I recently took my mom to California, and the highlight of our trip was a three night stay at the Alila Ventana Big Sur.
Continue reading: Review: Alila Ventana Big Sur All-Inclusive Dining
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
What a great review Lucky. I had reservations twice that were cancelled during COVID. I look forward to finally getting there. Thanks for taking the time to review this property.
Looks like they have improved their menu from when we stayed there in summer 2020. Back then it was hard to get a decent spaghetti.
I do think they need to broaden their culinary offerings. We were indeed bored by Day 3 and we had quite a long stay as COVID refugees.
It would be a huge improvement nice if they could offer some comfort food like noodle soups or curries to cater to a diverse clientele. Not everyone wants generic "California cuisine."
Great review. I generally echo your sentiments here; I thought the food was tasty and quantity was good, but the dinner menu in particular could have used a few more entree choices. There were only 4 entrees last summer, so at least they added a couple more. We did a picnic our last day, and one of the hotel employees suggested we get the burger (which was not listed on any menu, but was a good choice).
The S'mores were well worth it too...
Just came back from this place. Everything was wonderful. People should not complain about the foot portion, as you can literally order as much as you want from the comfort of your room.
But indeed the menu is a bit limited, but considering they are only serving about 100 guests per night at most, can't really expect a big selection.
By the way, smore hours start at 8pm.
Ben, We will be there with our well behaved dog. Did you see any dogs, joining their owners, in the out door dining areas?
I had a one night stay here last year and they provided the to go picnic lunch complimentary at the time. Sounds like that has changed.
It’s a spectacular property. But from what I’ve heard, room rates have increased significantly from my last stay in 2019. I can’t justify that nightly rate .... unless I’m on safari in Africa! And the menu selections do not impress me.
@ Jim -- This hotel is VERY dog friendly. I didn't see any dogs at dinner, but I believe they're allowed outdoors. I'm sure someone with firsthand experience can chime in.
@ Fernando -- Happy to hear you had a great stay. And thanks for the s'mores correction -- I updated the post.
I also do recall a cocktail hour at the time I checked in for my stay last year. It was right outside the check-in area. Since you were at the Sur House before dinner, you may indeed have missed it. I believe they were mainly serving wine from what I remember.
Thanks for the review, I'm planning a visit in a few weeks. Out of curiosity, what did you do during the day?
@ Andy -- Hmmm, was this before the start of coronavirus? Because back in the day the hotel definitely had a cheese & wine hour near reception. It's possible that still exists, and that I was just confused.
@ gba -- To be honest, days passed pretty quickly between eating so much and playing games in the afternoons. Give my mom's limited ability to walk long distances, we mostly drove up and down Highway 1 and enjoyed the views. When I was there with Ford we loved hiking as well. Many people enjoy hanging out by the pool as well, and the hot tubs and Japanese baths are awesome.
Hi Ben, great review as usual. Thanks to you I was able to book a two nights stay on points in the coming weeks. I was wondering about the tipping policies. So it was great reading it from your perspective.
Staying for the 1st time in mid May for 3 nights so this review was excellent timing. I too would love to know what activities you found available at the property? My wife & I will ultimately end up doing similar things such as playing games & relaxing but would like a bit of hiking or yoga activity if its available.
@Jim yes dogs are allowed outside at Sur House
Lucky I agree with everything you said about the food. I eat quite a bit and definitely was more than full with the number of times you could order food. Will admit they could change up the menu since it looks the same 1.5 months ago. However, they are willing to "customize" some of their dishes to your taste i.e. I didn't want one dish with mushrooms and they were able to replace it with something else.
no this was during covid, it was either July or August cant remember exactly but around the time that the west coast was having bad wildfires. I remember they were closed for a bit due to wildfires prior to my stay and just opened again the week that I stayed.
it would have definitely been hard to miss the wine/cocktail hour at reception if you were checking in on time so maybe they did make changes to that as well.
great reiew btw, I also stayed with my mom for the night and we enjoyed all the meals that we had. i remember the to go picnic lunch was fairly substantial as well and they gave it to us in a drawstring bag which was nice however I don't think I would be open to paying $100 for the to go picnic lunch. At the time i believe they were serving a sirloin for dinner that was delicious and what pretty much everyone else seemed to order. that being said I was definitely thinking if I was staying for more than 3 days I would struggle with the menu selection.
