A nice weekend stay in Huntington Beach and while the pool is the main draw of the hotel, it is a bit on the crowded side. Despite a resort factory feel, the hotel still managed to provide good service.

This stay occurred in September 2022

Booking

I booked this two-night stay at The Waterfront Beach Resort using two Hilton free night certificates. One of the features of the Hilton Aspire credit card is earning a free night certificate each year for having the card. The nice thing about these certificates is they are accepted almost everywhere with only a small list of exception properties. I might normally be tempted to use the certificates for a more aspirational stay, but we had none planned and thought a weekend getaway was the best use.

Hilton doesn’t adhere to a fixed award chart. That being said, this particular property seems to cap out at 80,000 Hilton points for a free night. And remember if you stay five nights in a row using Hilton points, the fifth night is free.

Earning Hilton Points

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While there are multiple ways to earn Hilton points, I’m only going to focus on two main methods to acquire the points.

Signing up for credit cards can be a cost-effective way to earn points. American Express offers several cards at various price points, but it’s best to go with a card that gives great benefits if you plan on staying at Hilton hotels with any regularity. The Hilton Aspire card is single-handedly one of the best cards out there, offering a free night on renewal, a $250 resort credit that can be used on room rate or room charges, Diamond status, and a $250 airline fee credit. Currently, there is also a sign-up bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors points, making it a quick way to earn points.

The other option is to simply buy Hilton points. Hilton has frequent “sales” that allow the purchase of points for half a cent each. Since Hilton uses a dynamic structure for award prices, it won’t be possible to find deals for most hotels. But there is an implicit points cap for each hotel. That means you could find some deals by buying points to stay at some of the most expensive hotels (think the Maldives). For this hotel, a cost of 80,000 points at half a cent each translates to $400/night room rate, which can be modest savings over the cash price.

Arrival and First Impressions

We arrived at the hotel and found the registration desk just to the left of the lobby. The front desk agent discussed some of the features of the resort, including access to the pool, and sent us on our way. The agent immediately recognized my Hilton Diamond status and handed me a card outlining the benefits, as I’m sure they get many elite members here (given it’s so easy to be an elite just by having the right credit card).

The hotel seemed freshly updated, with vibrant colors throughout the lobby. They had a giant red chair by the lobby entrance that the kids loved to climb on. The resort seemed massive and it felt easy to get turned around in here. I’d say the hallways and the pool area felt especially crowded, except early in the morning.

The Room

We had room 1219 for this stay. One convenient thing with the Hilton app is the ability to choose your own room prior to arrival. That way I can choose a room from the room type booked that best fits my needs. Here I ended up choosing a room on the top floor, thinking it would provide the most protection from street noise (and yes that plan did work).

Our room had two queen beds, each with quite a few pillows. I thought the décor here is pretty tasteful and gave the hotel a beach feel–in the lobby, the hallways, and in the room itself. Quite a few times we have been in hotels where the theme isn’t consistent throughout the property, so I have to give them props here for the consistency.

They do have a proper functioning desk, along with a well-cushioned chair the kids enjoyed sitting in. There is a mini-fridge in the room, found in a small vanity by the front door. Overall, the room didn’t feel cramped which can be a problem with four people in the room.

The bathroom also seemed nicely decorated and clean, consistent with the rest of the room. I appreciated they automatically had four bath towels in the bathroom. Too many times I’ve been stuck with three towels in other hotels, forcing a call to the front desk to get another towel delivered.

Just past the beds is the door to the patio. Our room had a view that overlooked the pool. When we were outside, we could hear the party and music from the pool fairly clearly, so it was a good decision to choose a room on the top floor to get away from it. I’m not sure if noise is a problem for the rooms closer to the ground floor, but I’d rather not find out.

I think the view during daytime helps show exactly how close it is to the water. For a hotel calling itself “The Waterfront”, it certainly isn’t right next to the water. You have to cross the street, then a parking lot, then you get to the beach and ocean. Given my experience with the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach right next door, I knew this coming in. But it might surprise someone coming in from out of the area. While the Hyatt Regency has a walkway to the beach that runs above the street, this hotel does not.

