We stayed two nights, Friday and Saturday, May 2nd and 3rd, in their least expensive room (after taxes etc $340/night) and really enjoyed it--all and all, we considered it not just an excellent time but a very good value as well. We are from Omaha.

First, a Comment re the previous negative review from Chicago and then an Additional Thought that has not been covered in any previous TripAdvisor review.

Comment: first, LagunaBeach is VERY upscale and expensive. I did my research. If you want it ALL, including a hotel room on the beach (to hear ocean waves and not traffic...Chicago is correct about that, one does hear the traffic from the PCH below), then expect to pay AT LEAST DOUBLE (and then have no GourmetBreakfast included in the price (which Casa Laguna's IS by ANY measure) or Wine&Cheese at night (which I loved and it's true, you CAN nearly make a meal out of it), the loveliest grounds (no way the others come even close), etc etc.

And the staff at CasaLaguna, geez, they are sooo wonderful. It is obvious they take a great deal of pride working for and at CasaLaguna. Helpful? Friendly? They were to us to the nth degree. Katie, Adam, Justin, Lauren--I practically considered them friends by the time we left.

The one thing CasaLaguna could do is to heat the pool a little more. I should have asked--they probably would have done it!

Okay, enough Comment. I'm going to add an AdditionalThought re CasaLaguna and getting to/from the ocean next. (But this will have to come later as I've run out of time and have to get to work!)

Jim

First, let me start with the positives: The property is beautiful. They have an abundance of tall, majestic palm trees and gorgeous flowers of every color spilling out from pots and sprouting from their many gardens. The positives end there.

The biggest negative for this property is something that they can do little about- a BUSY four lane HIGHWAY running directly in front of the property. They are clearly aware of this problem, as evidenced by the EAR PLUGS they provided with the room. It was so LOUD that we had to sleep with the doors and windows closed, making the room either stuffy or cold from the AC. Bummer. It was louder than my very congested Chicago neighborhood. Completely dashed were the vacation dreams of being caressed by the cool night air as I slept. The sliding patio door had to be closed, as the highway is heavily trafficked, even late at night.

There were many other negatives that they could do something about- small rooms made even smaller by too much furniture (some of which was in bad repair- see pics), poor room maintenance, a disorganized breakfast service and a wine and cheese offering that was more an example of their cost-cutting efforts than it was a luxury. For $315/night, I would expect better.

First the rooms: I can handle small rooms, but small rooms need to be treated as such and designed appropriately. There is no need for a poorly placed writing desk that killed a corner of the room, nor is there need for a chair with badly damaged caining. Our room had a 'private patio' that was not very private. The patios of our neighboring rooms were in plain sight, but what was worse was the location just off the highway and directly on a side street. There was a street parking spot about 10ft from our patio the people from the apartment building across the street had a clear view of us- they were so close that I heard a guy sneeze from inside his unit. I felt embarrassed to sit out there- as if I had a sign on me that said: "I just got totally ripped off!" For $315/night, I would expect better.

The breakfast service that they tout so highly was a joke. They would be better off to have a buffet with muffins, cereals and fruits than this 'gourmet' nonsense. But if they want to stick with the gourmet, table service/restaurant style breakfast, then they should not have just one overworked and undertrained girl doing the service. She was nice, but her limitations were obvious. The menu smacked of a young chef working on his chops and was a bit pretentious for breakfast. The breakfast service was another example of their cost cutting- letting us load up our own plates with fruits and muffins is apparently too much to ask. Our waitress brought us a plate of fruit when we asked for it, but displaying very thinly sliced fruits in a pretty manner is a poor substitute for quantity. And lets not forget the coffee- it was a good brand, but the brew was amazingly weak. I drove to Starbucks every morning just to get a proper cup of coffee. For $315/night, I would expect !
better.

The wine and cheese service was also very skimpy. They had three different types of cheeses, one type of cracker. The amount of cheese displayed is less than what I would make for just my wife and I- I felt guilty for taking just a few pieces because there was so little to begin with. For $315/night, I would expect better.

