Asilomar Hotel and Conference Grounds

I love it here- the rustic feel and unpretentious atmosphere is just what I needed to recharge. The room was very clean and preserved in mid century style. |I could see and hear the ocean from the balcony and listening to the ocean waves as I fell asleep was particularly wonderful. |I found a bunch of great places to eat in the area that I walked or rode a bike to and loved watching all the deer cruise around in the nice quiet neighborhood. |This place is such a treat- if you want a serene, rustic, special experience.

If you are visiting our beautiful area, one of the less advertised places to stay is The Asilomar Hotel (Lodge) and Conference Grounds. Perfectly situated within a few steps to the beach, spanning several acres, filled with trees and paths. This gem has a great rustic vibe. Very cosy. The Main Lodge has a large, locally quarried boulder fireplace, many comfortable leather sofas and two pool tables. There is also a Cafe in the Main Lodge for food, beverages (wine and beer too) for the peckish. Great for those looking for a picnic on the beach. The rooms offered are varied and rustic. You can choose from basic rooms to separate cabins. Highly recommended too for business venues with several conference facilities. Whether business or pleasure, family outings or a personal getaway, the Asilomar is a great choice.

This place has seen better days. Now i believe they have upgraded some rooms. Those may be worth it. The older rooms are minimal and not worth the price. The location is fantastic. Just a short walk to the beach. And the property does have nice walkways Coffee shop and bakery was fresh and good. Staff were friendly and helpful

Context is truly important here. It would perhaps be useful to know who Phoebe Apperson Hearst was and the significance of Julia Morgan as an architect. It would be good to know a bit about the history of the YWCA. The setting is unique and moving, whether it is sunny and warm or foggy and chilly. I love that adults come here on retreat and children come here to play. Please don’t expect luxury accommodations or gourmet meals. It is a place to slow the pace, breathe the sea air, and gather around the fire.

I stayed at Asilomar Conference Grounds for a 2-day / 1-night retreat. A few main buildings are located at the center of campus (dining hall, lecture room, guest check-in) and the residential buildings are scattered on the outskirts. The location of this Hotel is great. It's walking distance to the beach and state park. My room was kinda average and screamed "family beach retreat on a budget". This is not a luxury place. When I checked into my room, it was an oven and there was no AC. I left the screen door open all evening to cool it off and by 9 pm it was comfortable. The shower / toilet was part of a wet bathroom, and the sink area was separate. I thought the bed was too soft. I ate 3 meals: two lunches and one breakfast. It was distinctly average food - tuna salad, noodles, cold-cut sandwiches - these kinds of things. If I was going to visit Monterey on my own volition, I would do some research on other hotels nearby before committing to this one.

This hotel reminds me of the children's poem, when it's good, it's very good but when it's bad, its awful.||The good|The location is beautiful, right in the park and across the street from the beach.|The free walking tour on the history of the park was great.||The bad|It took me several calls and then multiple emails to correctly make my reservation. Honestly, I would have given up, but I was going to a wedding there so had no choice on location. Talked to some others at the wedding who had a similar experience. Wow. No wonder it was not full on a holiday weekend in a beautiful location.|Went to the breakfast buffet once and it was a ripoff. They charged $22 for steam table eggs etc.||OK|The room itself was fine and checkin was uneventful.

Beds were very comfortable and room was spacious. Breakfast was a wonderful experience - lots of good food, plus we met several very interesting people at our table. I loved being able to walk to the beach to watch the sunset. Only frustration was their wifi wasn't working in our area the first night.

The grounds are walking distance to the beach, they have a nice cafe and shop. The social hall always has a nice fire going. Just be aware that the price you see online is not accurate. Ours said $139 a night; however, when we arrived we were charged $203 a night, plus $23 taxes, plus state park fee, plus a $50 deposit (none of which were disclosed prior to booking and against Senate Bill 478, the honest pricing bill). Our room was clean, but the carpets were very stained, the glass sliding door was broken and the curtains did not close all the way. They say the pool is heated but it is not. We stayed in Embers and the phone to the front desk was broken and the light bulbs in the hallway were missing. We did buy a $42/person dinner only to find out we were sitting with the foreign exchange housekeepers. I learned that the hotel uses these young people to "clean" whole providing them room and board. Nice kids, but if I wanted to sit with the help, I would have just worked a shift in exchange for the free dinner. If you plan to be out exploring the beautiful area. Then this place is not bad, just make sure you call and ask them for the correct price and fees. I'm sure they will soon comply with the SB 478 which went into effect July 1, 2024 (despite our stay being July 7, 2024). We asked that the manager Samantha honor the price we were quoted at the time of booking but she said she would do it at check out and then was not available. Dishonest pricing, even another employee acknowledged it was "deceptive."

I love it here- the rustic feel and unpretentious atmosphere is just what I needed to recharge. The room was very clean and preserved in mid century style. |I could see and hear the ocean from the balcony and listening to the ocean waves as I fell asleep was particularly wonderful. |I found a bunch of great places to eat in the area that I walked or rode a bike to and loved watching all the deer cruise around in the nice quiet neighborhood. |This place is such a treat- if you want a serene, rustic, special experience.

If you are visiting our beautiful area, one of the less advertised places to stay is The Asilomar Hotel (Lodge) and Conference Grounds. Perfectly situated within a few steps to the beach, spanning several acres, filled with trees and paths. This gem has a great rustic vibe. Very cosy. The Main Lodge has a large, locally quarried boulder fireplace, many comfortable leather sofas and two pool tables. There is also a Cafe in the Main Lodge for food, beverages (wine and beer too) for the peckish. Great for those looking for a picnic on the beach. The rooms offered are varied and rustic. You can choose from basic rooms to separate cabins. Highly recommended too for business venues with several conference facilities. Whether business or pleasure, family outings or a personal getaway, the Asilomar is a great choice.

This place has seen better days. Now i believe they have upgraded some rooms. Those may be worth it. The older rooms are minimal and not worth the price. The location is fantastic. Just a short walk to the beach. And the property does have nice walkways Coffee shop and bakery was fresh and good. Staff were friendly and helpful

Context is truly important here. It would perhaps be useful to know who Phoebe Apperson Hearst was and the significance of Julia Morgan as an architect. It would be good to know a bit about the history of the YWCA. The setting is unique and moving, whether it is sunny and warm or foggy and chilly. I love that adults come here on retreat and children come here to play. Please don’t expect luxury accommodations or gourmet meals. It is a place to slow the pace, breathe the sea air, and gather around the fire.

