Location - firstly, a good location next to the Conference Centre and short walk to the Wharf (this was ideal for an early morning boat excursion). Starbucks over the road.
Check-in staff - courteous but lacked warmth.
Ate at the restaurant on our first evening and there was only one other small party there - nice food and reasonably priced. Wait staff friendly.
Valet parking at a cost of $25 with in/out privileges but cars not parked on-site.
Reception area pleasant but rooms in need of some updating. To be honest, I could have lived with this but paying over $900 per night for a room during the Monterey Classic Car event was a rip-off and at that price I would have expected piped hot water not to have been a problem. We had to call maintenance late one evening as we couldn't get hot water and when we did, it went from scalding hot to cold and back again. Definitely a safety issue if you have young children or someone with a disability.
I was told by a member of staff that the hotel was due to undergo some renovation works and it appears the hot water issues were not a one-off. On checking out I did mention the problem but the receptionist did not seem interested and neither offered to pass on my comments or point me in the direction of a manager or give me a complaints procedure. You will probably say that at certain times, such as the car event, all prices in the area increase and yours are inline with others. I bet we would have had hot water though if we'd chosen another hotel! Whilst the hotel has this problem, I think it's unfair to customers to charge such extortionate rates.
