Monterey Hotels with Bars

The hotel's facilities are quite good and seem recently renovated, probably within the last few years. The only downside is that the shower pressure is very low, making it take a long time to rinse off. The service was decent. The hotel restaurant's breakfast buffet was excellent, with a wide variety for an international hotel, including chicken congee which was great for Chinese guests. The omelets were also good and easily comparable to those costing over $20 at an outside restaurant. What could be improved is the tipping situation at the buffet. While not mandatory, it's something I haven't encountered at American breakfast buffets on previous visits. Here, you can't self-serve soft drinks or water; a server escorts you to your table and brings them. Coffee comes in a large pot, and for tea, they provide a pot of hot water, a tea bag, and a cup for you to brew yourself. There's really no need for a server to bring these; it would be much more convenient for guests if they were available for self-service at the buffet station. It feels like an artificial way to create a tipping opportunity. During the meal, the server would also come over once or twice to ask, ”Is everything OK?” which is basically a prompt for a tip. They weren't concerned about refilling drinks or clearing plates midway through; it was just to ask if everything was okay. The experience felt quite off.

I stayed in Monterey for two nights to watch whales. The hotel is very close to the port and it is very convenient to drive for ten minutes. However, I was very seasick when I went out to sea. I fell asleep as soon as I got back to the hotel. The breakfast the next day was quite rich, with fried rice