Headlands Coastal Lodge & Spa — Hotel in Pacific City

If you don't have time to read my ridiculously long review, know this: I have stayed in over 20 coastal hotels in my life and non have compared to the quality or luxury of the Headlands Resort. I am not a frivolous person with money to blow, so when I splurge, it better be DAMN worth it. And trust and beleive, it really was.

Reservations: Made them online. Staff was super friendly and responded quickly. They were very transparent with prices and photos.

Rooms: We stayed in a top floor corner king room - RM 301. It was spacious and light filled! I loved the wood floors, modern features and that shower with a glass wall so you can whale watch while soaping up = HEAVEN. The towels are large and fluffy, the shower large and high-end, that double sink that's modern and all one piece - stunning. The room is sleek, clean and NEW. Tech: Smart TV (connects to your own Netflix or apps!), blue tooth lights/speakers and a tablet. Also a small fridge, gas fireplace and coffee and full sized balcony with ample seating made me never want to leave.

Beach: You have direct access from the hotel and they have little showers for you to rinse off after your fun with towels! This beach is special as you can actually DRIVE DIRECTLY ONTO THE BEACH. I was born and raised in Washington and never saw this - super cool, but not for the faint of heart or anyone who doesn't have 4 wheel drive! The beach is sandy, sprawling and has huge dunes to hike around on. Several peninsulas to get gorgeous views from as well.

Adventure: They have dedicated "Adventure Coaches" that have all kinds of fun activities to choose from. Hikes, kyaking & campfires oh my! We kyaked a river and did a beach bonfire. You pay for both but they were soooo worth it. The kyaking was smooth, easy and TOP of the line boats. We saw tons of wildlife and our guide Sarah was super friendly and knowledgeable! The bonfire: They set you up at sunset with chairs, a stoked fire with wood to keep you there a solid 2 hours, all the fixings for s'mores with retractable skewers, a trash bag, (super handy) and a lux blanket you get to keep!

Relax: We booked 90 min massages - they were heaven. Both went over our needs were before we began. Heated beds, friendly professional staff and soft sheets, what's not to love? The locker rooms have auto lockers, cedar finishings and a steam room that is NO JOKE. 2 mins in there and you can barely see your hands in front of your face. Lovely roomy shower with grapefruit shampoo and bodywashes that will make you feel fresh as a daisy!

Amenities: Hottub with a view of the beach, workout room with precore top of the line machines. They even had 2 pelaton bikes! There is a workout room that is gorgeous and a great size. The only thing I didnt get to do was a yoga class, but I'm sure it's amazing. They have a bunch of classes... the Pantry! On every floor there is a packed pantry you can raid - you pay for the stuff, but its decent stuff and a normal, not insane price. I'm talking LaCroix, ice cream bar, caramel, pretzel fruit bar heaven. There are 2 large conference rooms we have seen being used a ton, they are super large and nice.

Restaurant: We had brunch and dinner here both were great. Friendly staff, great view and the food was excellent. As an OCD food person having an open kitchen is WONDERFUL - clean as a whistle and of course the best part about the view in the restaurant is the windows open, so you feel like you're dining on the surf! I had eggs benedict and several appetizers, coffee and drinks (not all in the same sitting) and I found all to be fresh, flavorful and...

Our room was absolutely heavenly. Sliding doors opened to a magnificent view...we left the door open the three nights we stayed and fell asleep to the sound of the crashing waves. Blissful. We had a fireplace, a small but perfect-sized living room, also with a large window with impeccable views. The king-sized bed was probably one of the most comfortable beds I ever slept on. The bathroom was quite large with two sinks, a large walk-in shower (which one side is glass and you can look out into the bedroom and ocean...and your significant other can also look at you!). The toilet is hidden, which was nice. There is a huge tub, that is very deep and kind of narrow. It's right next to the bed...yes, you heard correctly. My boyfriend and I wanted to take a nice bath but I'd like to see two people actually fit in there. It's kind of hard getting in an out, so be careful. There is a nice sized TV, and my boyfriend was able to hook up his computer to the TV and we enjoyed some movie nights. A coffee machine is in the room along with some lovely teas. The room was really quite lovely with breathtaking views. We spent a lot of time on our balcony. The Spa was simply delightful. They offered a nice selection of massages and body scrubs/polishing. The robes they give me to wear was perhaps the most comfortable and luxurious robe I have ever worn (I purchased one to take home). They offer separate steam rooms for men and women. The waiting area you sit in while you wait for someone to get you for you appointment is quite relaxing with tranquil music playing in the background, lemon water and hot tea...both were refreshing, tea was delicious. My boyfriend and I were extremely impressed with our spa treatments. The spa was all booked up upon arrival and to be honest I was a little shocked. We were not able to secure any massage appointments. However, we were able to secure body treatment appointments. Shelley was absolutely fantastic and so were the young ladies at the desk. I would give them 5 stars. I asked how far in advance should someone book a massage appointment and was told about five days before arrival. The spa is not exclusive to the guests staying at Headlands. The local community and those staying at other hotels can also book appointments, thus the need to call in advance to book appointments. If you would like to experience any special offerings, they are extra and not included in the price. When I was booking all the ladies I spoke to were amazing...most informative...extremely friendly and quite helpful. Five stars for them and all those working at Headlands, they truly go above and beyond to cater to your specific needs. When inquiring about which extras they would pick if staying there and also the most popular ones picked by other guests, I was told the bonfire (this was absolutely amazing). Extremely romantic. Joe set everything up for us on the beach...two chairs, the fire, a cute little table, a bottle of wine and a lovely blanket to take home, and another blanket to sit on the sand), definitely worth the extra price. We also ordered the cheese and fruit board which was delicious as we dined on our balcony enjoying the...

NOT worth the money! Upon arriving at The Headland Lodge excited to stay in the 3 bedroom chalet with high expectations. Immediately things went sour - we drove 6 hours to get to Pacific City and once we arrived tired at 4:00 they wouldn’t allow us to check in until 5:00 and let it be known they DO NOT let You check in a minute before 5 and without even offering a place to rest or an offering of water. We sat in the car hoping the front desk would be gracious but no…. we waited and stared at the old grease buckets from the restaurant. Finally, they gave us the keys and trying to let the initial impression go we entered a cold chalet… we turned the heat on - which took a good two hours for the unit to warm up - while waiting the view is amazing. Thinking a hot bath in the soaker tub would be relaxing it was quickly evident that there was not any hot water - yes this is a true for $1,000 per night to say I was disappointed would be accurate. Immediately called the front desk and they sent a maintenance person who said that Headlands Lodge likes to keep the hot water at a temperature of 104 degree and that the hot water heater isn’t large enough to fill the soaker tub. We also spoke to this person about how cold the unit was and why the heat wasn’t turned on they stated they weren’t sure either because of the rapid turn around in the units. WoW message to Headlands this is not the way to save money

We were also not happy with the spa floor which is flooded with stinky aromatics- it was minty smelly and overwhelming- that’s the only way to access the entrance to the hot tub which mind you is barely deep Enough to cover your knees and again not hot but very warm - the view is great

There is so much more they need to improve on customer service first and foremost - they offered a measly 10% off for not providing hot water.

Improvements:

Offer guests a drink or snack while waiting for your 5:00 pm check- in

Provide more than 2 tablespoons of bath salts for the soaker tub

Do not scent the whole spa floor for consideration of those with allergies

The parking for the chalets is tiny - two cars parked next To one another aren’t able to open the car doors

Consider remodeling the hot tub so it’s deeper then 24 inches it’s a real let down

Pics of gross grease...