I stayed at Asilomar Conference Grounds for a 2-day / 1-night retreat. A few main buildings are located at the center of campus (dining hall, lecture room, guest check-in) and the residential buildings are scattered on the outskirts. The location of this Hotel is great. It's walking distance to the beach and state park. My room was kinda average and screamed "family beach retreat on a budget". This is not a luxury place. When I checked into my room, it was an oven and there was no AC. I left the screen door open all evening to cool it off and by 9 pm it was comfortable. The shower / toilet was part of a wet bathroom, and the sink area was separate. I thought the bed was too soft. I ate 3 meals: two lunches and one breakfast. It was distinctly average food - tuna salad, noodles, cold-cut sandwiches - these kinds of things. If I was going to visit Monterey on my own volition, I would do some research on other hotels nearby before committing to this one.

This hotel reminds me of the children's poem, when it's good, it's very good but when it's bad, its awful.||The good|The location is beautiful, right in the park and across the street from the beach.|The free walking tour on the history of the park was great.||The bad|It took me several calls and then multiple emails to correctly make my reservation. Honestly, I would have given up, but I was going to a wedding there so had no choice on location. Talked to some others at the wedding who had a similar experience. Wow. No wonder it was not full on a holiday weekend in a beautiful location.|Went to the breakfast buffet once and it was a ripoff. They charged $22 for steam table eggs etc.||OK|The room itself was fine and checkin was uneventful.

Beds were very comfortable and room was spacious. Breakfast was a wonderful experience - lots of good food, plus we met several very interesting people at our table. I loved being able to walk to the beach to watch the sunset. Only frustration was their wifi wasn't working in our area the first night.

The grounds are walking distance to the beach, they have a nice cafe and shop. The social hall always has a nice fire going. Just be aware that the price you see online is not accurate. Ours said $139 a night; however, when we arrived we were charged $203 a night, plus $23 taxes, plus state park fee, plus a $50 deposit (none of which were disclosed prior to booking and against Senate Bill 478, the honest pricing bill). Our room was clean, but the carpets were very stained, the glass sliding door was broken and the curtains did not close all the way. They say the pool is heated but it is not. We stayed in Embers and the phone to the front desk was broken and the light bulbs in the hallway were missing. We did buy a $42/person dinner only to find out we were sitting with the foreign exchange housekeepers. I learned that the hotel uses these young people to "clean" whole providing them room and board. Nice kids, but if I wanted to sit with the help, I would have just worked a shift in exchange for the free dinner. If you plan to be out exploring the beautiful area. Then this place is not bad, just make sure you call and ask them for the correct price and fees. I'm sure they will soon comply with the SB 478 which went into effect July 1, 2024 (despite our stay being July 7, 2024). We asked that the manager Samantha honor the price we were quoted at the time of booking but she said she would do it at check out and then was not available. Dishonest pricing, even another employee acknowledged it was "deceptive."

The staff is great especially the GM and the Front Desk team. I loved the grounds, absolutely picturesque! The access is unparalleled. The cafe is good but I wish it was open later for all options. The rooms could use upgrades to furniture, add carpet and improve the quality of bed and bath linens but the fresh air was nice and the rooms are spacious. They were clean and stocked well. I couldn't find the ice machine on the map so I figured I would call the front desk but my room didn't have a phone. It was odd but not world ending. The gal in the box on display in our building was always a little creepy. Loved the history of everything but it felt a little eerie at times. Overall it was a great stay. A little reinvestment would go a long way at the beautiful historic hotel.

I have now stayed here twice on opposite sides of the grounds, both times the intent was just a weekend getaway. Some down time to rest and recharge so not here for any sort of hustle and bustle. This place does not give that kind of vibe. Gorgeous grounds to take walks and see sunsets and even hear/see the ocean from some spots. The first stay there was barely anyone around, I'm pretty sure we had our whole building to ourselves. The building had a common room with a living room and bookshelf with books and games and a fireplace. Then a bunch of separate rooms off the main room, upstairs and down. We were on the 2nd floor so it was nice to be able to have the windows wide open and not worry about temperature regulation. Had to key in to entry door and key for room. The second stay was closer to the pool on the first floor and there was a lot of events going on. People with instruments, crafts, a wedding, etc. And you can clearly tell. The walls are thin. Slamming doors resonate through multiple rooms - some people are absolutely clueless to the turn and gently close method. Couple times we thought there was an earthquake but it was just other people. Even people in rooms sharing walls with ours we were clearly sharing a conversation whether they realized it or not. The rooms bathroom had a lot of dark mold around the bathroom appliances. Both beds had a bunch of spider eggs beneath both. A little scary that they do not clean under beds. There is even a used tissue under one of the beds. So do not have full faith in the cleaning that goes on. However, they do knock and round early and you will be awakened by the vacuum coming through the thin walls if not the initial knock. If you do not want service, you need to utilize the door hanger! The second room had a fridge, the first did not. However, the fridge can only be turned on for 2 hours and then it automatically cuts off. I get the energy savings, but maybe at least 4-6 hrs is warranted. Best to operate as if the room does not have a fridge or bring your own cooler and ice for consistency. No getting sick on spoiled food while on vacation. There is complimentary wifi and a heated pool (which may or may not be working). Wifi was strong for multiple devices as one of us was working on each of the trips. Tons of plugs, even had some usb + plug furniture. newer decor in the second room than the first. Our first floor room did not have a screen on the porch door (on the first floor) so we were at the whim of bugs that wanted to come in if we wanted fresh air. The thermostat is old school, patrons have little control to the atmosphere they paid for. There is no air conditioning only a heater so the room is stuffy unless you open the sliding door. There were a couple side windows that did nothing for air flow but at least those had screens. If you are looking for a quiet weekend getaway then I highly recommend asking if there are any events going on for the conference grounds. Being that it is in the title! Ask if there is a space removed from the hustle and bustle and if they say no reschedule or be prepared to have more noise than you care for. Recommend earplugs and an eye mask. It's a rustic-ish space. Gorgeous woody-beach grounds. No bells and whistles type resort. It is a historic space so not sure how much remodel will ever be done, but let's hope they can start vacuuming under beds regularly to avoid all the spider eggs at the very least.

