also asked about extra charges or late check-in as these were concerns from the reviews. All of my questions were answered to our satisfaction. ||The day we arrived I called the front desk to let them know we would be arriving a little later than check-in as we were coming from San Francisco airport and there was traffic. I just wanted to make sure we wouldn't be counted as a no-show. The person I spoke with was extremely friendly and assured me that it would be noted. ||When we arrived, the front desk employee was very pleasant and quickly got us checked in. We were given a map to direct us to our room, which was easy to find. Our room was definitely in a quieter area of the property, it was clean and updated with all of the amenities. The HVAC unit worked, as was a complaint in some reviews, and we didn't hear our neighbors above or next to us. (I am a light sleeper.) It was not one of the fireplace rooms as pictured online because they were sold out but was still very nice.||The second night of our trip our bad travel luck kicked in. There was a crazy rainstorm and during my shower our room completely lost power. My husband went outside to see if anyone else had lost it and found a maintenance worker who was very helpful. He said they weren't used to that kind of rain and wasn't sure when the power would come back on. In the torrential downpour he secured us a new room and with a golfcart went back and forth between the rooms as my husband and I threw our belongings in random bags and towels just to get them over to the new room dry. We are beyond thankful for his assistance. ||The second room was actually a little larger because of the layout. Though I could hear children loudly running up above us in the new room during the day and night, the children seemed to go to bed early enough that it didn't affect my sleep. I can definitely see why there were complaints about the walls being thin or noise. Fortunately, it did not inconvenience our stay. ||There was plenty of parking if you had a car to park. We had family picking us up and driving us around, so we did not incur that extra charge. There were many excellent restaurants, wine tastings, and things to do within walking distance and we definitely checked it all out. Highly recommend Wild Plum for breakfast and Comanche for a wine flight! And would DEFINITELY stay at Casa...

Stayed here recently on a business trip. Booking confirmation showed a "Traditional King" room. Entered the room to a Queen size bed. I have a king size bed at home, this was noticeably smaller.

When at the front desk for check in, they told me it was a $15 parking fee. I agreed and filled out the form. I did not receive a parking slip(which is apparently required.) The next day went out to our car and found a parking ticket. Luckily, the front desk was helpful and reversed it, but still very frustrating to say the least. Not something you want to see first thing in the morning on your way to work. Especially after paying the fees, after the room fees and all other nonsense fees they want to tack on. Then, at checkout, they tell you it's $15/day for parking. Not a one-time, $15 parking fee... When I checked my reservation, it did show it was $15/day, however that was not explained by the front desk at check-in.

Before our trip, we looked up the hotel and saw they had a hot tub. Our first night there, we came back to our hotel after dinner, around 7:15pm. Went to the pool area to scope it out, and did not see a hot tub in the pool area. Went back to the room, called the front desk to ask about it, and it's $15/person, in the spa... Which closes at 7pm.

The room we had, as stated previously, was supposed to be a King. We got a Queen. The room itself was tiny, but really nicely decorated. The walls are paper thin, and you can hear everything. People walking on the upper floor, people closing doors, car alarms, suitcases rolling by, people talking, etc. All of it is heard as if there were no walls at all. The bed was hard and uncomfortable, they did not have a comforter or heavy blanket. Just sheets. Very uncomfortable hard bed.

They had two bottles of water in the room, which apparently cost $2.50 each if you open them. God forbid anything at this place doesn't cost anything extra. The Keurig coffee maker in the room comes with some of the worst coffee cups I've ever tasted. At least they were free... Gross though.

I was down in Monterey last year and stayed at a different hotel where none of these issues came up. No parking fee, no parking ticket, no fees for the pool/hot tub, no fees for bottled water in the room, bed the proper size as advertised/paid for, nice quiet rooms...

All of the staff we encountered and interacted with were helpful and friendly. Even if the front desk guy didn't give me a parking slip after having me fill everything out. Aside from that, everyone we talked to was great. No complaints on the staff.

If I was paying for my own place to stay in Monterey, I would not consider this place in the future. A Motel 6 or Super 8 would have just as comfortable of accommodations, and probably free parking. It was not a good experience on my end. Not worth $120+ per night, regardless of the town it's located. You don't have to upcharge for every little thing at a hotel. I'm shocked I didn't have to pay per hour for...

So we went to Casa Munras resturant for our anniversary, even though we were staying at the Monterey Plaza hotel, because my husband really wanted paellas. We made reservations about a week in advance. The day of we arrived a bit early but were seated promptly. I was wearing open toed heels and they sat us at a table in the back surrounded by dirt. There were open tables on the concrete but we assumed they were reserved to socially distance the clients. Well they weren't, because they seated other clients at those tables for two (all white clients might I add). Our waiter was really nice so we ignored the seating issue and decide what our meal would be. He was very knowledgeable about the menu and ultimately made the recommendation we went with. We order the flatbread as our tapa, Paella del mar and the rib-eye steak as our entrees. When the tapa arrived we were so excited to taste it because aesthetically it looked delicious. Well it had absolutely no flavor, it was so bland that we even started to question what we would receive as our entrees. We were right, the entrees were even worse. My husbands paella had very little flavor and what it did have was not well put together. The rice was so flavorless, wet and soggy that it resembled box mashed potatoes with no butter. The shrimp itself was not any better, it was so oily that it mixed into the rice thus making the dish cringe worthy. However, the rib-eye steak took the cake when it came to flavorless and drenched in oil. I understand that a certain level of fat is needed but only 20% of the steak was NOT fat. We let the waiter know that we were dissatisfied with the food and he was shocked as if no one had ever mentioned disliking the food before. He was so nice and we didn't want to seem mean but the food was super bland. It was a $60 steak and the veggies were the best part. My husband let him know money wasn't an issue, we only wanted to have a delicious meal for our anniversary. The waiter was so flustered because they have no other solution or sauce for the steak. We ended up going back to our hotel and ordering from its restaurant "Schooners" where the food was quite delicious. The next day we went down to fisherman's wharf and had the best seafood and steaks at "Scales". I also called Casa Munras so I could speak to a manager because we felt so bad that the waiter wanted to help, but he could only do so much with what he's given. I was put on hold for 20mins, then I was told the manager wasn't in. When I asked if anyone else could help me they just said "no, but you can call back tomorrow." I called the next day and the same thing happened again. So if your looking for a restaurant in Monterey, Ca I recommend "SCHOONERS" at the Monterey plaza or "SCALES" at fisherman's wharf if you're looking for a...