Ben was this your first ever all inclusive experience? I get that this is Big Sur so hard to compare apples to apples to other parts of the world, but even at 30k points a night, it just seems like an OK deal and not the spectacular value that you seem to think it is. Forget about the paid rates. That's just a joke.
Just like business and first class airfare, I hope you're not valuing this redemption at face value for the paid rates of the rooms since you would never pay $2k+ per night to stay here.
One of the best parts about the menu is the simply prepared options! It may be bland to some, but I found it easy to watch calories with their menu while still being served over-generous portions. The beet muhammara at lunch was to die for!
@ Luis -- I've had a few all-inclusive experiences, but not many (typically I avoid all-inclusives, to be honest). Even when no meals were included, I thought this was an excellent value at 30K points per night. Not because of the value per point compared to paid rates, but because Big Sur is such a gorgeous area, and there aren't many lodging options there.
@ Mike P -- Enjoy your stay, I'm sure you'll have a great time! While I didn't do any of the activities, there are things like tai chi, yoga, meditation, a property hike, and more. I know others enjoyed these activities.
I had a stay booked here for Feb but with Covid there was not yet in-restaurant dining so I cancelled (that & the hwy from Monterey washed out). Do they still only offer outdoors dining (other than in-room?).
Lucky, if you want a great property with great views and staff... Please check out the WA Pedregal Cabo. I was there two weeks ago and LOVED it.
My wife and I stayed here in October 2020 and enjoyed all of our meals but dinner service in particular was excellent. We were on a points stay so decided one afternoon to splurge on the Sip Like a Sommelier activity, which is one of their Alila Experiences and did cost us extra out of pocket. We were anticipating a healthy dose of wine tasting and maybe some crackers and cheese to go with it. Instead we got the best 4-course meal either of us have ever had, and a few glasses of wine that while very enjoyable, were completely overshadowed by the food.
Crab legs and caviar served in an open crab leg (paired with a Riesling), charred octopus with squash apples and fennel (paired with a Chardonnay), crostini with camembert, brie, and caramelized onions (paired with a cab), and 28-day aged ribeye steaks with chimichuri and a balsamic glaze (paired with a Syrah). There was also a dessert wine and some chocolates at the end. Absolutely incredible.
They had lost their executive chef (I'm not sure why) sometime before they reopened - they closed for a bit due to both COVID and wildfires in mid 2020 - so they "borrowed" the exec chef from Cindy's on the rooftop of the Chicago Athletic Association, Christian Ragano. Man can that guy cook. He brought us each dish as he made them and told us the story behind the ingredients and his preparation. We almost forgot that we were there to taste wines the food was that good. Truly a meal we will never forget.
^^^ Crab legs and caviar with Riesling sounds like living.
@Lucky -- If you're a Globalist doing late checkout, would lunch be included on the last day? 🙂
I checked in the day Lucky checked out. Had a very similar food experience. The kale + white bean soup was great. The short rib entree was amazing and a huge portion. Both fish entrees were excellent too.
Totally agree re: the comments on FlyerTalk. No clue where some of those posters are coming from. My wife and I really enjoyed everything we ordered (had the chia bowl at breakfast every morning). Definitely agree that the pastries and desserts were "just okay", but that is such a small matter relative to everything else.
For daytime activities, lots of sightseeing and hikes. Go into Pfeiffer Big Sur or Andrew Molera state parks. Also hike the Coast Ridge Road from the resort all the way up to Terrace Creek Trail (and keep going from there if you want). Gorgeous views.
@ Quo Vadis? -- Nope, unfortunately not included either way. It has nothing to do with the check-out time, but rather has to simply do with general rate package inclusion. Also, I wouldn't count on getting a 4PM check-out. It's subject to availability at resorts, and this hotel is seemingly sold out 24/7/365, so I wouldn't be surprised if that gets denied.
If you have the chance to visit, hope you have a great time!
