More about Laguna Riviera Resort On The Beach
Will return to the Laguna Riviera - someday.
by TripAdvisor Member volleyballMom
The Laguna Riviera was custom-made for a spring break trip for my 14-year-old daughter and me. We enjoyed everything about it because our expectations were of an “older family-run resort”. My husband hates “older family-run resorts”, much like some previous reviewers. He would have bolted the second day for the nearest Marriott like some previous reviewers. I’d also like to point out that I’ve stayed at many, many beach resorts, and the ones that are right on the beach like this one tend to show the effects of the wind, salt and sand, regardless of price. People like my husband who travel frequently usually know this and stay further from the sand and wind.
The reason it was so perfect for us was the location, right on the beach and easy walking distance to shopping and restaurants. Our room had two double beds, which was also perfect for our situation. The room was very clean (by resort standards), and I appreciated the generous continental breakfast that allowed me to enjoy my coffee on the lovely-but-small patio while waiting for a teenager to wake up. Free breakfast and parking help make this resort even more reasonable. Our room (509) was $100@night, and I considered it to be a good value.
Some of the favorite places we found we could walk to were Wahoo Fish Tacos, Koffee Klatch Internet Café, Alfredo’s Mexican Restaurant, The Hobie Store and the city park at Main Beach.
After reading the reviews, I read a grain of truth in all, but suspect that the resorts in the area review themselves and the competitors every once in a while. None in the area seemed to be as good or as bad as some of the reviews.
The Motel 6 of Laguna Beach
by A TripAdvisor Member
I have stayed at The Laguna Riviera Beach Resort a few times over the past few years. Overall I would give the experience a B. Of course you get what you pay for as well. All rooms are pretty different. I have been in like five of them. The best room I stayed in just happend to be the least expensive. It was a one bedroom apartment with a full kitchen. If you are looking for super nice you want get it. It is pretty clean and you have the usual stuff like a bed, TV and a enclosed pool. The thing that draws me to the place is the parking which is pretty good, can walk to pretty much everything and the beach is straight down. Overall you should have a good experience. The thing you must be patience with is getting your room. If you want to get in before the 3 or 4 check in time I DOUBT IT WILL HAPPEN. TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GET MAD, JUST DON"T ASK BEFORE 4. Most of the time they have been 5 to 30 minutes late on getting me a room.
Great deal, not so sweet attitude
by A TripAdvisor Member
This ranking should be taken in context-- the Laguna Riviera is an Inexpensive Beachfront Motel. Given these factors (capitalized for emphasis), it is certainly above average. The only thing that dragged it down, for us, was the staff.
The first time I called, I was told they had nothing for the two consecutive days we wanted to stay. But the tripadvisor reviews were so glowing that I called back to ask to be put on a waiting list; a different woman told me they could give us a non-view suite for the first night for v. cheap and a ocean-view for the second night, also reasonably cheap. While I was satisfied with this arrangement (it actually worked out quite well), the inflexibility/non-creativity of the first person with whom I spoke turned out to be representative of the staff overall. We found them to be indifferent, at best, and downright rude, at worst.
Luckily, the point of staying somewhere like the Laguna Riviera is not making friends with the front-desk people. It is a really nice motel on the shore-- clean, recently renovated bathrooms, shockingly good water pressure, a pretty path to the beach and a spacious deck facing the sea, walking distance to the heart of Laguna.
I'd stay there again, in the off-season, and make my boyfriend deal with the front-desk folks.
Good Basic Hotel-great beach access!!
by TripAdvisor Member sunnybc
We read many reviews and didn't know where to stay and we are glad we picked Laguna Riviera, especialy for the price. Just down the street is the Surf and Sand hotel and it looks nice, but is very pricing and it's the same beach. The Laguna has a good basic continential breakfast...many choices of cereal, juice, danish, ect. All high carb, but the kids the husband got enough to eat. The pool was nice and warm and the rooms was clean. The rooms are older and run down a bit, but the hotel is not new....so I expected it to be of lower quality. We would return since it's nice and close to the main beach, clean, friendly staff and the price you can't beat! I am really glad we picked the Laguna Beach area, I think it was much nicer than the Huntington Beach area....which was also really pricey for hotels right on the beach. If you go there expecting a five star you will be disappointed, but if you go there expected a good basic hotel then you should be okay. They also have a toaster, fridge and microwave..which was also a bonus.
Just not great at all.
by A TripAdvisor Member
We were able to get a 1 bedroom partial ocean view for $100. That's something. And it had a little kitchenette which was also nice. As far as the "free parking" goes, the number of available spots is very limited and we were only able to get a spot 1 of the 4 times we had to park. The rest of the time we had to park on the street in a meterred spot. The POSITIVES: Good location. Great little back terrace with beautiful flowers, a public bbq grill and nice ocean views. Free continental beakfast - nothing fancy but decent enough. The NEGATIVES: Pretty dingy property. Very old uncomfortable bouncy mattress. Not much privacy. The service was not very good - they seemed almost resentful about having to answer questions about the area, etc. Bathroom is not well designed - nowhere to rest curling iron, shower is tiny, etc.
