Chaminade Resort & Spa

Nice views of the bay from the dining room and patio. Great service and comfortable rooms.

My midweek stay at the Chaminade was fabulous, but mostly because of the quality companionship I had while staying there, not to mention the fine wine that she brought along! There was no refrigerator nor microwave in our room, and the room itself looked quite drab. [This should be remedied by renovating the place, as proposed). I also hope that the Chaminade changes their guest toiletries, as they seemed subpar for such a pricey place. The shampoo, conditioner, and body wash were not posh; they were housed in economy-​sized containers, affixed to the shower wall. The housekeeping services were also pretty mediocre, at best; dirty wash cloths were left under our sink, and the wastebasket in the locker room was overflowing onto the floor. Two of the massage rooms had broken heaters (yes, mine as well as my friend’s). One other detail that rankled me was that the unbecoming evening lighting in the bar area. My friend is a 10 and not a single gentleman approached her. Last, the food was fine, but not four star fabulous. I might stay at the Chaminade at some point — once the renovations have taken place, granted the cost of accommodations doesn’t go up.
PS I almost gave the place three stars because the beds are heavenly.

We had a most memorable day after Christmas dinner here, all bar food, plus drinks, surprisingly delicious.
We will return with friends !

my friend got married here earlier this year. some great things about this place, some not so great things
pros:
— the view is unbeatable. you can see all the way out to the beautiful blue ocean from the balcony. the space in which my friend’s ceremony was held was picture perfect.
— staff was very friendly and tried out of their way to be as helpful as possible
— sunday brunch was pretty delicious with a great assortment of brunch items, fish, and beef.
— definitely had a calm resort feel.
cons:
— the property is quite large. to get from one place to another is quite a trek. after the reception the bride had quite a bit of stuff to lug from ceremony site to her room, and the valet guys were helpful as could be carting us back and forth. not sure if everyone else would get this treatment.
— the bar closed so early saturday night after the reception. i mentioned that the bride had reserved the bar until midnight, but the bartender didnt think so, so he wrapped up and left. i had brought a bottle of sparkling wine, and he was nice enough to waive the corkage fee and pony up some wine flutes, but he hightailed it outa there as quick as he could.
— for the price point i wasnt so impressed by the rooms. the bride’s suite was okay, but the furniture and the décor seemed a bit dated. the room in which i stayed that night was very oddly shaped, in a large L. there seemed to be so much weird dead space. i think i paid close to $ 250? $ 300 for the night for a king room, and i didnt think it was worth it. i feel like the rooms need some major renovations and updating. i just didnt think the rooms justified the hefty price tag.
would i come back? while my friend’s wedding was totally stunning, i dont think i would come back.
if you’re looking at the chaminade for a wedding venue, you definitely get what you pay for. staff was friendly, and the site itself is beautiful. it’s a lovely hotel reception wedding venue. but other than the view, there’s nothing spectacularly unique about this venue.

We came in for lunch this past Sunday and really enjoyed ourselves. It was a rainy day but the view was still beautiful. It was mid afternoon so not too many people in the restaurant. Our sever was friendly and efficient. We had the pizzetta appetizer, two salads, truffle fries and a couple glasses of wine. The pizzetta was ok at best but the rest was delicious. We will definitely be returning.

Here for Thanksgiving dinner due to being stuck in town on call for the holiday week so could not travel to be with family and friends. The Thanksgiving buffet was very decent and well stocked and maintained. Service was excellent for a buffet and very attentive.
The Chaminade was originally developed by Judge Curtis Lindley in 1904 where he choose this location to build as Summer home. The structure still exists on the resort property. In 1928 the location became a Catholic School and finally in 1985 was opened as a resort. The location has a spa, fitness center, guest accommodations, a restaurant, nature trails, abundant parking, and a main lobby all decorated in contemporary Spanish style and maintaining the original Mission-​esq décor. All with breathtaking and picturesque views overlooking Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay.
There were many families here staying at the resort. So the dinner was mobbed and a bit of an overbooked zoo. I would have gone 5-​stars had it not been so crowded and as you needed reservations to partake, I can only blame the resort for overbooking the event. In the future they need to be more careful with how many people they take in for holiday events. So 4-​stars for now with an option to upgrade in the future.

