Last Updated: June 30, 2022

Originally Published: June 1, 2019

After a busy few months, I booked the luxury hotel, The Cliff’s, for a weekend getaway with Joe. My birthday (May 22nd) always falls right around Memorial Day Weekend every year. It was the perfect excuse to head down to Pismo Beach, just minutes from our alma mater [Cal Poly]. One of the ways Joe and I afford to travel frequently is staying in budget motels. This was a special treat to stay at a resort on the beach so I wanted to share our Cliff’s hotel + spa review. Spoiler alert: we definitely want to stay there again!

LOCATION

Pismo Beach, CA (10 minute drive from San Luis Obispo)

Signature Room, 2019

GUEST ROOM

2019

We selected a Signature Room (with a king bed) for our two day stay. The room was spacious and included a sitting area. The room had a balcony facing the pool and peaking out at the ocean. Even though we were on the second floor (same level as the lobby), our room wasn’t noisy. The pool had twinkle lights around it at night so the view was pleasant at any time of day. The bed was incredibly comfortable and I slept really well both nights – this is rare for me in unfamiliar beds! Overall it was a nice room, even without upgrading to a suite.

2022

For this trip, we selected a King Coastal Room. I reached out to the Cliff’s a couple weeks before the trip and requested a room on a higher level. We ended up with a room on the fifth (and highest!) floor. The ocean was visible from our balcony and we faced the opposite side of the property from our last stay. We were close to the elevator and the area wasn’t noisy at all. The room was spacious. We had a small couch and fireplace in addition to balcony. The bed was relatively comfortable – not as firm as our bed at home but definitely comfortable enough for a hotel. We were also really impressed with how quickly our room was cleaned each day. We left for an hour or so each morning and came back to an already cleaned room. Very impressive. 

The Cliff’s also offers a number of special packages you can add on to your stay. On our most recent stay, we mentioned it was our wedding anniversary and they surprised us with this champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. This was completely unexpected and so kind! It absolutely made our day. It shows how they truly go above and beyond. While this was a gift, this is definitely something I’d consider adding on in the future. 

AMENITIES

The property is perched right above the ocean. The Cliff’s offers stairs down to the beach [accessible to the public] and also public parking. Hotel guests pay a $25/day fee, which includes valet and wifi. On the days we stayed at the Cliff’s, they offered a happy hour in the lobby from 4-6PM. They had wine and cheese one night and margaritas and chips the other. We picked up our drinks and headed straight to the hot tub. The pool and hot tub offer a bar and oceanviews. They is also a nice path along the bluff (in front of the restaurant and pool), which is actually where Joe proposed four years ago! The hotel also has a spa, which I didn’t get a chance to visit but I heard great things about from other guests. They tend to offer promotions regularly!

DINING

The Cliff’s has one restaurant, Marisol. This spot offers brunch, lunch, happy hour, lounge dinner, and fine dining. Joe and I checked out their fine dining once – he took me to dinner there before he proposed! We’ve visited their Sunday brunch several times, including the day after our wedding. Of course we went to brunch on this visit too (2019). These days brunch goes from 8AM-2PM and is $49. The meal is bottomless mimosas & a buffet. They offer a custom omelette station, waffles, prime rib, taco bar, seafood, breakfast meats, and a huge dessert table. Bottomless mimosas [orange or cranberry] are served as well. We were seated next to the fireplace and near the door by the patio [it happened to be raining that day]. I highly recommend Marisol for any meal!

Note: as of 2022, they are no longer offering the Sunday brunch. We were so disappointed when we visited this trip! We had brunch but it was same, limited menu that’s available every day. You can order at the restaurant, room service, or poolside.

We also really enjoy their poolside dining. They offer all the same menu items and drinks as the physical restaurant. We had a couple lunches by the pool and of course, cocktails. The cocktail pictured above is the pineapple paloma and it was by far my favorite cocktail I tried at The Cliff’s. For food, I highly recommend the clam chowder. It may sound a little weird to have soup by the pool but it hits the spot on a cooler day. It’s incredibly creamy and comes with bacon, which makes it even better (obviously). Prices aren’t the cheapest but I do find the quality and service are both great. It’s worth it, in my opinion.

Need suggestions for your trip? I’ve got you covered:

I hope you enjoyed my Cliff’s hotel + spa review! If you want to check out more hotel reviews, check out this section of ModernMollie.com.