Balboa Bay Resort — Hotel in Newport Beach

When I read negative reviews on hotels, I generally look for repeated comments on one of the following: a) Outdated/Unclean rooms or property; b) Thin Walls/Noisy; or c) those dissatisfied with front desk/customer service. I often assume that some people are just way too particular & tend to ignore those if other reviews paint a different picture. I really should have paid more attention to the repeated bad reviews of the front desk staff/management as their callousness & ineptitude was really surprising and frustrating for a supposed '5 star resort'.||||My bad review here has nothing to do with the room or property itself, but rather is solely based on my experience with the front desk management. The property itself is lovely and I would have rated it much higher on it's own but the atrocious customer service cancelled out anything that was good about the resort itself.||||I'll try to keep this as concise as possible but need to provide the details. Upon check in, I notified the front desk that I had not received an email confirmation for our 3 night stay reservation and verified they had my correct email address. They did have it correct and apologized for the oversight. I then proceeded to extend my stay for 2 additional nights which after checking with her manager, was confirmed that our stay would be extended at the same rate. I asked for an email to confirm that, which I was again assured would be forthcoming. I never received that email. I received a call on the afternoon after our 3rd night saying we never checked out. When I reminded them that we had extended our stay for 2 additional nights, they told me they had no record of that. After being put on hold for several minutes, they said they could extend my stay but I would need to stop by the front desk to get new keys. I cut our afternoon excursion short to handle that as I didn't want any further issues. At this point, just another minor inconvenience but strike 2 on the front desk.||||The 2nd to last night of our trip, my wife came down with a nasty virus...she informed me the next morning that she had been up all night in the bathroom with a hacking cough, fever, heavy congestion, bad headache, etc. and needed to go home. I told her to lay down for a bit and try to get a little rest and if she still wasn't feeling any better in a few hours, I would notify the front desk that we had to leave a day earlier than planned. Well, needless to say, she only felt worse as the morning progressed so at around 9:45 am, I called down to the front desk and asked to speak with the manager on duty. I was told she was busy but would call me back shortly. An hour went by and no one got back to me so I packed up the family and went down to the front desk. I spoke with the manager on duty and explained the situation. She said unfortunately, I would still be charged for the night as hotel policy for any cancellation is 24 hrs. I told her I understood that but explained this was extenuating circumstances and I needed to get my wife home and to see a doctor. Again, I was told there was nothing they could do. I asked if I could speak with her supervisor and was told that she wouldn't be in until the next day but she would leave a message for her to call me and gave me her name (Jazmin). I also asked for a copy of my portfolio/bill to be emailed to me...which I was assured it would be. It's now 4 days later and I still haven't received it. I have no doubt there is something devious going on with the charges given their complete ineptitude in sending a simple email that any 2 or 3 star hotel does automatically.||||When I did not hear from Jazmin the next day, I called the resort 3x before I was finally connected with her. She coldly reiterated there was nothing she could do. I again stated that I understood hotel policy and that they don't want people to take advantage with last minute cancellations but given the circumstances, I would hope they would have a little more compassion...especially when spending upwards of $650/night on top of the thousands of dollars I already spent at the resort. Not only was I repeatedly told in a robotic manner that 'unfortunately, there's nothing I can do'...I said I would assume there had to be circumstances where they was something they could do and in a very condescending manner, she said 'well, had you rushed your wife to the hospital emergency room, then I would be able refund you for the 1 night.' WHAT? Did I actually hear her correctly? So I'm being penalized for not having to call 911 and have my rushed to the hospital?? I was appalled! Instead of getting upset or furthering this conversation with a low level assistant office manager who is clearly very new at her job and should not be dealing with guests, I asked if I could have her supervisors name or whoever was in charge. She refused to give me a name or contact information but said she would pass along my message and have them get back to me. I was able to gather online the GM is Cindy Bacco and Front Desk Managers are Natalie Liera & Kendal Ruvalcaba. Of course, 3 days later, I'm still waiting for that call. I also asked again for a copy of bill/charges - still haven't received it. This is truly feeling very shady.||||Being an extensive traveler for both business and personal and having stayed at some wonderful hotels around the country & world, I have never been treated like this, let alone at a high end establishment.||||After reading some of the other negative reviews, I see that the consistent response from the resort management was to please reach out to fdmanagement@balboabayresort.com with any issues and allow them the opportunity to address any issues or concerns. Because of that, I thought I'd give them the courtesy of reaching out before writing any negative reviews here and elsewhere as well as taking to social media. Give them the opportunity they are requesting, however canned and insincere that may be, in the hopes of making any sort of amends. NOT EVEN THE COURTESY OF A RESPONSE. Even a simple 'we are in receipt of your email and someone will be in touch soon' would have been nice. Just know that their response to those negative reviews to 'reach out to us' is clearly NOT SINCERE and is simply to dupe those who read these reviews into feeling otherwise. I'm happy to amend this review IF I ever actually do hear from anyone who actually cares, but I'm not holding my breath.||||There are just too many other great options in the area at a similar price point - The Resort at Pelican Hill (beautiful property and top notch customer service); The Pendry; Montage; etc.. Those properties are beautiful resorts AND have wonderful...

Staying at Balboa Bay Resort is the worst travel experiences in my life. I stayed Balboa Bay Resort from 12/28 to 12/30

I usually only stay in large hotel chains but I decided to give it a try since Balboa Bay Resort is Amex Hotel collection, which was a huge mistake. The service was so bad, worse than many two star hotels. Balboa Bay Resort is a 4 star and historic hotel, so I can’t help wondering if they are just reluctant to serve colored people

We checked in at around 3pm and found the AC at the room was not functioning, there was only heat. My husband called front desk and guest services multiple times (at least 3 times), but no one answered. When the engineer came, the temperature was 84 degree. We had been at a room with such high temperature for more than one hour. The engineer checked and said that it might take a while to fix it and they can do a quick a fix by just cutting off the heat something. We have some appointment at 4:30, so just did the quick fix though I really think they can just let us change a room.