Update: Thank you for the response, I left my business card with the server at the restaurant and contact information was provided when I checked in for a night, not able to find my information? At this point, there really is no value for me to discuss further, but should you need a copy of the confirmation/​reservation that states thanksgiving buffet, please let me know of an email to send it to.
Stayed one night for Thanksgiving. One of the main reasons for staying over night was to enjoy the thanksgiving buffet which we had reservations for & received a confirmation. However upon arriving at our reservation time, was told that there was a glitch with the information given and that the buffet had already closed and our only option was really bar/​grill food. If it weren’t thanksgiving, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. After a number of conversations with various staff, was told that there is a «special» turkey dinner plate. It was just ok, assuming it was leftovers pieced together from the buffet as the items were lukewarm when brought out. Received a mediocre apology, but really no accountability that due to the restaurant reservation error, our thanksgiving evening was ruined. The restaurant mgr mentioned she would get us the General mgrs information for us, but pretty much disappeared after our initial conversation. Perhaps she was busy dealing with other customers that had the same issue. Service was slow, had to ask multiple times for our wine (and when it did, one of the glasses still had lipstick on it) and our appetizer came out at the same time as our dinner. Room we stayed in was the «luxury» forest view. Definitely faces a forest with a nice patio, but would not call it luxury… Room was roomy though. After coming back from our emotionally exhausting dinner, decided to just sleep. Out of 3 of us, 2 were unable to sleep peacefully due to the old heater with very loud fan, the room upstairs walked around constantly and could hear everything. In the morning, decided to get fresh air and do the
.5 mile hiking loop that was suggested on their map. Has any staff even bothered to check out the trails before suggesting? The trail has been completely washed out and there is no trail! Had to backtrack before it got dangerous. Grounds itself and valet staff were great, but will likely never stay here again after our thanksgiving experience here.

Thank you for the response.
Sadly, the acknowledgement and response from Chaminade has come too little and too late. It took writing a review expressing my disappointment and concern with the whole situation to obtain a response. Ultimately, there is nothing at this point that I feel can be done. As previously stated, all we ever really wanted was some direct communication from you or your team letting my husband and I know what had been done and that you shared our feelings of disappointment and sadness that our items went missing. Not matter where they went, we never received any communication until I had pressed the issue, expressed my disappointment and asked the concerns be escalated. As a customer hosting such an important day of my life with friends and family at your facility, I would have hoped the care and follow-​up after the fact would have still been there. However, it was not. And it took my Unilocal review to finally get a response from hotel management.
I’d like to express again, the venue was beautiful, the coordination help was great and the day itself was lovely, but the ending to it all and lack on follow through with your client when something went wrong is what has left us feeling disappointed with Chaminade.

It is beautiful and delicious!
This review is for the Sunday Champagne Brunch only. It is about $ 30 per person and worth every penny of it.
For starters — bottomless OJ, Coffee, apple cider, and champagne.
Pancake, Belgium waffles, bacon, sausage, fruit (pineapple, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and strawberries) and salad bar (didn’t venture there much), 2 kinds of salmon, omelette bar, and a New York Prime carving station.
Dessert Bar — chocolate fondue, dolce de Leche cake, key lime pie, pumpkin cheese cake, cookies, and ice cream!
The only disappointment I had was that I couldn’t believe that I lived in Santa Cruz for 3 years and this is my first time here.
Leaving here happy and buzzed!

Dinner was fantastic! The view was incredible and the service was awesome too!
We ended up here after searching on Unilocal when we were in the area. We got in without a reservation and we were SO happy to find somewhere with great food and such a wonderful view.

We attended the Farm to Table dinner here in late August to jump start my September birthday celebration. This was highly recommended by my parents as they had attended this event twice before. After attending for myself, I could not be happier with my experience at the Chaminade.
From the moment of check-​in to departure, we had nothing, but amazing customer service. This resort is hidden in the Santa Cruz Hills and has a fantastic view looking out from the restaurant’s patio. The dinner consisted of several courses and a bottomless supply of wine that kept conversations at the family style tables flowing all night.
If you haven’t tried the farm to table dinner, I urge you to do so! If you like to eat, drink and be merry, this event will not disappoint!

My family and I spent 4 days there this week. What a lovely place to vacation. The grounds were spacious and my children loved exploring the trails. The gym was great and I appreciated that it was open at 6am. The pool was awesome and my children loved it as well. The best part of the resort were the people that worked in the two restaurants! We had the best service and I loved that the servers spoke Spanish!!! I definitely will come back again!
Please keep up the great bilingual service!!!

Okay, so there are plenty of negative and positive reviews of this place, and I can empathize with both sides. It should really promote itself as more family friendly, since there are loads of children all over the place. That’s not a bad thing, unless you thought you were spending a quiet resort weekend. Just know that kids are going to be around. Also, yes, the pool has kids there from early morning until late night… Literally all the time. They might consider a compromise where adults get to have the pool at night, say after 8:30 maybe. Just make it 21 and over in the evening?
All in all, the food isn’t bad. My boyfriend and I both liked dinner at the main lodge, but mixed drinks were not comparable to the cost in terms of flavor or amount. The décor is dated, and the rooms seem to suffer an identity crisis. The surroundings are beautiful, but if you know by the reviews that the rooms are dark, why have the walls painted dark as well? The dark rooms at least help in the morning. Oh, and be warned, it’s a «resort» but there is no fridge or microwave in your room, so you have to get ice to keep anything cold, at the same time that they ask you to conserve water in the middle of the drought.
It’s a solid 3 star, nothing more, nothing less. The prices are a bit high for what they are promoting there, but at the last minute, I am not complaining! Check-​in was at 4, and check out at 11am. That isn’t sexy…

We stayed at Chaminade Resort over 4^th of July weekend and I have to say that I was very impressed with it. We got a 2 queen bed forest view room, last minute.
The beds were comfy, showers come with body soap, shampoo and conditioner on pump so you can use. The room was a little dark, but opening the blinds helped bring sunlight in. I recommend turning on the AC because it was a little stuffy at night but it could be fixed.
I would definitely come back and stay here again!
My only downfall is that the location kind of sucks. Yes the scenery and trails are phenomenal but the closeness to the beach is not good at all.

