Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort
May 12 2009, Published 9:13 a.m. ET
This is not your parents Hilton. The newly refurbished AAA four-diamond rated Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach, CA is a lovely vacation hotel, with plenty of amenities, new, marble bathrooms, the famous “Serenity Bed” and in the more expensive rooms, breath-taking ocean views.
Taking full advantage of it’s location in “Surf City’ on a beautiful stretch of beach, they offer bike rentals, cabanas, “S’mores and more” (everything you need for a bonfire of the beach to roast marshmallows), tennis courts, and even a “safari cart” to run you down to the Huntington Pier (gratis!)
From the minute you enter the spacious lobby, with the elegant waterfall, you understand why the hotel has been getting rave reviews.
Service is exceptional – all the staff seems genuinely proud of their hotel and wants to make sure guests have a good time. The pool is on the small-ish side but when you’re a hop and skip from the Ocean it’s hard to complain.
Don’t miss eating at Shades (or sampling room service.) The inventive chef, Jeff Littlefield, even jazzes up the “Drugstore” hamburger, making it with tasty Kobe beef. Tasting the chicken special one night I couldn’t identity the bed of slightly tart greens which complemented the roosted chicken so well. “Shaved Brussels sprouts”, he announced proudly. This is definitely a step up from most hotel fare. (There is also the all-important kids menu for families.)
Our only complaint that the hotel is that it’s a favorite wedding spot and on a busy Saturday they cleared more than ½ of the pool area for a wedding cocktail hour, which, as a paying guest was more than annoying. (They did compensate some guests with free drinks.)
But overall, we felt like we had a luxury min-vacation in one weekend, with sun, surf, good food and drinks. We give it 3 ½ Radars out of 5.
Note: the pool and Jacuzzi are closed for pool maintenance Monday, May 25th and reopening on Saturday, June 6th. Alternate pool and spa are available within walking distance, contact concierge for info.