Beautiful location and walking. Stay away from the historic rooms, things are broken and not maintained. My brother's room had a broken blind in the bathroom which allowed onlookers to view he and his wife while in the restroom. Maintenance did fix it the second day of the stay at 9 pm. Also prepare yourself for no sleep. The wood floors are not great when you are in a downtowns unit. There is no noise insulation in these rooms. We could hear our neighbors upstairs, walking, moving furniture and having their private time, the housekeeping staff vacuuming at 6 a.m. and the vehicles driving over the man holes throughout the night which sounded like low volume gun shots. On the positive side, we are headed home with some great memories and stories.

Can you give it a zero? They absolutely need to stop booking the historic rooms. This was the worst room I've ever seen. Tiny bed, dilapidated room with no plug ins. Not sure if there is something growing in the bathroom. Zero noise insulation. It's basically almost fraud for the cost of this place.

Beautiful grounds, small deer, roving the grounds in the morning, and evening, beautiful despite the death of the many Pine trees. The dead trees look like beautiful sculptures. They are working on growing healthy trees in the future. The outside of the buildings are historically, beautiful, the inside of the rooms are very outdated, including the plumbing, but if you stay there, you're not going to be in your room that much anyway.

The bungalow room is old and peeling but the room was very clean and fine for sleeping. No TV or code maker . Towels were big and newish. The walking paths are excellent especially walking to their beach grounds . Probably not coming back as we like more amenities on our room but fine for those on a budget looking to find a quiet place by the ocean in an upscale area.

Making sure the rooms are clean when guests arrive. This would make the experience of Asilomar more enjoyable. The good was the absolutely beautiful sun sets we enjoyed during our time at the resort. The evidence is the picture I attached.

My parents have been coming here for over two decades, sometimes for conferences but mostly for family getaways. While the location is still incredible, the accommodations and service have declined significantly over the years. This past weekend I came here with my mother, wife, and our 3yo son. When we were looking for my son's car before leaving, my wife found a syringe/needle under one of the cabinets in the main living room of our cottage (see attached pics) This is incredibly disturbing, especially when traveling with a small child. Not only is this extremely dangerous, but it is also a reflection of the uncleanliness and lack of attention to basic housekeeping standards. The manager at the front desk responded with complete indifference when we checked out and showed her these pictures. My mother was quite saddened by this experience as this has usually been a place of nostalgia and positive memories for our family. Be very cautious coming here.

Stayed here last weekend. Had to pay upgrade to have same area as my friends. Only to find the hallways and room carpet extremely dirty. Looks like the room had not been cleaned.There were pills on the floor, spiders in the bathtub. Broken thermostat. Mattress pad dirty Room smelt very old and musty. No insulation between the upstairs and down. Could hear my neighbor up above me all night walking and closing doors. All furniture is broken down so when you sit you fall through. Very uncomfortable.

The most fabulous and healing place to stay. It's literally like heaven! The room is very simple. No AC , no tv, no refrigerator. BUT! The most beautiful nature. Deer walk right up to you. We saw a cougar too! The beach is right outside the room... just walk down. Waves bashing up against the rock! So so beautiful! The pool is also salt water. It's a very spiritual and healing place. My fiancé and I are going back there to be married. My favorite place on earth.

I absolutely love this area and have been visiting since I was a child. Last stay at Asilomar Conference Center was 10 years ago and this weekends stay was reminiscent of that. Best: All the stars for the grounds, the beach, more social scene (music, campfire), coffee/snacks for sale all day. Worst: peeling paint in room, broken amenities (pool not heated, hairdryer broken, heater in room nonfunctional), STRONG SMELL of room (old cigarettes, mildew), stained lampshades, stained carpet/chairs, poor quality food at Phoebe's (think cafeteria) and generally misleading website. The website showed a picture of a refurbished room but when I arrived the front desk clerk radioed once to ask if our room was ready (it was past check-in time 4:15pm) and when she got no response moved us into a different room. Had I known the move would mean we were in the ancient never remodeled wing, I would've asked her to try again, be honest about what she was doing or offer us an upgrade (at cost). It was only two nights and my kids didn't want to move since we were close to the deer on property so we put up with it but it's definitely set me off coming back here for another 10 years. I had so much hope for you Asilomar/CA State Parks! Aramark is generally awful as a concessionaire, so I guess that should've been a tipoff.

Let's start out positive. The grounds are beautiful. Location is great. And we went from 115 weather to 60, so overall we were happy. We are used to camping in a pop up trailer in Bodega, so our room was about as comfortable as our old Coleman trailer, just filthy. Upon checking in, I should have just walked out when I noticed the amount of hair in and around the sinks. I just wiped them and thought that maybe they fell from the cleaners. I was tired. Then I took a shower in dingy, moldy, rusty, shower and noticed there was a used, wet, towel hanging from the door. That's when it really dawned on me that the room was likely not cleaned thoroughly. Throughout our stay there was a smell. Like a sour funk that was so gross. At first I thought it was from the sinks that backed up and bubbled up a bunch of gunk, see pics, but the smell stuck around. By the last night it was gag worthy and thanks to the dank smell if the shower room, hard to place. Well, we had waited until check out day to have the garbage changed because we hadn't used it much. I took the bag out and as you can see in the picture, there was curdled something in the bottom. It was so bad after being unearthed that I had to wash it in the shower before we could pack up more. Also, the screen was leaning against the sliding glass door when we got there. I put it in the track and it fell out every time we opened or closed it. As for staff response, one woman was apologetic. Another man was very dismissive when we asked him any questions about our stay (not the issues I mentioned).