Thanks @Lucky -- We have a few nights booked in September, really looking forward to it. Great food pics, reminds me of a cruise trip, where it will be hard not to gain a few pounds. At least there should be plenty of space to walk/hike outdoors.
@ Ben -- What a great picture of your Mom. I am glad to see her big smile after all she has been through!
Last time I checked they had no rooms available on points for many months (same with Alila Napa Valley). Both Alila properties could be booked on points early in 2022.
@ Ben -- Two questions -- 1) Do you think it is worth 60,000 to book directly into a premium suite? 2) How does the deposit work for a points stay? The rate description says "Deposit Required By April 8, 2021. Deposit By Credit Card Required. 1 Percent Of 4 Night(S) Deposit Will Be Charged To Credit Card."
My goodness, I couldn't even finish the review... got so hungry! LOL
Fantastic review, Lucky!
I do think the service was pretty high quality in general. However while there were some really great staff at dinner, some of the employees were not so polished. The hostess was a particularly weak point. It often took absolutely forever to be greeted and seated.
@ Gene -- Thanks! The points are just pulled for the cost of the stay, there's no further deposit. And as far as booking into the premium suite, I guess if you have the points it could be a good idea. Personally I'd probably book a standard room with points and upgrade to a standard suite to save the points, but I think just about any redemption here is a good value.
@ Ben -- I found 7 nights dates for 30k + suite upgrade (looks available; on hold now trying to confirm). That would be a great deal!
@Ben @ Quo Vadis - Are you sure lunch is not included on check-out day? We had no problem ordering a packed lunch to go on our last day.
Would love to see a review of one of the Miraval resorts on this blog (Tucson, Austin or Berkshire’s). They are also all inclusive but the food choices are much greater and they do include lunch on your arrival and departure day. I’ve stayed at 2/3 and enjoyed both of them greatly. Expensive but with Hyatt points (2 people is 60,000 points a night, double this resort, and 1 person is 45,000 points a night). Also get a $175 daily per person credit (except last day I believe) to use on non included activities and spa. Not as great of a value and completely different type of resort but is worth it.
We will be there over Memorial Day, so perfect timing on the review for us.
Someone on flyertalk had mentioned the included picnic is an option for one of the day’s lunches, and if you want it any more than that or on the last day you have to pay for it. This recent post mentions the picnic kit is included if you take it off property- https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33117237-post928.html
Another fun fact i found is you can bring your own bottle of wine to dinner for a $50 corking fee.
I am happy that you enjoyed the food. Maybe the ppl at flyertalk want to discourage other people from stealing the availability :).
Did you eat at Post Ranch Inn or Nepenthe?
Probably an unintended consequence of the all-inclusive is the opportunity cost if you were to eat at the two best restaurants in the area. Maybe the strategy is to make them a lunch stop if arriving early.
@Lucky - when you ordered drinks, did you tip the $20 plus the 20% (or whatever your standard is) on the additional charges? I was also confused by the line for a tip, even though I read the note about gratuities being included. Perhaps they just needed someone to sign even when there were no actual charges, but I ended up tipping on what I felt a fair price would have been for the food. Probably more than they are used to getting, but I like to err on the side of caution with wait staff. And everyone really was excellent.
As far as picnic lunches, we did a 9 mile hike at Andrew Molera one day, which was beautiful. We ordered the hikers lunches from the hotel and were not charged for them. The hotel also provided a Patagonia day pack, which was great. Though the hikers lunches were not actually packed for a hike, and the beet and quinoa salad container came apart in the bag.
As for other activities, we did an enhanced wine pairing with one dinner, and Marty the sommelier was excellent. We did couples massages two days, which were great and in a beautiful setting. They were very much overpriced, but that was expected and known going in. A shorter hike another day, and one day just lounging by the pool and in the baths. We were going to do the foraging hike but cancelled because the timing didn’t fit in with our other plans for the day.
We were able to confirm a 1pm check out in advance (Globalist), but 4pm was a no go. It was my birthday, so even 1pm may have been generous.
