Cliff House Inn, Ventura

The scenery at The Cliff House is as beautiful as anywhere else in the world. However, the place is so dilapidated that staying there can be a bummer. The breakfast buffet area is poorly maintained and staffed. Staff is friendly but obviously has not received training in basic sanitary food handling techniques. The cream cheese was "off taste" so we dared not try it. The individual containers said they must be refrigerated. Instead they are in a little bowl on the table in the direct sun. Donuts and other sweets have been cut up into small pieces and are not in a covered container. This means they are stale around the edges and unappetizing . Trash containers require that the guests open the top (how many dirty hands had done that before you?) because the foot pedals had been broken off. The mugs and coffee cups on " the clean shelf" revealed leftover coffee, tea, and lipstick stains. Breakfast is served from 7:30 - 10:00. But if you come down for breakfast after 8:30 A.M. you will be disappointed. Work-out equipment has been placed in the breakfast room. How unappetizing to watch people sweat and grunt while you eat. The shower water goes from moderate to scalding and back again. Several wall receptacles in our room were inoperable which probably explained why lamps, T.V., etc. were unplugged upon our arrival. Our old T.V. did not get the usual network channels (NBC, CBS, ABC) without poor reception. There was no T.V. channel guide available. The guide showing how to use the phone system had mis-information on it in the form of handwritten corrections which were WRONG! There was water running down in strange places, causing very unsafe stairs and railings. We had heard from another guest and from reviews on-line that the owner is a grouchy old man who is not ever available to talk to guests about problems. The Cliff House remains a true diamond in the rough. Too bad.

My wife and I spent our anniversary, New Year's Eve there. We had a wonderful time. We'd reccomend The Cliff House Inn to anyone who wishes to fall asleep with the sound of the waves crashng on the shore. I'm an early riser, but slept 'til 9:00 a.m. each day on our two night stay. The dinners were 5 star. I had the the best steak and my wife enjoyed her seafood while listening to the live musical combo playing on New Year's Eve. Go and enjoy this quaint little hotel. I wrote about this hotel in my last nove.

My husband and I spent Valentines Day there and it was so romantic! When we checked in we did not have a problem at all. As we walked to our room we were taken by the gorgeous view ahead of us. Our room was nicely decorated with rose pedals, a rose (live) and a box of chocolates waiting for us on the bed!. We had dinner at the restaurant there was it was definately 5-star. After having breakfast (free) overlooking the ocean, we decided to take a nap with the sound of the ocean singing us to sleep! We loved it there and my husband promised me that he would take me there again before the year ends.

This hotel charged my card four and a half months after we stayed there and never contacted us that they were issuing a charge after the fact. In my mind, I feel this accounting is unacceptable business practice. The hotel should be required to keep adequate records on all charges, so the customer is not concerned with fraud later. This resulted in a disputed charge with the credit card company, which further delayed their payment. The approval card they had from my card had expired, so they simply charged my card again! If I had canceled my card after my trip, they would never have been paid at all. I would not recommend this hotel, especially because of the lack of customer service on the part of the staff and owner/management. I attempted to contact the owner/general manager, and was told by the receptionist that, "The owner is never available by phone." Now that's an incompetent owner who shows that he does not care about his customers. When a customer calls with a complaint that they are looking to remedy and the owner does not care enough to communicate, then that is a business I will never visit again. Additional Comments: Parking - Very tight...if you have anything above a subcompact car, you will have difficulty parking. Driving there - No matter what the inn says, they are located on a HIGHWAY, which is very busy. It is difficult to turn into the inn because of the amount and speed of the traffic. We often waited 5-6 minutes before we could turn in. Getting out, by turning left is also very difficult. They may have their inn on a quiet residential street, but there is no easy way to get there, except to wait and then hit the gas across the 2 lane highway. The rooms - The room did not have an alarm clock or hair dryer. We called the front desk and they supplied one of each, but neither worked. It took 3 alarm clocks before we got one that was functional. The room was simple and the cleaning staff did a good job. The cost of the room was appropriate for the area.

my family of 5 never had hot water in our room during our entire 2 night stay! once on the second night, a staff person allowed me to use a shower in a different room, and otherwise, staff argued with me about whether or not we really didn't have hot water. why on earth would i waste time bothering them about it if it wasn't true?! i repeatedly asked to speak with the owners and after being put off several times, i was told that the manager couldn't do anything without the owner's permission, and she "couldn't make the owner talk to me". our room was noisy (loud noises from the closet and the walls) and run-down. there was no remote control, no tv guide, and no directions for calling the front desk, not that they are much help anyway. just so you know, the homemade ping pong table doesn't allow for a good game. and the pool is so close to the restaurant seating that we felt discouraged to use it. there is no beach access. we wasted a lot of money. at checkout, i refused to pay the entire rate since we never had hot water, and the manager initially charged me for only one night and promised to let me know if the owners wanted to do something different, but i never got any call and got a charge for 2 nights on my credit card.

loved the food, could go surfing right out the back door. Sound of waves to sleep to. Nice beakfast, with fresh flowers on the tables.

We liked everything about this place.Wonderful view,staff,service and food. It is an older place,but they seem to keep in up pretty well.We would definitely stay here again.

Great place stayed their with 2 other couples and we all loved it.Sound of surf thru your open window and a great view with great food.Staff was good but not intrusive.

Classic location - great surf sounds - but its an old property needing attention. Staff are qwerky and not particularly into service nor accomodating guests (our room was disgusting and not cleaned prior to our check in - we had to wait for it to be prepared). Toilet clogged after 10:00PM - no service on hand or available to assist until 8:00 AM the next day.They offer a continental breakfast - but if you're in a hurry and need to be on your way before 8:00 AM don't expect to get it. Place is probably perfect if you're only looking for a one night stand on the ocean.

it was noisey- trains all night long- the neon sign blinked in my room all night- no curtains- beds were old room was dirty- stay at the motel 6 or camp out---------