I came here for a weekend getaway. It is definitely rustic and gives you camping vibes without being too much into the woods. This conference grounds is quite large and even with how many people we saw in the main lodge/check in area, you rarely see anyone when you leave and return to your room. The only reason I knew others were staying in the building or nearby was because of the parking lot. Other than that, we rarely ran into anyone other than when we went on our morning stroll near the beach side, which I would like to add was one of our highlight to our stay. To start, they offer complementary wifi for the rooms which we used if we felt the need to do so. We did not have any issues with our wifi during our time here, but also we were not using it much only some downtime before bed. They also offer dining options if you would like to eat on the conference grounds. Considering we had a car and a list of places we wanted to try, we opted not to try their dining food options. I booked a standard king size bed room. We stayed in the Oak Knoll building located towards the back. They have an underground parking area for this building and stairs to walk up to the rooms. It was so quiet and serene, though I was told the walls of thin. We barely heard any people though so that was nice. The room was quite large and had huge windows to look out into the conference grounds. There was no TV which I knew, but they did have a mini refrigerator if you needed to store items. In the closet there were hangers, a hair dryer, iron and drawers. The bathroom was a bit outdated, but the room itself looked like they just remodeled it. The bathroom was clean, a bit small though. The bathroom and shower were in one separate room and the sink was outside of it. They did give you a mini shampoo, conditioner, and lotion from bath and body's to use/have if you forgot to bring your own. The bed, desk lamps, side tables and red leather chair looked very new. The room had a ton of plugs for you to charge your devices, including the plugs on side tables. Side note, they also had all their old mattresses, chairs and old lamp fixtures in the parking lot so I would assume this means they only recently changed out their furniture. Two minor downsides to this room: 1) the heater seemed to be stuck on high - when we tried to adjust the temp to lower it in the room, it seemed to be stuck on 73F. We moved it all the way down, but the thermostat continued to say and feel 73F, even when we left the room and came back later in the night. 2) one of the two windows were broken - one of the windows could not open or close. It was stuck open with a tiny crack. Considering it was so hot in the room, it was not a big deal because we ended up opening part of the other window as well. However, the next night it was storming and windy. Even though we were able to close our other window, this particular broken one kept making high wind noises in the room when we were sleeping. If you are looking for a quiet area to sit back and relax, this would be the place. Many people come here to get away from all the noise of the city, to regroup and enjoy the scenery. If you are looking for the shiny frills of a resort, this is NOT for you. Considering the historic landmark of Asilomar and knowing exactly what I was getting myself into, I enjoyed my weekend stay here. If you are lucky like me, you may see some deer outside your window in the morning walking around :)

First and foremost the location is stunning. Super beautiful beach obviously but also the paths on which you walk are wonderful. We saw deer outside our windows and all kinds of critters in the tide pools. The rooms themselves were just okay. Kind of dated and weirdly lit. One of our sinks just did not work and there wasn't a hairdryer. Also the service was just okay. The people themselves were nice enough but no urgency and not a lot of communication. The pool area was nice and the cafes on location were much appreciated.

As someone who's not particularly into camping our "roughing it," I think I missed the charm of Asilomar. It's quite rustic - a bit beaten up and outdated. But you can tell a lot of folks love coming here - and are repeat customers! The campus is interesting. I wish there were more sidewalks for getting around. I always found myself walking on a road. The main cafe is sufficient, and we frequented it for breakfast. (Get the breakfast sandwiches!) Our bed was a little creaky but comfortable enough. The shower was not the most pleasant, but oh well. One of our historic rooms had the sink in the main sleeping area, which made nighttime a bit challenging at times. Walls are thin.

The first time I stayed here for a conference, I loved it. This time, not so much! It's rustic, which has its charms, but there's literally nothing to do at night and their WiFi is unsecured...so who wants to use that? What REALLY ruined my trip this time, though, was being told when I checked in, "We see that you requested an upstairs room, but we have none available." LIE! *Nobody stayed above us that first night, and it was quiet and heavenly.* The truth is, is that they were "saving" all upstairs rooms for a big crowd that arrived the day after we did...still no reason not to honor my ONE simple request. The next day, two women checked in above us, woke me out of a sound sleep at 9 pm (like I said there's absolutely nothing to do there at night) and klanked all around dancing and moving furniture, til after 11:30...two nights in a row! If the 3rd night weren't already free, we definitely would have just left. It's bad enough having no real food onsite, no TV and an unusable network...but this took the cake. I'll never return, since they don't care about their guests. I asked for a call about my concerns, but it's already been a week, and you guessed it...no word from them, argh. THEY. JUST. DO. NOT. CARE. I would've given one star, but the free billiards were fun, the gift shop was nice, the boardwalk was lovely, deer sightings were fun, fires were a nice touch, and we enjoyed the cellphone tour of the Julia Morgan buildings/ it was fun to go in many, including seeing the caretaker's place: that was absolutely divine! So they grudgingly get 2 stars...but I still wouldn't advise staying here...unless you want to punish your teens or something.

Just checked into our hotel at Asilomar Conference Grounds, wanted to take a nap, but the walls are so thin and not insulated to block sound, it was like we had a curtain pulled across to separate our room from our neighbor's room. No AC, it's hot, and too noisy for a nap at mid afternoon. I do not recommend this place if you are a light sleeper. You "literally" hear everything next door...sounds like they are right next to your bed. Worst sound proofing we have ever experienced.

We went there to have a good vacation unfortunately it was not the place is not well maintained the staff is not that friendly at least not with us and the room had a bad smell the reviews that we read make the place sound good but is not they should have a fan and TV and properly working sinks we don't recommend this place spent almost $600 to have a bad experience and felt discriminated .

This place had fabulous staff ready to help and super nice! Beautiful scenery. Lodge has pool tables, games, puzzles and huge fireplace and piano. Phoebe's is like Starbucks but better choices. Yogurt parfaits have awesome granola on top. Ocean is a 5 minute walk with soft sand. Beds were comfortable. The only complaint I have is the bathroom. Extremely dirty, moldy and drain was broken. We have little kids and I couldn't even give them a bath because of how disgusting it was. Shower head worked ok but it was gross taking a shower when all you see is mold in the cracks. One of the sinks cold water faucet didn't work. The place has older furniture but there are 2 desks and 2 dressers which was nice and plenty of hangers if you forget yours. Overall nice place but they need to clean or update the bathrooms.

Nope! The current 2.7 stars out of 5 is waaaaaay too generous. This place is not worth a dime. It has not been updated since its inception back in the 1900! Completely run-down rooms with no TV, no coffee maker, no fan, no phone, no small fridge, and not even half decent lighting in the room. The heating thermostat is the original one, too. At least you can say the place is "original." The bathroom is as disgusting as the rest of the place. But what they do well is to charge you for everything. Did you know there was a corkage fee at this place? The outside handrails, the carpets, and the wallpapers inside the rooms are all from decades ago. The only newer items are the maintenance guys' trucks because they run around fixing this crappy place all day long, and they don't even do a good job on that, either. To summarize, Asilomar is barely one step above a homeless shelter. Bring your essentials from home as this place doesn't have anything and would not give you anything except a bed and a bathroom. That's it.

