El Castell Motel — Hotel in Monterey

Upon arriving, the front desk was kind and helpful. When I asked for something they brought it to the room and didn't forget. I appreciated that. When entering the room, I was expecting it to be more run down and old but was pleasantly surprised! It was fixed up nicely so we were stoked.we learned later that one of the beds was super squeeky (maybe broken?) The tv is pretty small for the size room we had and the remote didn't work very well. We asked them to change batteries which they did and it worked fine after that. The water pressure for the shower needs improvement although it was pretty hot (I like it hotter but it was still fine). The bath towels and pool towels are a joke. Very thin and small. I'm serious, like small as in barely covers your body (and I'm totally average size). So we just kept asking for more towels-like alot-and they were accommodating. The pool is barely luke warm (that is the way they described it to me when I called to ask of it was truly heated). The kids still had fun, but had to limit our time in there as my son's lips kept turning blue!;) Something to note is that it's not truly an indoor pool as one of the walls to the outside is open, I imagine this is nice when it's warm out but not so much on cooler days.The breakfast was pretty good.Kids enjoyed the frozen waffles (no waffle maker here just a toaster) and I liked there was one protein option-hard boiled eggs. I wish there were more hot/fresh options and more protein choices but hey you get what you pay for. Lastly, be sure to buy acquarium tickets through the hotel (you scan code and purchase them on your phone) as you get two days for the...

Really great deal. Good price for nice amenities. We called in advance to be sure that the pool heater was back up and running. And it was. We arrived later in the evening to check in and we're graciously greeted by the front desk clerk who made sure we were made aware of when breakfast would be served (7am-9:30am), where our room was, and the free Wi-Fi password. Which incidentally was fast. The motels location was right in line with other hotels and restaurants like Denny's, Big Bear Diner, and other fast food options. Most less than a mile away. The other Hotel guests were easily walking around and down to their dinner locations. Made us fwel safe. The continental breakfast area had more tables than the pictures I saw showed. There was yogurt, cold cereal, apple and orange juice, coffee, hard-boiled eggs that you would need to peel, frozen waffles and bread to toast and muffins and Danish. The rooms were quite nice. Our room had two queen-size beds. There was a hair dryer in the room along with a flat-screen TV, cable, a refrigerator with freezer, microwave, and shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower. It was clean, had plenty of crisp white towels, and extra pillow and linen in the closet. We will not hesitate to patronize El Castell again. Well worth the...

I made a business trip to Monterey just after 4th of July and stayed at this motel because it was close to the harbor, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the rooms were modern, immaculately clean, and included refrigerator and a microwave (which most discount hotels do not), and the neighborhood was not bad at all - certainly not as bad as what some of the negative reviews imply (those people must have been incredibly high maintenance!) and the place was reasonably quiet with the exception of an occasional plane flying over approximately every 2 or 3 hours. The room was pristine, the bed looked like you could bounce a quarter off of it and was spotless. The floor was so clean I think you could have almost eaten off of it. The housekeeping employees were friendly, hard-working and helpful, as were the employees at the front desk reception area (who gave me some great tips on local eateries). This room was easily just as nice, if not nicer, than some of the "luxury" hotels in the area. I will definitely be returning to El Castell Motel, and highly recommend it for anyone who wants a good value at a fair price close to the municipal wharf/harbor areas. Very...