When we came back in the evening, it was getting cold, so we wanted the heat. We called front desk, guest service even housekeeping lines for more than 10 times and also texted them, NO one answered. So I went to the front desk, and finally had a chance to talk to them. They finally sent the engineer to our room and tried to fix the AC. It took more than 30 mins for them to fix the AC, but still failed. The staff still didn’t allow us to change the room. We checked at 3pm but were unable to unpack and relax at 7pm because the AC issue. Apparently they don’t care customers’ time and experience. After they sent another engineer to our room, I was too tired to remain calm, I asked the engineers to let their managers know I want to change a room. They finally did that, but the front desk was asking me to drag my luggages to front desks and pick up the keys. I was so shocked. After the mess I experienced, shouldn’t a 4 star hotel send the keys to our room and relocate us to the new room?

This is not the end, The next day, I went back to my room around 4pm, the housekeeper was just starting working on my room, so I was unable to get back to my room. The housekeeper said she still needed 20 mins to complete the work. I asked her just finished what she was doing, and she said it will takes 10 mins. After 10 mins, we came back, she said it will takes 5 to 10 mins for someone to takeout the trash. We were very tired and wanted to take a nap so bad, so we told her that it is fine to let the trash be there. So it’s 4pm, but the housekeeper still can’t take out the trash. I didn’t even feel the room has been cleaned.

Moreover, I asked for a shower cap around 5pm because the housekeeper didn’t give me any. I texted them twice. They did’t send me any until I called them the second time after 9:30pm. I’ve tried all the channels to contact them, phone call, text, in person, but they would not answer you unless you tried more than three times.

The last thing I would like to flag about Balboa Bay Resort is that they are misleading customers on Amex travel website. Based on the website, both Courtyard king room and Newport king room have bathtubs (the third image when you select the rooms) it’s not the generic photos on the top for hotel overview. But there’s no bathtub in the room and if you ask for a room bathtub, they will ask you to pay 1200 per night. I booked the room because of the bathtub, and I really need the bathtub due to my medical issue. I ended up to use the bathtub in my friend’s house, thankfully that we have friends in Irvine.

To sum up, this is the worst hotel experience I ever had and I seldom write any review for hotels, but the experience was so bad I hope all the people can avoid the terrible things I’ve...

My father's assistant booked a room for me for Thanksgiving evening (November 24 ) so I could do physical therapy with him the next morning and be with him and family who flew in from out of state and assist with his caregiving needs.

The BBR confirmation email I received states in part:

"Cancellation Policy A valid credit card is required to guarantee the reservation. A deposit will be charged at the time of booking in the amount of 1 night room rate plus tax. "

When I arrived at BBR with my 11 Y.O. daughter she was alarmed to see a spider crawling on the floor. She told the staff at front desk and they immediately replied "we are taking care of that" even though they had no idea where the spider was located.

BBR was informed in advance by email that I would be staying in the room, not my father. However BBR refused to allow us to check into the room using my fathers credit card. Mind you I wasn't going to incur ANY incidentals in any case.

THEY WOULD NOT LET ME CHECK IN WITH MY FATHERS CARD (THE SAME CARD THE RESERVESTION WAS MADE IN !) THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT ANY OF MY CARDS VIA GOOGLE PAY THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT A CASH DEPOSIT

I had to drive home with my daughter exhausted, thru 1.5 hrs of Black Friday Traffic and missed spending quality time with family the next morning.

This morning I spoke with Loyd at the front desk who explained that they do allow guests to check in with cards different from ID but THEY NEED A FORM FILLED OUT 48 hours in advance ! In order to avoid fraud ??? WHY DIDN"T THEY COMMUNICATE THIS BIZARRE RESTRICIVE POLICY IN ADVANCE ???

Due to BBR's failure to communicate their unreasonable credit card policy , my elderly father was charged $518.00 FOR NOTHING !

ACCORDING TO YELP REVIEWS BBR STAFF ARE THE ONES ENGAGED IN FRAUDULENT USE OF GUESTS CARDS !! (See 7/8/2022 Yelp review by Paul M)

Since 6-24-22 EVERY Yep review here is one or two stars. Management directs people to email them but doesn't resolve the problems they are responsible for creating.

I would expect more than carnival hustle scams from a "4 star hotel"

UPDATE in response to BBR Your response is disingenuous. You wrote "We do not accept credit cards from anyone other than the card holder or we could be subject to fraud", but in fact BBR did accept a card from a third party when my father's assistant booked the room for me! At the time of booking, BBR did not require or request any id or proof of authorization . BBR was made aware that I and my daughter would be the guests staying in the room. When I arrived I presented my ID and the same card the deposit (1 night stay) was charged on. BBR was happy to charge my father for 1 night (without any proof that my father had authorized the booking) and had no qualms ruthlessly refusing service to the guests the room was intended for, forcing us to drive home and ruin our Thanksgiving holiday. Ironically, the same card they were happy to charge without any proof of iD was not accepted for possible "incidental" charges.

Why is BBR ok charging over 500 to a card and making a reservation without any proof of id or authorization, and at the same time, refusing to use that same card for incidentals? Your policy is deeply flawed and hostile to honest customers. Please take responsibility for your failure to explain your extremely restrictive and ruthless policy in advance , refund this charge and acknowledge the harm you did to honest guests by refusing service. You knew I was going to be checking in there 24 hrs after the room was booked, and as your email requires I presented a valid credit card for incidentals...