Less than one. Their vegan meal was literally a joke. I cannot believe they had the hubris to actually serve that to someone. And at $40! Embarrassing.

The grounds are AMAZING, the rooms are like a motel 6 in the 80s, and the food is the WORST I've ever had as a vegan of 25 years. Like, the French fries I used to have to eat for every restaurant meal in the 90s were better than the garbage they offered for people eating plant-based. They were great before they contracted with Aramark, now I really hope our union doesn't choose this place for our conferences ever again.

Last time I stayed at Asilomar it was a ghost town. I was apparently the only person in my building. It can feel pretty creepy at night. This time around was different. The place is packed. Family reunions, families with kids, business conference attendees. It's definitely more lively and it helps the overall vibe. Three stars is probably generous especially at $209 a night. For Monterey area that's not expensive but for what Asilomar offers, it is. Our room was plain but comfortable. The bed was just soft enough, the pillows a little too soft. The overall feel is a simple cabin in the woods. The vaulted ceiling with wooden beams was lovely. We were in Willow Inn but a room in Breakers East was similar. There's a lot to like here: 1. The grounds are rugged and scenic with lots of pine trees, native plants and sand dunes nearby with an accessible boardwalk. They are doing a lot of good by restoring the native ecology of the dunes. 2. It's quiet. If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle, this is the place to be. You hear the ocean waves as you walk around the grounds. 3. The pool is fairly warm. My kids stayed in it for over an hour on a cool day. 4. The cafe serves good lattes made with espresso from Peet's Coffee. 5. Pacific Grove is a cute town only a few minutes drive away and it's great to be close to that and close to Monterey (and even Carmel) without being in the thick of the tourist crowds near the Aquarium and Cannery Row. There's unfortunately a lot NOT to like here: 1. Starting with a minor thing but... small thin towels and 1-ply toilet paper. Really? You couldn't splurge at Costco for 2-ply and some decent bath towels? 2. Housekeeping is unprofessional. We had a dirty bathroom and balcony when we arrived. We called the front desk and asked them to send someone to clean it. When we came back to our room a few hours later, nothing had been cleaned. We called the next morning and asked them to clean. They assured us they would and... no one cleaned our room. After the third call to request this and be assured someone would, we gave up on the idea of it happening. We also had the unfortunate experiences of (a) housekeeping leaving linens and trash all over the hallway when we returned to our room -- see photo -- and (b) housekeeping knocking on our door at 8:15am on a Sunday to ask if they could clean it. We told them we weren't ready to check out and they asked when we would be checking out. We said "we have until 11am, right?" And they said "oh okay." Why would you wake someone up early on the day of their checkout?! The two rooms we had did not have "do not disturb" signs to use. When we spoke to the housekeeping supervisor about the early morning knock on our door, she seemed surprised by the suggestion that staff should look at check-out statuses for guests before doing that. She said "But they are ready to clean the room." It's a head scratcher. 3. The signage is very poor. Driving in, especially at night, often induces several wrong turns and a headache. It's a confusing layout and it's great they have occasional maps posted for people walking the grounds but they need to improve their signage on the roads. Parking lots are lettered which is fine but the signs don't mention which buildings are closest to which lots so you keep having to refer back to the paper map they give you to figure out where to park. 4. The cafe has pretty good food (we had the yogurt/fruit/granola parfaits) and good espresso but it runs out of food quickly, by about 9am on weekends. If you're a busy conference center, why not stock up on things you sell so that people aren't disappointed after they wait in line? The other option is a $22 breakfast of set items (not cooked to order) in an underwhelming dining hall that closes at 9am on weekends. Most people are just heading out to get breakfast by then, especially if they have kids. We went to Red House Cafe in Pacific Grove for breakfast instead, which had great food and great service! 5. We were interested in renting bikes but $40 per person for the day (the only option) is steep, especially when you're a family of four ($160/day? I could rent a Porsche for less than that, I checked). Why not rent them by the hour? Most people aren't going to need a bike for several hours at a conference center. $15/hr would be totally reasonable and I bet more people would rent them. We didn't see anyone riding bikes while we were here. Would I come back here? Definitely. But I think you have to lower your expectations a little and think of it less like a hotel or luxury resort and more like cabins in the woods. Many of the reviews complain about the poor upkeep of the facilities and they aren't wrong. I think the company managing Asilomar is probably more concerned about profit than service and that's unfortunate. It used to be run by the state. As my wife said, though, "if they made some small changes to this place, it would actually be really nice."

It's sad to see what has happened to Asilomar. Our extended family stayed and was so disappointed. Not cared for. My room had a completely broken shower -- the handle had obviously been broken off for some time -- and a glob of something in a corner. My son and DIL's room had a sink that would not drain. When I complained at check out, they gave me a $15 credit ($250 room). I emailed a complaint; no response. The group running Asilomar should be fired. Asilomar and guests deserve better.

The great: Wonderful views of the ocean. Easy access to the beach, quaint buildings, and just a generally charming and romantic place. The good: my room had a refrigerator and a writing fireplace. Lovely patio with a view of the Pacific Ocean. Decent sized room and comfortable bed. Decent customer service. The bad: Rather mediocre food -- there is no way around it. The ugly: The rooms had really spotty and poor wifi connectivity and this was for virtually everyone I spoke to in the conference.

The pictures on the website are pretty misleading. We booked the historic room and it did not look as quaint as we were led to believe. The walls were not wooden at all- it honestly just looked like a motel. So they're getting away with luring people in with historical charm when its just an excuse not to upgrade any of their rooms. The walls were also very thin, you could hear everything in the building from conversations to toilet flushing. Luckily our neighbors went to bed early and were not partiers. The pillows were really tiny- made for kids perhaps. And the bed was very very cheap. It wasn't like this was cheap for the area either!

