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Tina and Brett
Hotel Rating
Located at:
21080 CA-1, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Staff Rating
Okay, let’s start with the good. The hotel is in a great location. If you came to Huntington Beach, the Surf Capital of the World, to take in classic Orange County, the Pasea Hotel and Spa are steps from the beach, the iconic Huntington Beach Pier, the International Surf museum, and the Surfing Walk of Fame. Neighboring Pacific City has some good dining and nightlife options (more on that below), and you’ve views on top of views from the oceanfront rooms.
Check-in at Pasea was a breeze. The lobby is bright and airy. Large windows filled the space with natural light, and the staff at the front desk were quick to help us as we started our stay.
The rooms in the Pasea Hotel in Huntington Beach are decorated in calm, serene colors. Beautiful ocean blues and neutral creams mimic the Pacific Ocean and sand, which are just yards from the hotel. The colors blend seamlessly from the room to the water, and nothing in the room distracts from the view.
We stayed in an oceanfront corner room, which had two walls with floor-to-ceiling windows that provided spectacular ocean and sunset views. The sunset against the Huntington Beach Pier was absolutely gorgeous. Few things in life compare to a Southern California sunset.
The hotel seems to have gone to great lengths to ensure that guests have access to this spectacular view no matter where they are in the room. Even the glass-encased shower allowed for a full ocean view but also had a door that you could slide closed over the window for privacy from the room.
A quick note about booking an oceanfront room here. While the Pasea Hotel and Spa is an oceanfront hotel, be aware when booking rooms, you must select “oceanfront” for a full ocean view. All other rooms primarily have minimal views of the ocean and advertise as an oceanview.
As far as amenities go, the room had some decent ones. To help you settle into your accommodations, the hotel provides canned or boxed water (upon request), a welcome bottle of white wine, coffee & tea, flip flops (to take home), and plush sweatshirt robes which are great for enjoying morning coffee on the patio.
The bathroom also came with a toothbrush (great in case you forget yours), mouthwash, a sewing kit, and a darker hand towel for taking off your makeup.
Our only qualm with the room was the furniture, which was a little dated.
There are two dining options on-site at the hotel: Tanners Restaurant and the TreeHouse a rooftop lounge. Restaurants in hotels that have the level of accolades that preceded the Pasea are usually reliably good. Unfortunately, we did not have that experience. If we’re going to put it kindly, both were long in the tooth. In fact, they were pretty run down and didn’t have the inviting vibe you would expect from an oceanfront hotel in Southern California.
Yes, the TreeHouse Lounge does have nice ambient fireplaces, and yes, the ocean is visible. Still, the average coastal cuisine, and staff was frankly not very friendly, which amounted to a memorable-for-the-wrong-reasons experience.
Conceivably, if the staff had been more welcoming, we would have considered boosting our rating. Good service goes a long way.
If we could do it again, we would skip Tanners Restaurant for food and the TreeHouse Lounge for cocktails and pre-dinner bites. With the restaurants in Pacific City a short walk from the hotel, you will find much better dining options there.
As far as dog-friendly Orange County hotels go, the Pasea Hotel is one of the best. Travel + Leisure magazine named Pasea one of the Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in the US for all of the creative ways they have come up with to pamper their guests’ four-legged friends. And USA Today named the hotel the Best Dog-Friendly Hotel in the US!
Pasea’s Very Important Pet Package includes a keepsake leash, collar, and toy, a complimentary entree from Tanner’s restaurant, house-made dog treats, and access to a 1,100 sq. ft. outdoor dog park.
If you feel like cruising to the beach for a day in the sun, you’re in luck. The hotel offers complimentary beach bikes, electric cruisers and scooters. Guests can also reserve beach picnic baskets for an additional fee.
Happen to be visiting Huntington Beach during the holiday season? Pasea has been known to set up an oceanfront ice skating rink right on the sand! Guests can reserve fire pits for cozy holiday cocktails, order small bites and enjoy special nights with Mariah Carey-themed Christmas performances.
Checking out of the hotel was a breeze. Everything was done online via the TV, so it was pretty quick. When you leave the room, you exit through the area used for the valet, which we thought was a great touch. It was nice not having to fight with incoming guests in front of the hotel.
Our stay at the Pasea Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach had some ups and downs. While the location is terrific, the hotel could use a refresher with their common area and room furniture – both were a bit dated and worn. The hotel seems to rely on its incredible ocean views (and pet-friendly service) to keep guests coming back. If they invested in revitalizing this space, it could really be something special.
