The Cliffs Resort, Pismo Beach

We visited the area this past February and had our two portuguese water dogs with us. Our room was at the end nearest the beach, and basically you just walked out the door and a few hundred yards to the walkway down . . . I have to say the location was great! We did plan to sit at the outdoor fireplace and came upon a homeless person, so "moved on" to another fireplace and had a nice time sitting outside listening to the surf. We were able to have drinks, dinner and breakfast in the excellent restaurant/bar, outside, with our dogs, and we are vegetarian and they accommodated us nicely. I don't remember the cost, but we were pleasantly surprised, I remember. The staff was nice, the room was quiet - perhaps it is under new management? Anyway, since the reviews were so old, I felt obligated to post an update. With pets, we usually don't expect the Ritz, but my husband agrees it was a great value, service excellent, room great - we would definitely return - with or without our pets!

Like: our waiter was great; apologized repeatedly. Also pet-friendly. Dislikes: service, leaky faucet, no hot water, horrible food at restaurant, no control of who enters pool area such as people from beach who walk right in. Ended up leaving a day early since I was local. Poor service for the price.

This place is a total rip-off. We paid a premium price for completely inadequate accommodations. The added fees mentioned in another review were insane, and included a non-refundable pet "deposit," which they conveniently forget to mention on the website. The room was dirty (really nasty stains on upholstered chair arms, dirty bedspread), stained carpets (yes, we had a pet and were in a pet room, but it didn't appear that anyone had even tried to clean the carpet any time in the last year or so), and there were hairs (not ours) in the bathtub. We couldn't really leave (Thanksgiving weekend, with no other hotels available), so we just had to live with it. We had to beg to get someone to bring a luggage cart and help us with our bags, and it took a good five minutes of standing there before they actually got to it. The kind of service one expects from a true resort was nonexistent; flimsy bathrobes do not a resort make. This place is a "resort" in name only. They neither earn nor deserve such a title. If I could give zero scores, I would. We will never stay here again, even if it is the last hotel available in the Pismo Beach area. I'd rather sleep on the beach!

We checked in with our poodle at 3 in the afternoon. Reservations had been made for months noting we were bringing our dog. We were given the keys to a nice third floor room with an ocean view. At 7:30 in the evening, we received a call that an error had been made and we must relocate. By this time, it was to late to change hotels. We were put into a first level room with minimal view. The room with dark and dingy. Nothing could have been more unpleasant and the charge was $314.22.

My wife & I stayed this weekend at the Cliffs/Pismo Beach and we were kept awake until 1:00 AM Sunday morning by fighting drunks at a wedding party. Our room air conditioning did not work which should have been no problem because we wanted to open our patio slider to enjoy the ocean breeze, but with a band playing past 10:00 PM Saturday, then a D.J. scheduled until midnight, the noise level was so severe that we could not get any sleep. The fact that the location was quiet worked against us because the bar/patio noise carried across the pool making it sound as if the profanity laced drunken conversations were taking place on our balcony. I called the front desk, the night manager and the Pismo Beach Police (twice), but the noise never abated. I'm convinced that the night manager made an effort to deal with the issue and we did receive a reduction in our rate in compensation, but I believe that scheduling a D.J. until midnight is irresponsible to say the least. We traveled 400 miles to enjoy peace and quiet but lost sleep due to noise. We could have saved money by going to a cheaper hotel and cheaper hotels don't usually have weddings planned with D.J.'s until midnight. Lesson learned...

I've been here a few times in the last 5 years. I enjoyed my room overlooking the pool and the ocean. The rooms are clean and the staff are helpful. I really enjoy the setting and location of the hotel...right along the ocean in a nice area. There are a lot of restaurants in the area and the weather has always been great.

This place is rediculously expensive. There is so much competition out there as far as hotels go and what you get. This place is in need of some remodeling and upgrades. We had an ocean view room which was nice but still not worth what we paid. Also, we were not aware of them adding on tips every time we ordered room sservice. We would order a half pot of coffee and they would add on a 7 or 8 dollar tip even when we already gave them a tip. Just make sure you go over your bill very carefully when you check out.

This hotel's service is unbelievably bad. The staff are very irresponsible. The price they listed on their website does not include tax, and they force you to pay a "resort fee" upon arrival that supposedly is for the parking. I booked a Valentine's package and it is supposed to include Valentine's Day dinner, one night's stay, and rose petals on the bed etc. I tried to place the dinner reservation right after I booked it and I was told that they will call me later. Two weeks later someone in the restaurant called and said "why didn't you make a reservation early, we are full before 8". I told her that I tried to do it earlier and I was waiting for them to call me! Then she agreed to put me in at 6:30. And guess what? The day before I arrived I was told that my dinner reservation is moved to after 9! On top of that, the rose petal they put on the bed are not real -- they are made of cheap plastics! Dinner was also disappointing. The food were okay at most and the server kept rushing us. We never received the truffles.

I travelled to the Cliffs on business, so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised by the room with a beautiful view and very welcome ammenities. There was a fireplace in my room that made the oceanview even better. This is a family friendly hotel, but thanks to the layout of the property, even with the pool/ocean view room there wasn't enough noise to disturb me. I really appreciated the varied equipment in the gym. The grounds were nicely maintained, the lounge was very friendly and Marisol's makes a great breakfast. The staff at the hotel was very helpful with finding places to eat and some sightseeing info. I am definitely planning on a return trip with my family. I might even bring my dogs.

Overall, I enjoyed staying at this hotel. I had originally only planned on staying two nights, but extended the stay two additional nights (this was due to the fire at Lake Tahoe which had started at the end of June, we didn't want to go there with a fire nearby). In the title, I suggested to choose the room carefully. If you choose a poolside room, be prepared for it to start to get loud relatively early. This is a family friendly place and parents with children start to hit the pool early and naturally, the children can be loud while enjoying the pool. My first three nights were ocean view rooms (not pool/ocean). In the mornings and evenings, it was very relaxing to sit on the balcony and listen to and watch the ocean. Pool/ocean view rooms still have ocean views, but you can't really hear it as the pool noise overbears everything else. I absolutely loved the restaurant adjacent to the hotel, I believe the name is Marisol. Service and food was fantastic. The valet and bellhops at the place were super fast, polite and attentive. Cleaning staff need to be trained better as on three separate occasions, they used their key card to enter the room without knocking first. I saw another review in which someone suggested this was a Hilton hotel with Four Seasons pricing. I would tend to agree. I do believe these rooms (given overall cleanliness, service etc) would be appropriately priced at $150 to $200 per night. I hope the management of the hotel monitors these ratings and reviews and take them into account when making management decisions regarding how the hotel operates. I did leave a letter with the manager at the front desk describing the things I felt the hotel did well and also suggestions for improvements. I requested a written response, so far, it has been six calendar days since I checked out with no response.