If it wasn't for the amazing food, I would have rated Asilomar a 1 star but the food is so good that it gets a separate star itself. Good: -Quick and easy walk to the beach. -The beach had such soft and fluffy sand. Okay: -The food is delicious but it ran out of food fast. Bad (General): -Spends more money on the fancy pillows than buying room cleaning products. -The fire in the bonfire area next to the dinning hall was having trouble lighting up and the worker who tried to create the fire already drove off. -Almost every road looks the same to it's nearly impossible to navigate. It took me 2-3 days to remember my way back to the room. -It's too long to walk anywhere. We had to schedule 5-7 minutes in our schedule JUST to walk from point A to point B. Bad (Personal room): -There is only one light on the ceiling. -Everything in my room was dirty. -Gum was on the door -On the shower, it was hard to turn on and the direction was backwards. (E.g. when I would point the handle to the sticker that said "hot" the water would be cold and vice versa.) -Counter tops and sinks were dirty. -Apparently, another person placed her lint roller on a table and when she picked it up, it had some paint that came off of the table. -Bugs in the lamp and some of the plastic cups. -Locks on doors that are hard to close. (Some didn't EVEN close.) -Rusted vents. -Squeaky beds. -Sprinklers are rusted. -My alarm clock that was in my room was two minutes fast. -Bugs on the ceiling. -There are gross hair ties that the room service didn't clean up. (They were there before we came.) -The heater/AC is creaky and loud and hard to use because it's old fashioned. -Sinks in the bathroom won't stop dripping. -Sometimes outlets don't work. -Keys are FAULTY! (I got locked out of my room multiple times over my 4 night, 5 day stay here.) -Lights are weird and dim. -Trash can have trash before we threw anything away. -Cobwebs in some of the doorways. -There was a strange square piece of wallpaper that was separate from the rest of the wall paper. -Mirrors aren't clean. -Under one of the beds, there was a band-aid. -There was a stain on one of the chairs. -Sand stuck in between the carpet hairs. -Carpet isn't the prettiest thing. -Paint is peeling. -The main door, (the one that you walk into your room from,) is hard to lock so you have to slam the door to lock it. That's why you can hear BANGs around your room. -Curtains are dirty.

The Good: * Listening distance of the ocean * Fireplace in your room if you book deluxe * Walking distance to my favorite beach of all time The OK: -/ It's nice to get out for a walk in the morning to get some coffee from the lodge (but would love in room coffee, or have coffee stations in the various community spaces housed in every building) -/ I didn't mind not having TV. It was lovely to read a book -/ the shampoo, conditioner and soap rationing encouraged me to be mindful of my usage The Bad - Walls are thin - Our keys inexplicably stopped working halfway through our stay - The pool towels were hit or miss. Sometimes it was stocked most of the time it wasn't - No water stations for refilling bottles on all those wonderful hikes that we were doing - Coffee was hard to find an expensive - They knew they had 80 or 90 people checking in one afternoon and did not have a process or a system to receive all those people and it was insane. Long weights and pretty frustrating to watch and endure If you care about being close to the ocean in a historic setting and you don't mind walking and spending money for nearly everything that you will need, then this is the place for you.

Stayed here this past weekend for a retreat. The room was great but the bathroom was outdated. But I didn't come here for the bathrooms. The Grounds are gorgeous and walking distance to Asilomar Beach. I had an amazing weekend on beautiful grounds with stunning views, great people and great food. Thank you Asilomar Conference Grounds for the accommodations. I will definitely be returning

It was a lovely place once we got the right room my husband had requested rustic room but it is not what we wanted really so the nice room with the Keurig machine nearer to the water was very lovelyA place by the beach

I came here with some colleagues on a Summer Retreat. My organization has been here for retreats in the past multiple times and spoke highly of it. This was my first time here and it was a love/hate situation. The location was perfect! It was literally across the street from the ocean. We walked to the beach and along the beach. The view was beautiful. The food wasn't too bad either. The conference room was very very outdated and the carpet in the conference room and in the hotel rooms were very old and stained. The hotel rooms smelled like old house but they came with a fire place in the single bedrooms. The bathroom sink was old and had old yellow mustard color top. The bathtub had a slow leak. In the last day my co workers bathroom sink broke and wouldn't turn off. The food was not bad like I said but we had one issue. I informed the staff at least 2 weeks prior that we had someone with a peanut allergy and on the second day of retreat there were desserts with nuts in them but nothing was labeled and all the desserts were on one plate. When I asked the staff which one had nuts, no one knew and the chef had to come out and look for himself. The chef said he didn't know which one had the nuts but advised not to eat any of the dessert because they were made close together. That is terrible and that situation could have ended up way worse if we didn't stop to ask. Location: View: Hotel: Food: Hospitality:

I can say that this stay was a disaster. It may be my worst stay in all my years of traveling. I was here years ago and I understand there is no tv, phone, coffee maker so my expectations were reasonable. We had requested a room with an ocean view, they gave us a room in where the window had plywood on it. The beds were two small single beds that look like they came from a prison. I said we would not accept the room and they gave us a "modern" room. The lobby to that building had trash and oil stains on the carpet. Our room had a sliding door that would not open and the screen door fell off. Aramark should be fired for allowing this historic property to fall in disrepair.

Too bad there's nothing less than one star. Yes. Location is beautiful. But this place is a DUMP. Rooms are filthy - everything smells like mold. We had the misfortune of staying 3 nights and the hallway was never vacuumed, and on the third day housekeeping never even made up our room, nor was it ever vacuumed. Staff are surly and unhelpful. Don't stay here.

Charming would be an overstatement. The only thing this lodge has to offer is the location which is situated across the street from Asilomar State Beach. There are several buildings within the compound I was in the manzanita building which had no phone in the room, no ice machine in the building and a very eerie feeling. Walking up to my room after check in The door to my room was opened as well as the neighboring door. At first I was very suspicious but then came to realize it must have been due to the air not working or lack of air conditioning. Was here for Monterey Car week in which hotels sell out extremely quickly so the fact they had any vacancy should have been my first red flag. Needless to stay I won't be back. Very sad as this place has a lot of potential to be a desirable rustic lodge.

Great location . That's the only thing this place has going for it. However , the food is terrible and wait staff are just as miserable as the food is terrible. The rooms are dated and dirty. The carpet and chairs have spots and the walls need a fresh coat of paint. This is very sad because this place could be so much more .

Exceptional place to stay as long as you realize this is NOT a typical Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove hotel. Asilomar is a historic California State Park and because of that there are some ammentities a typical hotel might have that Asilomar does NOT. So for those that are complaining about the lack of some things, then they need to stay elsewhere. The location is amazing, the historic buildings and architecture is fantastic. There are no TVs (except in Phoebe's Cafe) or phones and while some of the walls are thin (like almost all hotels, btw), the quiet location is worth it. We used to stay at Hilton properties but got tired of the noisy children and rude guests. You will rarely find any of those at Asilomar as the typical guest understands what they are getting by staying at Asilomar.