Diamond Benefits

During the pandemic, Hilton changed their breakfast benefit. Rather than offering breakfast for two adults, they changed it to instead only provide a daily credit that will be taken off when charging to the room. It’s supposed to give you more flexibility by allowing you to go to the bar at night and have it count as your daily credit. But I have two general problems with this approach. First, it’s difficult to get a suitable breakfast for $15 (good luck if you want a warm breakfast and a juice). Second, the credit didn’t apply automatically. The front desk told me how to do it for it to come off automatically and I followed those instructions, but it still required a visit to the front desk to get it fixed by check-out.

The hotel also provides a card that lists the “features” of the daily resort fee. I’m glad that Hilton (along with Hyatt) do not charge this bogus resort fee when using points or free night certificates to book your stay. The hotel believes the charges below are worth at least $33++ nightly, but I’m not sure how this valuation works. I’m glad I was able to avoid the charge but it makes me not want to stay here on a cash stay if I have to pay for this.

Breakfast

There are only two restaurants available for breakfast. While we could have chosen the sit-down restaurant, only having a $30 daily resort credit forced us into the quick-service Surf Hero Marketplace. Given the size of the resort, it was quite a walk to get over to the marketplace, but at least it gave the kids a chance to use up their energy.

We ordered a breakfast pizza, an acai bowl, and a breakfast burrito. The pizza was cooked a bit too long and the acai bowl was a bit on the sweet side. No problems with the breakfast burrito (aside from the $14 price). Even though the resort fee gives $5 off the bill, it’s easy to go over budget.

The Pools

The hotel has two pool areas. The calmer pool area is near Surf Hero. This area is more intended for adults so we didn’t spend any time here. There seemed to be plenty of seating but I can’t attest to how crowded it would ultimately get here.

The second pool area is intended for families and was quite a bit bigger than the other pool. There is a zero-entry portion where little ones can easily walk into the pool. There are also two waterslides. Although Alex was tall enough to go on the slides, he opted out but I can at least say one slide is a bit faster than the other. The center of the pool housed a large hot tub that was fun to dip into. And just past the pool is a sandpit, intended to give that beach feeling if you didn’t want to cross the street to get the real thing.

This was a fun area and we ended up spending most of our time here. We showed up fairly early in the morning, just after breakfast, and before the crowds showed up.

Dinner at The Boardwalk

There are a number of options for dinner but we ultimately chose The Boardwalk Restaurant thinking it would appeal more to the kids. I made a reservation for dinner but it wasn’t necessary as we ate dinner earlier than most. The service here was pretty good, with several servers stopping by to check in on us and ask how things could be better. The drinks and food was tasty, but it is on the expensive side. I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise given it’s a restaurant at a resort in an expensive city, but it all adds up.

Odds and Ends

Before arrival, we received an email welcoming us to the resort and asking us if we had any requests. I thanked them for the email and offered a comment that we will be celebrating a birthday that weekend. Sure enough, halfway through our stay, a beautifully decorated cupcake arrived at our door. I thought it was a nice touch. I wasn’t expecting anything to come of it, especially given the sheer number of guests at the property, but they did a good job here.

It’s also convenient they have a laundry room on property, especially at a resort. It is nice being able to do laundry if staying for a long time. The downside is the cost–$4 to wash, $4 to dry, $2 for soap, and $2 for dryer sheets. You could save some cash if you bring your own soap and dryer sheets, but it’s still $8 to wash and dry. Still, it’s good to have the option available, and it’s cheaper than hotels that charge per piece.

Recommendation: Yes

The prices at the hotel are what you would expect of a resort in an expensive Southern California city. But that can be offset with the Hilton Aspire credit card (the $250 annual Hilton credit can be used to cover valet and food charged to the room). Despite the high price of meals on property, just having the credit card made the trip affordable.

Even if we didn’t have the card, I think the hotel still has some things going for it. The pool is genuinely enjoyable and the property is beautifully decorated. It’s also located just across the street from a small shopping mall, unlocking some more affordable dining options if you don’t care to eat on property.

Cash prices can get expensive, making this property a good choice for using free night certificates.

Have you been to The Waterfront Beach Resort before? What was your experience?