Dorymans Oceanfront Inn, Newport Beach

I booked room #4 for my wife's 50th birthday and we were looking forward to a great time. Save your money!!! The traffic in Newport Beach, particularly Balboa is a parking lot. I've been to NYC and DC, the traffic there is bad. Newport is worse. I live 20 miles away and I spent 1.5 hours on the peninsula alone. We never checked in because parking is in a lot around the block and it would have taken me another 45 min. Not a great way to spend a relaxing evening or weekend. My wife's 50th birthday is ruined.

We were looking for a romantic spot in Newport Beach so we tried the Dorymans Inn. We booked room # 8 at a price point over $400 a night for our special occasion. When we arrived, we found no one manning the front desk (that happens a lot here), our room was open, the door ajar, and our luggage inside, the room itself extremely hot and uncomfortably warm with the air conditioning turned off. We asked the front desk about the heat and we were told to turn the thermostat on if we wanted air conditioning. After a quick search, we found the room's thermostat (which came with very kludgy directions stapled next to it on the wall and a warning not to overset the temp or it would burn up). We had to close all our windows (which was actually a plus, as we faced the pier, parking, and shops which were extremely noisy) and our room slooooowly cooled down at this point. If you don't have “cool” as a final goal this would be considered ok. The area around the pier is extremely busy and the Dorymans parking is right next to Sharkeez the most popular night spot in Newport. We had someone else parked in our parking space the entire time we were there. Our room description was advertised with comments like "dine at the private ocean view table" in it's write-up, we found no such table in our room... so I can only assume they mean the common area patio where the very average and quite small breakfast buffet was served. I found nothing special or memorable about this buffet. Back to our room, we didn't really watch TV as our remote control (a cheap universal remote) just flat out didn't work. Next, we attempted to enjoy our advertised “marble sunken bathtub.” This was very hard to do as there was no marble sunken bathtub! What they really have is actually a marble tiled shower room with a high entry step which would allow you to fill the shower room with water. Assuming of course you have an hour or so to wait for the room to start filling up with a few inches of water. At this point you have something of bath but it doesn't feel at all clean and there is nothing to lean on or relax in. Simply put NOT a bathtub. The Dorymans Inn is in a noisy, busy, part of town and the is nothing charming or special about it and the service is quite suspect.

Over priced room. Stale Breakfast. No facilities, Over rated. I do NOT recommend this hotel.

Dorymans is a great place for a getaway. The staff is wonderful, the location the best. It is on the pier, the weekends can be a little noisy, just choose a room that is not ocean front. It is the only place I will stay in the area. No internet access, use broadband or dial up.

The Inn itself was lovely. OUr room was very nice and breakfast was okay. But what really bothered us was the noise out of our "oceanfront" windows. Yes, it faces the ocean, but there is a parking lot between the inn and the water with a lot of people and cars coming and going. Our "romantic night away from the kids" was interrupted by many people coming from the bars, being loud, honking horns... I was awoken many times. The Inn itself is nice, the atmosphere around it is lousy!

We really liked the location... walking distance from the best fish restaurant within a mile... The Crab Cooker! The memory foam pillows made my night a good night to sleep in comfort. The mattress was OK. The continental breakfast was good. The chef downstairs didn't make scones the second day, to which we were disappointed, as they were very delicious. Some of the furniture could use repair and refinishing, along with the carpet.. that needs replacing in some areas and DEEP cleaning in most areas. The Desk clerks were professional and more than helpful. They made our stay pleasant. Parking our vehicle was not a problem, because the hotel provides a parking space for their guests. :) :) We would definitely choose this hotel to stay at on our next visit. Mr. and Mrs. K

We stayed at The Doryman's Inn & had dinner downstairs at 21 Oceanfront Restaurant. The food was AMAZING. The service was the BEST EVER, and the beds soooo comfy. The showers are extremely strong (: too. We walked on the beach & had breakfast in the B&B. Then went to The Balboa Fun Zone for lunch & a harbor cruies. I love The Doryman's Inn & consider it my deluxe Newport Beach Vacation spot!! It's right on the OCEAN!! So beautiful! We will stay there again, and take The Catalina Flyer to Catalina for a day trip. It is so comfortable & relaxing!