Not worth it. Horrible and outdated, ugly rooms, walks are too long. Almost a 10 minute walk to cafe, and you need to pay an extra fee to eat. DO NOT STAY HERE.

Beautiful grounds! Great check in staff! Feel a little "bait and switched" with the reservation. The image I was given with a balcony and vaulted wood ceilings is not what I was handed on site. And only a window that kinda sees the beach through and past a multi tiered parking lot, but I must keep the curtains closed for privacy, is disappointing.

I was just scolded by one of the staff at Scripps for using a 'private' toilet - no signage or lock indicating off limits. Give me a break - unless it's preferable for GUESTS to shit outside or soil their pants... Such decorum! Such hospitality! Is this a hotel or a penal colony? I stayed several nights here pre-pandemic and didn't experience any problems nor discourteous staff; perhaps in this circumstance, they've been forced to hire lesser quality personnel.

You can't beat the location but Julia Morgan must be turning in her grave! No preventative maintenance frayed upholstery broken windows, beat up mini fridge so tacky.

We stayed in the Guest Inn, the Steinbeck house, there were 7 of us and there were plenty of beds for all of us. There were two small bathrooms, one dinning room, a very small kitchen with the smallest counter space and not enough dishes for 7 people. The place had very old sinks in the bathrooms that the repaint job was mostly pealing off, not very clean, one bedroom had no place to hang cloths and one tiny dresser. We were there in October and the temperature was in the mid to high seventies and there were no fans to help with the heat. We also had no outside seating to get relief from the interior warmth. There were no TVs in any of the rooms, the coffee pot was broken and very old and dirty. They charged us over $700 per night for the house, $21 for the worst breakfast buffet that any of us can remember.

Sewage bubbling up from the bathtub drain, a loud running toilet, and broken blinds. I'm here for a conference. The Julia Morgan architecture is beautiful. The setting is heaven. Everyone here is friendly. But the rooms are tired and GROSS. One guest left early after sewage was bubbling out of her sink, and stinking up her room. She was moved to a room with yellowed walls and moldy tile. She decided that leaving the conference early was the only way to go. Two other guests (in a different building) were moved due to sewage issues ( raw sewage got on one guest's belongings). I'm up and unable to sleep due to a loud, running toilet. I asked the front desk, on four separate occasions, if it could get fixed. They said "yes." Nope. Never did. So I'm sad. Asilomar is a beautiful retreat with a rich history. But I would not recommend staying here after this visit.

I felt it was time to update my review from 2016 because I've noticed Asilomar getting trashed on Yelp and I feel that the reviewers are being a bit harsh over things Asilomar essentially has no control over. I've read some of the reviews from my fellow Yelpers about the conditions of the rooms, grounds, etc. One reviewer even said Asilomar is a set for a teenage slasher movie. Seems a bit dramatic. Another Yelper talked about findings mice droppings under their bed. Well, duh, yeah. Asilomar is rarely at 100 capacity, many of the rooms hardly get touched, but the bigger question is, why was this person looking under their bed? First of all, Asilomar is part of the California State Parks system. The state contracts with Aramark to manage the property, provide staffing, etc. Asilomar is also a historic landmark....which I feel a lot of people aren't aware of or don't understand. Because of Asilomar's historic status, updating the rooms isn't as easy as it seems. On a previous trip to Asilomar, I had a conversation with a member of the maintenance staff and he gave me an example of how difficult it is to update anything at Asilomar. He told me that there was a hinge that needed to be replaced. The hinge wasn't readily available anymore so because it had to be replaced with new design, paperwork had to be filled out and it took months to get approval. My family and I have stayed and various parts of Asilomar. We actually have a particular location that we love. The point of Asilomar is to forge the comforts of home and someone with your surroundings. NOT to walk on plush carpet, sit in a comfortable chair, watch tv, etc. Yes, the rooms are a bit dated and the buildings and grounds can use some maintenance......just get over it. Asilomar can be pricey, but compared to other places in the area, it is a bargain. If you want luxury, head over to the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa and pay $400 a night.

I would give 5 stars for the grounds and location and 3 stars for the actual accommodations (would love to give more stars for accommodations if they would update/refresh the rooms). We appreciate what Asilomar has to offer, rooms at a relatively reasonable price for the Monterey area and we love Pacific Grove. However, as other reviews note, you have to know what to expect and be ok with that, or this is not the place for you. A lot of the building exteriors look refreshed and updated, but the rooms/building interiors we've stayed in are very dated and show a lot of wear and tear. Furniture/carpets are stained, worn, and/or frayed. Bed linens and towels are clean and the bathrooms are "clean", but they can be stained and appear dirty from their age. We don't mind that the rooms don't have TVs, but we wish all rooms came with refrigerators and microwaves. You can try to request a fridge (or room with a fridge/microwave), but one is not always available. Some of the buildings have underground parking, which is nice if you want to keep the overnight mist/moisture off your car. This time, we stayed in the Forest Lodge building, in the Hummingbird Suite. The suite featured two bedrooms (the front room had a queen bed and the rear room had two twins), a fireplace with complimentary bags of wood, and a fridge/microwave. It also had radiator heat, which worked well. The suite worked out well for us, but as mentioned, had dated/stained furniture/carpets. The downside of the front bedroom with the queen bed was that there was a lamp post just outside the window and the room did not have "blackout" curtains, so the room was still very bright after turning off the bedroom light to go to sleep. We ended up using a spare blanket in the room over the curtain rod to help darken the room at night. Overall, we like staying at Asilomar. The grounds are gorgeous and the location is adjacent to the beach. We would appreciate it if they did a good cleaning/refreshing of the carpets/furniture, etc., but we know what we're getting (currently) when we book there, and we're ok with that for now.

When we booked this room, my boyfriend and I wanted a spot near the beach with a pool. What we failed to realize is that this place lacks the basic complimentary things that most economy motels have. Our one king bed "modern" room has: -no in-room AC -no in-room fans -no in-room coffee maker -no in-room courtesy phone -no in-room microwave -no in-room fridge -mold on the shower curtain -no in-room couch/sofa, just hard, uncomfortable chairs -a busted alarm clock -exposed wires around the heater strip from the 70s -paper thin walls - I can hear a screaming baby in the room down the hallway -crank windows from the 50s -stains on the walls -rust on the toilet paper holder And the pool closes at sunset, so if you want to go for a swim after dinner you'd better make it fast. When I asked the front desk if we could upgrade to a room that has a view of the beach, a balcony or just something other than the dead weeds we see outside of our window (we are staying in the Willow building) the woman at the front desk said "no we are fully booked," yet it's 9:30 p.m. and this whole property is pretty empty. We already knew that the rooms had no TVs which was fine, but for $200+ per night I would certainly hope that this place could equip the rooms with the bare minimum that most economy level motels have. I at least wanted to see if I could get some hot water near the social hall to make myself some tea, but no...that's also too much to ask. I really wanted to like this place, but there is just so much to be desired.

