Hotel Californian was unfortunately the most disappointing 5-star hotel we've stayed at. We booked two consecutive nights, and despite being told we were "locked in" to the same room, we were initially assigned a room with broken A/C—the exact room another couple had just checked out of because of the same problem. Maintenance confirmed the A/C could not be repaired, and we had to pack up and move rooms after dinner.
The replacement room was comfortable with working A/C, but the advertised "ocean view" was mostly the rooftop of a neighboring building with only a distant glimpse of the water. The hotel also repeatedly failed to provide enough towels and washcloths for our family of four.
At checkout, we were told a promised $100 resort credit for our second reservation had been given in error at check-in. After explaining we had relied on that information, the hotel agreed to cover about $50 in bar charges instead.
The beds and pillows were exceptionally comfortable, and every employee we interacted with was friendly. However, knowingly assigning us a room with broken A/C, the repeated room issues, disappointing ocean view, and nearly $1,000 in incidental holds on my credit cards made this a frustrating experience. For over $2,500 for two nights, I expected far better from a hotel that markets itself as 5 stars.
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