Another major complaint was that the pool was out of service when we arrived on Wednesday. We were told that it would be open on Thursday. Thursday evening rolled around, pool still closed. At that point I asked the front desk clerk about compensation and he laughed and said "no". Needless to say, I did not share his comic outlook on the situation. Vacation days are few and far between and so are travel dollars, so I was not happy about paying full price for partial amenities. He was just a young kid though, so I didn't hold anything against him. He did call my room minutes later to let me know that the maintenance man said the chemical levels were okay for swimming, pool was open.

Did I mention the huge cockroach in our room? I spent a half hour hunting the thing with a flip-flop until I was finally able to get it to exit underneath the door. Speaking of which- why is there a gap under the door? And I mean an inch gap- plenty of room for rodents, snakes, bugs, etc to crawl under. Granted, I'm a highrise living city guy, so critters aren't exactly my forte, but still, I think anyone would appreciate a draft guard installed at the bottom of the door.

The property was also undergoing construction/renovation during our stay. This was really of little consequence for us, other than for my wife's massage. She booked a massage for Saturday morning and was told that the work crews would be off, but they weren't. She heard drilling and pounding through the duration of her massage (Happy Birthday Baby!)

...and let me not forget the group of housekeepers and groundskeepers having a long and loud conversation outside our door at 8:30 Thursday morning. And speaking of the support staff- I don't care if you can't speak English- a smile and a nod is universal. They all walked around with a flat affect and literally looked at the ground as we walked by. Strange. For $315/night, I would expect better.

In short, I will not go back, nor will I recommend it. For the price it was a major disappointment. I found myself wishing I had either booked at one of the chain hotels that would have been cheaper with better quality control, or spent more to go higher end. But however you cut it, for $315/night, I would expect better.

What happened? Was it the full moon, or just our bad luck?
Started with the guy that checked us in. The room - upstairs - had both windows opened and the door wide opened when we arrived - with an air filter running at full speed. We were worried about the smell. He claimed they aired all rooms out like this and it was totally booked for the weekend so there was no other room available. Next we asked him about the Tabu Grill for dinner -- which is recommended on their web site. He didn't know anything about it, but would check. We never heard from him again. Seems you would know about the places you recommend on your website. Oh well!! Off we went - and it is within walking distance by the way. And, yes, the room had a weird smell to it.

Next morning breakfast was great!! We had to leave early - due to an emergency. We had booked 3 nights, and were clearly not within the required cancellation time. We told the front desk about our situation and that we were leaving. She said to stop by the front desk on the way out. We did and were presented our bill - for the entire amount. I understand a hotels cancellation policy, but this was clearly a full weekend and they likely turned our room over as soon as we pulled away.

We did not have such a good time. You will do better down the street in one of the more "friendly" spots.

My husband and I stayed at Casa Laguna Inn for one night in April 2008.

We had a basic ocean view room, which was the only room they had left for Saturday when we called Friday. The room was small and cozy in the very best ways. A nice touch was the welcome basket with fruit & cookies. Our room didn't have it's own balcony - it was just a long patio at the front door that you share with everyone else staying on your floor (like at a motel). This didn't bother us at all, but it's something to keep in mind if a private patio/balcony is important to you. Also, because the patio is shared, we didn't keep our blinds open at all which meant we couldn't see the ocean unless we went out onto the patio. Again, not an issue for us, but it might be for you.

The inn is beautiful. Once you step into the courtyard you forget that you are in a big beach city. Yes, the inn is right on PCH, but whatever traffic noise we noticed didn't bother us at all. And the inn is located just a few minutes outside of the very busy part of Laguna, so it is much quieter here. They have some nice, soft music playing at a low level by the pool. There aren't very many loungers by the pool, but we were lucky enough to find two available when we arrived.

They have chairs and umbrellas that you can use to take to the beach. We did this in the morning when there wasn't enough sun by the pool. Because you don't want to cross PCH without a light and/or crosswalk (and there aren't any very near to the inn) it took about 15 minutes to walk to the beach.

Breakfast was wonderful. The wine and snacks in the evening was also very nice. There is an outdoor tub that you can reserve (day of, or in advance if you book a spa treatment) for 45 minutes at a time. It is located in a private area above the pool and is very romantic.

We did a lot of walking in Laguna before and after visiting the inn, and from what we could tell this was the best spot in the city. We enjoyed ourselves very much and hope to visit again very soon.