Family Weekend at the Balboa Bay Beach Resort

October 21, 2016 Margalit Sturm Francus

The classy Balboa Bay Beach Resort, on 1221 West Coast Highway in Newport Beach, overlooks the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
This establishment’s spacious rooms and convenient location make it an ideal hotel for families that wish to experience California’s Orange County area. In fact, the resort is only a short distance away from the beach, amusement parks, and the nearby South Coast Plaza.

Thinking the resort would provide a fun mini-vacation, for our LA-based family, we booked our hotel via Groupon.
After completing the purchase, we contacted the hotel front desk to ask for a feather-free, quiet room to accommodate our son’s autism.

Décor

The Mediterranean-style resort spread over 15 acres features 159 guest rooms and ten suites with courtyard or bay views.
The hotel public places were decorated in a timeless nautical style with accent colors ranging from tan to burgundy, giving it a laid-back yet sophisticated feel.

Fellow Travelers

During the weekends, the guests were equally divided among beach-going families and couples on romantic holidays.

Our Welcome

Upon arriving at the hotel earlier than we had anticipated, a long line of fancy cars greeted us. There was a wine festival taking place that day, and those vehicles were all headed towards the valet parking area.

Despite the opulent size of the hotel, the actual ordinary check-in area was somewhat small and disappointing for us as first-time visitors.

We soon discovered, there was a minor problem with our reservation since the Groupon coupon kept coming up on the front desk computers as null and void. After the error got sorted out, check in was speedy.

So, how was our room?

Our room, 340, a standard room, was on the hotel’s top floor. For larger families, the hotel offers a variety of accommodations including connecting rooms and two-bed room suites.

The white and beige tones used for space provided an understated elegance successfully carried through the room and bath areas.
The room’s two rattan base queen beds were comfortable and had the perfect ‘bounce’ in them.
Besides the beds, the room had a high dresser housing a large screen TV, a DVD player, and mini cooler as well as a working area with a desk.

We appreciated the room had ample seating -two chairs and two benches, as well as the wooden plantation shutters that efficiently blocked the bright morning light out.
Our room, facing the pool had a veranda with a small table and two chairs, making it convenient for us to sit and enjoy the sunsets.Parents should be aware that though the sliding door to the balcony did have a lock, it was placed rather low which would enable some kids to open it.

Amenities provided by the resort included bathrobes and slippers as well as a coffee/tea maker and a safe for valuables.
We thought the complimentary Evian water was a nice touch.The resort’s complimentary Wi-Fi is very reliable.
However, those traveling with a family may find the number of power sockets provided less than adequate. Bringing along a Phillips ultra-slim USB charger is recommended so that all electronic devices can be ‘juiced up’ faster.

Bathroom

The well-lit bathroom made lavish use of both marble and granite.
The facilities were sectioned off into four different areas ( tub, shower, vanity, commode) to ensure privacy.The shower glass shower enclosure helped keep it from flooding the room. We never ran out of towels or aromatherapy infused toiletries because the hotel provided more than enough.

Amenities

The hotel’s well-equipped fitness center was open 24 hours a day so guests could exercise anytime. The hotel also featured a pool, hair salon and onsite spa wth steam rooms, saunas, and whirlpools.

Dining

There are currently three dining venues in the Balboa Resort- the ‘Waterline’ serving seafood and steaks, the ‘A&O Kitchen and Bar’ for guests seeking a family-style dining experience and ‘Blend ‘ for specialty coffees and sandwiches.

Cost

Rooms start at $300 a night, so budget conscious travelers should be on the lookout for deals on discount sites. Parking fees range between 20$ to 30$, the valet option being the more pricey of the two.

Autism Travel Tips

The closets have a light that that can be left on at night without disturbing anyone’s sleep.
Parents with noise sensitive children should ask for a quiet room away from the pool, elevators, and street traffic.
The bathroom does not have built-in grab bars for the tub or shower.
Parents should bring an anti-slip bath mat if their child needs one.
There are a DVD player and a large flat screen TV in every room so feel free to bring your kid’s favorite DVDs.
Parents of children with a tendency to wander off should bring stick -on contact alarms or separate locks for both the front and balcony doors.