The food looks good I have to say. That said, if a "$20 tip per meal" is only considered "a bit of a tip" then this is not the place for me. I realize the tipping culture in the US is insane as is, but that seems extreme even for that, at least to my european eyes.
It is also the main problem I have with these kinds of hotel. Of course you CAN redeem points for your stay and I'll even admit that in a case like this with all-inclusive in an expensive area it makes even more sense. But still I would assume that everything else sort of still adds up. Of course if everything else is included then $20 cocktails don't hurt as much, but I would assume prices for activities will also be sky-high.
Again maybe not so much an issue with this all-inclusive property, but it is also the reason why I am hesitant to ever use my hotel points for something like the top notch Maldives resort. Sure I might save thousands on the accomodation price itself (which I otherwise however would never have spent!), but then I can pay $750 for the 30min transfer, thousands of $ for a Overwater Villa upgrade, $150 upwards for lunch and dinners each day, hundreds of dollars more for activities and drinks. In my naive world redeeming points should still be something that more or less gets you a free vacation with only few/reasonable additional costs. And not a vacation with 5-10k additional costs still.
@ Regis -- Only subject to availability since it's a resort. I'd guess it's not available more often than not, given that this hotel runs at close to 100% occupancy year-round.
@ ArnoldB -- You're totally right, in the Maldives even if you redeem points the cost of a stay will really add up. But at the Alila Ventana you could redeem points and not spend a dime. There's no need to tip (according to the hotel), and parking is included, non-alcoholic drinks are included, some activities are included, and in this area you're best off enjoying many of the hikes on your own anyway.
@ Hepworth -- Yes, I generally tipped $20 for the meals and then 20% for drinks, but in reality we didn't have that many drinks while we were there, so that maybe only added up to an extra $20 total. Thanks for the data point on the lunch and other activities!
@ Lisfranc -- Indeed, there are some cute restaurants in the area, so that is perhaps an unintended consequence of it being all-inclusive. That being said, in coronavirus times I'm grateful for that, because Post Ranch Inn isn't open to outside guests, and some of the other cute places we ate at last time weren't open.
In the grand scheme of things, over time, you will forget how good or bad the food was during your stay. You will however remember the great quality time you spent with your mom. That's the highlight of this trip!!
Ahh, that dining patio! Some friends who live in Big Sur brought us there for drinks a couple of years ago on a gorgeous afternoon. We had to wait a bit for a table, but between the view, the excellent IPA, and the good company, it was a truly special experience.
Another good place to try is Nepenthe just down the road. The food isn't as elegant (more hamburgers and fries), but it's decent and the view is just as spectacular.
@MikeP - there is PLENTY of hiking in the area, from multi-day trecks in the Santa Lucia wilderness to casual nature walks. Check out Big Sur State Park for the whole gamut of options. Andrew Molera beach and Julie Pfeifer Burns parks also have some nice hikes.
The whiners complaining about the quality of food here are the Nurse Ratched of entitled jerk hotel guests — who already are looking the gift horse of this hotel being all-inclusive in the first place even on award stays. The only redeeming thing about them is that they make the entitled Marriott whiners also have company.
The food quality here was excellent before the Hyatt/Alila integration and it was excellent afterward — even considering the limits during Covid. Some people are just too entitled for their own good. And many of those find a lovely home on FlyerTalk.
Had my first dinner here. Octopus, Artic char and the sundae with a half bottle of Siduri SLH for $50. Great service and food was excellent, not Michelin level but definitely gourmet.
I only had one other all inclusive experience at Hyatt Ziva in Cabo and flyer talk thought the food there was ok and I literally heard other guests raving about the steak! I have to say the food here at Ventana is miles better than that at Hyatt Ziva Cabo!!! I will pay to eat at Ventana with no complaints and I have eating at many great restaurants in the world. The menu is smallish but you still have 5 to 6 starters and mains to choose from and the quality is good. I can see why people complain about repetitiveness if you stay more than a few days. But you can’t really compare a 60 room hotel that serves nice sit down dinners to a 500 room hotel that serves crappy buffets and pedestrian speciality restaurants.
Just finished a one night stay on points. Seems they are including lunch on either check in or check out date now. I ate at the bbq place after checking out, all included