I spent a lot of time reading reviews before we decided where to stay. Looking back I probably would have spent a little bit more to stay at a nicer place. I feel that all the 5 star reviews the Laguna Riviera got were quite unmeritted and maybe a little deceptive. It really is just an old, average little motel that happens to be reasonably priced for the area. As I said, the "backyard" area was nice and that made it worth it, but if you're looking for even a little bit of pampering this is probably not the place for you.
Looking for just what we needed and the Riviera delivered
by A TripAdvisor Member
We just returned from a great stay at the LRBR and had a wonderful time. The room was comfortable and spacious with a view that made me never want to leave. The bed was comfortable with a nice down comforter and the bathrobes were nicer than we have at home. The staff was warm and friendly, and every restaurant they sent us to was excellent. They suggested we try a little place around the corner called Zuloo Cafe and they had the best sworfish I've ever tasted. Once parked we simply walked everywhere we were interested in and with the beach was right out our front door we were set.
Some highlights of our trip 1) Evening cocktails on our deck as the sun set. 2) Morning walk on the beach to the downtown area where we picked up a Starbucks and window shopped. 3) Using the sauna at the hotel the day we arrived to unwind and relax. 4) Hearing the waves as we fell asleep.
The rates are easy on the wallet and probably the best in town from what we could tell. Our experience is that the Riviera is the epitopme of what Laguna Beach is all about. It's fun, artistic, relaxed, and gives you a real beach town feel and experience. We are going back in October and cant wait.
If you can get in and can do without the glitz this is for you
by A TripAdvisor Member
We were on a waiting list and when the call came that a cancellation had made room for us we put a stop on our back up reservation at another hotel. The Riviera offers fantastic views, unbelievable rates, and a loctation close to restaurants, the town and of course the beach which is only a short walk down their private pathway. Rooms feel like their from the 70's but are very clean and comfortable. The room had all we needed, coffee maker, fridge, microwave, TV, iron w/board and so on plus they have free beach chairs and umbrellas, in the office. Parking is free although the upper main area only has a few spaces and it seems the regulars have them reserved, but if you use the underground or side parking it's not an issue.
The employees are all friendly and helpful, they even offered up some discount coupons when we mentioned what amusment park we were taking the kids to. We hope to return to Laguna next year and our first call will be to the Riviera as soon as our dates are set. This is an older charming hotel that has aged well, just don't expect fancy bathrooms and uniform wearing bellhops waiting to tote your bags. Do expect a comfortable stay at bargain rates with 5 star views and a beach front city central location.
A FREE breakfast is included, it's simple continental fare offering cereal, fresh fruit, juice, rolls, coffee and tea. Much like you'd find at a Hampton Inn or any number of smaller European hotels. It's a nice way to get the day started and visiting with the other guest over breakfast helped us discover more things we could do in Laguna.
perfect in one word
by A TripAdvisor Member
we were thrilled with this place right on the beach fantastic views breakfast including fruit great friendly staff big rooms paper in the morning bus stop out the front ralphs supermarket across the road and walk in to town not a huge place so book ahead we loved it brissy couple, australia
Had a blast great location, good rooms, fun & friendly place
by A TripAdvisor Member
We enjoyed our stay very much. Check in was smooth and easy room was simple, clean and comfortable. Views were spectacular. My husband and I had planned this weekend retreat months ago and are looking forward to returning we had such a great time. The staff was helpful, printed us a map to an antique shop we wanted to visit in another town, made excellent suggestions when we asked where to eat and offered up no charge beach chairs and umbrella when we went to the beach. We found the rates and views to be some of the best in Laguna.
Won't go back
by A TripAdvisor Member
Having read all the positive reviews we looked forward towards our stay at this property. We were shocked at what can only be described at its state of complete disrepair. Their own brochure describes the hotel as "posh" but it is far from it. The paint is peeling; there are trim and soffetts that need replacing; the owners are clearly not investing anything back into the physical condition of the property. The description of this hotel as aging is accurate. The brochure indicates that it is an air conditioned hotel. However, only a small number of rooms are actually air conditioned; and despite what you are told about not needing a/c you need it even at night during the summer. The website tour is completely misleading unless you happen to stay in one of the few rooms that has a complete view of the beach and ocean. Our room, 515, looked out over a roof, but is advertised as ocean view. In addition, there was a construction project going on next door which was scheduled to start at 7:00 am. After multiple attempts on our part, the owner called me and left a condescending voice mail in my room regarding our concerns. He left no number where he could be called and was clearly trying to avoid any direct contact with a guest, in my opinion. Apparently, there are enough people who believe this to be a great property as they were able to book our room as we checked out early.
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