Terranea Resort - Destination Hotels & Resorts

My husband and I really loved it here. We paid $300/night, and for that it deserves 5 stars. Everything we wanted. So many restaurant options. Love that there is not only an adult pool, but an even quieter pool at the spa. Beautiful views. The staff are soooooooooo friendly. The shop at the hotel, Marea, has amazing stuff too.

First let me put my review into perspective with the facts: 1) I stay at several hotels/resorts several times a year, ranging from 3 stars to 5 stars. 2) While I read them and take them serious, I typically never write reviews - I was so disappointed I was compelled to do so here. There are certain expectations when you are staying at a 5 star anything. Think Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Beverly Wilshire - all less expensively! 3) We stayed for a week - this is our final day and I can't wait for my vacation to be over. This was the first vacation that I've taken in a while where I was able to completely check-out of the office - total waste. Off to a good start: We arrived about 2 p.m. We were greeted with a glass of champagne. Nice touch. I was eligible for an upgrade, but the front desk man talked me out of it. The bellman transported our luggage to our room. The room was smallish, with smallish double beds. The carpet had spots - not expected at a 5 star hotel/resort. I felt I could live with it. Our room was overlooking the pool - with tons of very loud, happy children swimming about. As a parent, if my kids were still small, this would have been fine, but I explicitly said that I was looking forward to relaxing on the patio. That couldn't happen. Even when I would get up early before everyone arrived to the pool, my next door neighbor chain smoked cigarettes the entire time. So far, not the 5 star experience I've had at true 5 star establishments. The room: The room was covered in dust. It looked as if it had never been dusted. I asked that the room please be dusted. You go on vacation to escape the worries of daily chores, not to pay top dollar to spend a week at a place that is more unkempt than your home. When we returned to our room, nothing was different, still dust everywhere. I left a very big tip, with a note to 'please dust'. When I returned to the room, tip gone, still not dusted, and not vacuumed either, crumbs and hair from the morning still on the floor in the sleeping area and the bathroom, so I just did it. They also didn't leave any fresh towels. None. So, I had to wait 15 minutes before I could shower in the evening. Really wanted to soak in the tub (as advertised) - room only had a shower - no tub. Disappointed. The amenities: If you plan to do anything other than take the kids to the pool, prepare to pay dearly on top of the '5-star' nightly rate. All I truly wanted to do was use the gym. I prefer to workout at night. The fitness center closes at 8 p.m. Disappointed again. Went to the concierge to arrange for spa services and discuss outdoor activities. I had to wait 20 minutes for him to complete a personal call. Want to know how I knew it was personal? He said several times: "Oh, yeah, I have that paperwork at home." So, I just left to figure it out on my own. 5-Star? None like I've ever experienced. No overview of the property, no information on the restaurants, no overview of the amenities. We are spending our final night on vacation at the Ritz Carlton. I hoping to have a least one night of this stay feeling like I'm truly on vacation. If you are want to bring the kids to play in the pool, this may be fine for you. If you are coming for a short stay (2-3 days), this may be fine for you. If you are truly accustomed to 5 - Star service, accommodations, and amenities - stick to the proven 5 -Star establishments. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. Very, very, very disappointed. If this is your first '5 Star' experience, they may be able to trick you into thinking you are truly getting a 5 Star experience. If you have experienced 5 Star before, you are sure to be disappointed, so manage your expectations appropriately. I know I sound "high maintenance", but it truly isn't the case. But, I certainly didn't get what I paid for. And, if you're like me - work hard and truly need the luxury of 5 Star, I don't want you to be disappointed like me.

Better than some of the 5 star Ritz Carlton;s I have stayed at. Very good restaurants, Superb friendly staff, and beautiful location.

This was our first, AND LAST, Terrenea experience. What was supposed to be an amazing & luxurious 3-day stay at Terrenea turned out to be one GIANT DISAPPOINTMENT. They have the WORST GUEST SERVICE!!! Here’s why… -After we requested for a rollaway bed for our suite, we didn’t find out until almost 8hrs since our initial request that there was no more available in the entire resort. They never even apologized for this lack of communication!! -We requested for extra linens & towels. We made at least 3 more phone calls just to follow-up on our request. Each time Housekeeping arrived at our suite, they didn’t have what we asked for. By 2am (almost 2.5hrs since our initial request), we still had not received the correct items!! -We tried to watch a movie in the suite’s DVD player. Whenever the movie would begin, the TV would either switch back to TV mode or it would play the movie with a greenish tint to everything on the screen. We couldn’t fix it ourselves so we called the Front Desk to request for someone to help us. No one ever came to give us assistance!! -One of our Bridesmaids ended up sleeping on the couch. She woke up with several bug bites throughout her whole body! This was a major sanitary concern!! ON OUR WEDDING DAY... -We requested for more tissue boxes. We got them, but then 45 min later, we got a call asking us if “someone had come to deliver the tissue boxes.” Shouldn’t Housekeeping have some type of system where guests’ requests are listed and checked-off once they are done? Why was it our job to follow-up on their staff?? -Right before we left the hotel, we wanted to take a quick picture by the beautiful fireplace in the living room. We were AGGRESSIVELY APPROACHED by two Terranea staff members who RUDELY INFORMED us that we were to stop taking pictures immediately. They told us that we aren’t allowed to take pictures inside the living room area. First of all, the living room area was almost empty. We weren’t intruding on anyone’s space or causing any form of disruption. All we wanted to do was take one quick picture by the beautiful fireplace on our Wedding Day, dressed in our Wedding outfits. We have visited Terrenea before, and have taken multiple pictures inside. No one ever stopped us. Staff members have even helped us take our pictures! We’ve helped other people take their pictures! How is this situation different when, this time, we are actually guests at the resort??!! -We had Housekeeping clean our suite for our Wedding Night & we came back to find linens bunched up in different parts of the room but our bed only had 1 white sheet and no comforter. To avoid any more frustrations, we just slept and got out of that place as soon as we can the next day!! We had initially thought of holding our 300-guest Wedding Reception at Terranea, but after such a FRUSTRATING experience, we now wonder why anyone would want to waste their time in such an IMPERSONAL and UNACCOMMODATING venue!!!

everything was very nice. as you would expect when you are paying that much.

thw hotel was beautiful clean and the workers were very friendly. However I think it is a little on the expensive side plus they charge 20 dollars for self parking I didn't like that. Overall i had fun. I don't know if I will go back only because it's not coast effective.

Second visit since March. Great location, except for a few exceptions, staff was attentive, kind and helpful. Food was great. Rooms had great ocean views!

After running around LA for 2days, Terranea was an oasis where we slowed down The spa was outstanding. The facilities were new and every detail thought through. Cudos to ever does the hiring and training.....it's a sincere group who strive very hard to be part of a wonderful experience.

Great.

my family and I traveled from Chicago for a long weekend. The resort, staff, food were exceptional. We encountered pleasant surprises.. a complimentary glass of champagne at arrival, a falcon demo with 3 beautiful birds and breathtaking views and walking trails. Closely located to Los Angelos and many sites such as the Queen Mary. We are already looking forward to another visit in the summer.