So, this place can be good and it can be bad; depends on what you're looking for. The property is beautiful! Especially the boardwalk down to the beach on a moonlit night. My wife and I went down on the boardwalk a few times after dark to see the stars, moonlight and listen to the ocean. It was beautiful! We saw several deer walking right next to our room. Speaking of the rooms, there's no tv. We originally thought that would be bad, but it ended up being ok. It felt like camping in a cabin. They had wifi. The rooms are verrrrrry rundown, though. Wallpaper and paint peeling, beds are awful. A couple of us woke up with really bad back pain. The showers have absolutely no pressure and get scalding hot extremely fast. But, if you can put up with those things, then it's a good place to stay. The coffee shop has a good menu of drinks, wine and beer. They sometimes have a fire going in the main lodge. Pool is semi-heated. I wouldn't mind staying there again

Directors Cabin 7/2-7/6-2023 We have been coming to Pacific Grove for over 30 years, always staying across the street from Asilomar, we decided to bring our son and his family, and stay at Asilomar. We have walked through Asilomar countless times, admiring the old buildings and the natural landscaping, we have walked the boardwalks through the property on our way to Asilomar beach never tiring of Asilomar's beauty. Our stay at Asilomar: We rented the Directors Cabin: three bedrooms and three baths, large kitchen, nice size deck. Sounded wonderful, just what we wanted. This is what we found: The living room boarded up front window with at 2 by four. Two small folded out couches torn and spotted. The rug stained and dirty, the cabin had a TV, the only channels we could get were adult channels with no instructions on how to use TV. The lamp did not work and kept flashing on and off. Furniture scratched worn beat up. The refrigerator did not cool, called the front desk and they brought ice bags. The next day the refrigerator was working, kept things very cold. The door to the outside patio rotting, can see through the rot. Since it is an entry door did not feel very safe. The bathroom floor off the large bedroom by the tub felt very squashy. Deck off back bedroom, no support a sure Safety Hazard. Even if there is a sign not to use Deck. Large main Deck dirty, B-que dirty covered with an old dirty tarp. Called the front desk and they sent someone with a lawn blower to blow the deck off, however the table was dirty and bird poop all over deck. Cobwebs with spiders in the front bath. The ramp leading up to the deck: People would randomly walk up and look around; I was in kitchen, and someone was looking in, did not feel secure. The walls were dirty and banged up. This cabin could be so nice, it has great bones which have been long neglected.

We rented the Directors Cottage and it was perfect! We had 6 adults and 7 children. Each adult had their own room with bathroom. We brought blow up air mattresses and all the kids slept in the empty sitting room (in front of one of the bedrooms). The kitchen is huge and well stocked with equipment. We cooked every meal while there. Trader Joe's and Safeway is down the street to stock up on groceries. Huge patio with a working bbq! The fridge is also huge. They have a Keurig, toaster and pots and pans. We brought paper plates to minimize dishes but they do have a dishwasher too! Just bring detergent! The highlights ...deer everywhere! Right outside our cabin daily with babies! The pool was heated and kids swam daily! They light the community firepit in the evening (by the volleyball court) and we brought our own s'mores to roast! There is an electric bike rental place within walking distance! The adults and big kids rented bikes for 3 hours and did the entire 17 mile drive bike trail. Absolutely beautiful and a must! It's worth every penny and even then cost us about 35 per person to ride. We went around 3-6pm. The beach is so close ...& once you walk across ...if you walk to the right of the ocean there are plenty of tide pools and animal life (lots of seals and otters) to watch! The flowers are in bloom. The little cafe they have is perfect for your morning espresso drink or getting kids hot cocoa after swimming. The staff was very nice! Yes the grounds are old ...it's a historical place ...but it was a perfect family vacation to relax and enjoy all that is to be offered at Asilomar. Even with it being cold and cloudy ...we still all made the best of it and enjoyed it. It's worth the drive and a perfect spot for a large family gathering or to share with other families. We booked 6 months in advance as they only have 4 cottages and the prices are def fair considering what you get with it! Note: they do have a dining hall but it was expensive (40'per adult per meal and 28 per child per meal) so we opted to cook instead. Also did a day trip to Carmel to explore and get lunch. This was a 15 min drive away. You get the best of it all for a fair price at this location. Thank you Asilomar! We made some wonderful memories!

I forgot to post this review when we were here in fall 2021, but I doubt much has changed: I'm really not sure how to rate this since I don't know to what exactly to compare. Let's just start off by suggesting if you like nice hotels with things new, clean, tidy, and well taken care of don't stay here... If you think of this place like car camping with your own bathroom, electricity , and someone else to put out the bonfire it will be a nice stay. This is a state facility contracted out to Aramark. I am very familiar with state of California and contacts- Aramark included so our stay was pretty much as imagined it would be. The chairs have lost all their cushion, were probably built in the 80s and are identical to the discarded tower stacked outside a state facility. The pillows are lumpy beyond lumpy. Like the lumpy that happens when you wash non machine washable pillows. The beds aren't hotel quality either, but remember- this is camping! So be happy you have a bed! Seriously, though if you think of this like camping it will be fine. Bring your own pillows, coffee set up (we did a water kettle and aeropress), wash bin, sponge and soap, cups, ice chest, trash bags, house shoes. They do provide soap, shampoo, towels, trash bins with liners, but no cleaning service. There are ice machines and trash bins outside. If your room has a fireplace they give you wood too. Why would we do all that? It's quiet, close to the beach, short drive to cannery row/the aquarium, the grounds are pretty and it has nice views. I also appreciate the lack of TV (remember, it's like camping!) Once upon a time you could have a nice family style meal in the cafeteria, but that was closed. There is a small shop for food and beverages. The staff setup bonfires at night. There is a large rec room to hang out. People were playing pool when we checked in. Overall low key experience, acceptable place to stay with some pre planning.