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The Alila Ventana Big Sur is one of the most sought after hotels in points and miles. And for good reason! Ventana Big Sur is an adults only luxury all-inclusive. The hotel first opened back in the 1970s, but only recently joined World of Hyatt within the last couple of years.

This was my second visit to the hotel. It continues to be one of my favorite hotels in the United States.

Ventana Big Sur Location

Ventana Big Sur is located along the California coast along Highway-1. It’s about an hour south of Monterey or three hours south of San Francisco. You can see the Pacific Ocean from various places on property.

As you drive to the hotel, beautiful redwood trees line the sides of the road. The hotel isn’t located in the city, but there are several establishments lining the highway as you approach the hotel. The turn off for the hotel is right past a red house.

Ventana Big Sur Booking

As always, I booked directly through World of Hyatt. I value the benefits of my Hyatt Globalist status, so I always book Hyatt properties on the Hyatt website. While everyone gets free meals, the biggest benefit of Globalist status at Ventana is room upgrades.

Ventana Big Sur is a Category 8 World of Hyatt hotel. This is a hotel you want to use points at. Cash rates range from $1,000 to $2,500 for the lowest priced room.

I booked before Hyatt moved the hotel up a category. I used 120,000 World of Hyatt points to book four nights. Most of those points were transferred from Chase.

On my first stay, I only booked two nights. It didn’t seem like enough time to fully enjoy the property. Four nights seems to be the perfect amount of time for a stay.

Ventana Big Sur Check-In

Check-in was less confusing this time than during my first stay. After driving up some curvy roads, you’ll end up at the property’s main gate. There was a person stationed there who opened the gate. You’ll drive a bit further and end up at the valet stand.

Once you drop your car, you’ll walk up some steps to The Social House. This is where you check-in and meet up for any activities. The Social House is split into two spaces. One with front desk employees and other with games and pool table.

I was greeted by a fantastic front desk employee. She got me all checked in and gave me the layout of the property. While I got checked in, my bags were taken to my room.

The Room – Big Sur Villa

We were assigned room 26 which was a Big Sur Villa. Even though I booked the standard room, I was upgraded to the Big Sur Villa due to my Hyatt Globalist status. The Big Sur Villa is a bi-level suite. This suite is massive. Honestly, it was a bit too much for me. My aunt on the other hand loved it! We had this same room type during our first stay.

You first walk into the Big Sur Villa on the bottom floor. This space was more for relaxing. A dining space and living room was on this floor.

The dining space was cozy with an L shaped couch and small table. This is where they set up your food if you order room service.

In the dining area was a wet bar. This is where coffee and tea was located. It also had a sink. Underneath the counter was a mini bar. It contained still and sparkling water, coke and diet coke. This was restocked daily. We were also gifted a small bottle of champagne as part of our welcome gift.

The main part of the bottom floor was the living room. It had a couch and chair which faced a television and fireplace. We enjoyed sitting around the fireplace after dinner while watching some shows.

A desk was located on the first floor. During my first stay it was more towards the front door. For this stay, it was located towards the back by the patio.

A new addition since my previous visit was a record player. The hotel has a nice stock at The Social House

The first of three patios or balconies was on the first floor. It was quiet sitting out here during the day. I did a little bit of work from here.

On the top floor was the bathroom and bedroom. There were also two balconies. One on each side of the room. The stairs to the top floor are to the left when you first walk-in.

The bathroom is almost the entire length of room with a half wall separating the bathroom and bedroom area. Two sinks are available in the bathroom with tons of counter space. Further back in the bathroom was the shower and soaking tub. Shower pressure was perfect. I enjoyed the one evening after sunset. They give you a small bag of bath salt to use. The toilet room was on the left next to the shower. It was a simple space. There was even a window to look out while you did your business.

The bedroom was tranquil. On both sides of the king size bed were side tables. There were power plugs and USB plugs on both sides.

The top floor balconies were on opposite sides of the room. One had views of other rooms. I didn’t quite understand the placement of this one. The other balcony was past the bedroom.

Ventana Big Sur Dining

There aren’t a ton of dining options on site. You have the option of eating all meals at The Sur House. You could eat lunch down by the pool from either a special menu or the lunch menu from The Sur House. Room service is also available.

You can call or text to be driven to the restaurant. We preferred to walk the half miles trail when we dined at The Sur House. Though we did catch a ride back to our room when it was dark.  

Breakfast at The Sur House

We chose to eat breakfast at The Sur House each morning. It seemed most people ate breakfast in their room. Prior to arrival, I read mixed reviews on the breakfast staff. I didn’t find that to be true. We were seated right away after arriving.

Once seated, we were asked if we wanted coffee or juice. We chose coffee or lattes depending on the day. The restaurant had your normal breakfast options including eggs and french toast.

The food didn’t just look good. It was fantastic. We devoured each breakfast. It was so good. I forgot to take pictures most mornings. I did grab this image of the veggie hash.

Lunch at the Meadow Pool

For our lunches, we chose to eat over by the Meadow Pool. We typically split the cheese quesadillas, burger and chips, salsa and guac. The cheese quesadillas were okay. The burger was good. The chips, salsa and guac were my favorite. I say that as someone who grew up living in Texas.

Lunch service was the one place where I experienced an issue during my stay. Part of our meals were cold on a couple of occasions or not cooked properly.

Dinner at The Sur House

We loved the atmosphere at The Sur House each evening. Happy hour was from 4-6. We typically arrived around 5PM to enjoy a free cocktail before dinner.

The dinner menu changes each season, but they do have a few different dishes each evening.

One day for an appetizer, we had some sort of spicy watermelon dish with basil pesto.

We really enjoyed the meals each night. They were accommodating if we wanted to adjust the dish. We had the chicken, steak and sea bass dishes for our mains.

For dessert, we had the carrot cake and a dutch baby with ice cream. We did skip dessert some nights in favor of the smores.

Ventana Big Sur Amenities

Fire Pits

There was a large fire pit area outside of The Social House. Two smaller ones could be found on the other side.

Meadow Pool

The main pool on site is the meadow pool. It takes its name from the meadow it overlooks. I never saw a lot of people in the pool. Most people enjoyed sitting in the chairs and lounging in the sun.

The meadow pool also had a hot tub that overlooked the woods. I loved the hot tub. It was the perfect temperature in the morning. During our stay, the outside temp would get low. The hot tub was a great way to warm up after breakfast.

Gym

A small gym was located on site. It had some free weights, ellipticals, treadmills, and a Peloton. It was a good place to work off some calories. I didn’t notice a ton of people using the gym during my stay.

Japanese Bath House

The Japanese Bath House is another hot tub place at the hotel. The Japanese Bath House is clothing optional with a male and female section. In between the male and female section is an all-gender section.

Spa

It’s not a luxury hotel without a spa. While I didn’t partake in a session, my aunt did. She said her message was excellent. Recommend making a reservation prior to arrival. One of the activities at the hotel was putting together a bath salts bag. There were about seven different options to add. The spa provided several recipes if you wanted something to follow.

Ventana Big Sur Bottom Line

My second visit to Ventana Big Sur was better than my first. I highly recommend a visit to the hotel. This is a perfect location to relax and enjoy some fantastic food. It is a fantastic use of points to get excellent value. I felt so at ease during my stay.

Have you been been to Ventana Big Sur? Let us know your experience in the comments.

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