Hotel is old, trying to be new. It’s geared more for weddings offering nice gardens and views for great pictures.
Staff seems to be inconsistent on training and service is all over the board, some are good others are just not interested. Food, depending on which of the two restaurants you eat at, food can be great or mediocre.
Hotel rooms are less than desirable. For the price, forget it. Room was dark unless you put on all the lights. Amenities were super spares. Found silverfish in bedding. Walls are paper thin. Had to listen to every word the next room over has to say and listen to their TV until midnight. Hallways are dark and carpets are dingy, and stained.
Pool area is clean but very small, can’t accommodate many families when it comes to seating.
Decent hiking trails. Close to town of Santa Cruz. You’re better off staying elsewhere for less with better service and no obnoxious neigbor noise.

3.5 stars – this is my second time here; came here on two different occasions.
First time: Around Thanksgiving 2014, we dropped in for a night, specifically using their hotel room and not the resort or spa. There is a great hiking trail on the resort and lots of outdoor activities, but we were only able to do the hiking trail b/​c it was raining sporadically.
Second time: Came by again for round 2 late spring 2015, the weather was perfect! We didn’t stay the night, but came early morning to use a bunch of amenities, and drove home in the late afternoon:
1) Deep Tissue massage
2) Facial
3) Hot tub
4) Steam room
5) Pool
6) Tennis court (they have rackets and balls to lend)
7) Volleyball court (they have volleyballs)
8) Indoor gym (if you use their spa)
I would definitely come back for #2 for a Girls day out :)

Dear Food Manager,
There is a reason your restaurant is empty for happy hour! The grilled artichoke was under cooked, over spiced, and oily. The calamari was less than appealing with most of the dish baby octopi. Finally, the pizza was pie crust and cheese. No sauce. Not even my pizza obsessed «I love all pizza» wife liked it.
PS.We were the only patrons there at 5 pm on a Wednesday.

Not good from the moment we walked in. Greeted by a very long line for check-​in (picture included). At first just one person seemed to be working the front desk, then finally two. Checked in, however our room was not ready, yet the check-​in was at 4pm?
Fine, we decided to go explore the area. Ended up at their Bar & Grill. The ambiance was tense, all the servers, bar tenders seemed stressed out, some were actually running around. I didn’t understand because it did not even seem full. When I assessed closer I noticed most guest were annoyed. What is happening?!? Something must be happening?
Two hours fifteen minutes later the room was finally ready. Never in my life had I ever experienced this kind of wait, I was fuming! Melissa the front desk clerk was very nice, she apologized profusely & tried to explain the situation. She tried to salvage what had happened by giving us a $ 50 food credit and two free breakfast buffets. I thought this was a good peace offering.
So now we are running late for our dinner reservations in downtown Santa Cruz. As we quickly make our way to our room to change we find the very messy hallway of dishes (pictured below).are you kidding? What else is dirty and unclean like this?
We never even used the whole $ 50 credit being that we were there one night only and we had reservations elsewhere.
Unfortunately the whole experience was so negative. We went there to relax enjoy ourselves and we were not able to do that at all. Overpriced, food was mediocre, customer service and management not on point at all. Very disappointed, I will not be recommending this place to anyone or returning ever again.
I am giving it two starts because 1. The room was nice & spacious, and 2. There was an attempt to correct how we had been inconvenienced for the wait.

Meh property for the price. It is secluded and I think a good spot to relax or go for a hike (one of the few unique things here).
The rooms seem clean but only as nice as a brand new holiday inn or some mid tier chain. Also there is quite a bit of hallway noise at night and morning (probably just bad insulation).
Staff is friendly.
My biggest gripe is the charging of a resort fee after you get to the property. This fee isn’t shown or mentioned before you arrive. It is a very sneaky practice.
Also check out time is fairly early at 11am

Oh, how I really wanted to love this place. The brochures, the scenery, the location all made me think this was going to be a grand experience. After all, we found out about them through a friend who got married here. My fiancé and I decided to come check it out as a potential venue/​honeymoon getaway. However, what we found was less than inspiring.
This was our second visit to the location. The first time we simply were just inquiring about accommodations for the wedding. We chose a different venue but on our second trip, we decided to spend the night to see if we would even recommend our guests to stay here.
Upon arrival you are greatly impressed with the tall gorgeous trees up the driveway. You feel like wow, where is this road taking me!?! A little excitement starts to build as you approach the campus (very large hotel area). First trouble we had on both visits is understanding the parking situation. Let me just warn anyone who comes here… the numbers don’t mean anything. That’s right. Take your pick of parking spots because the numbers are only for their internal valet parking (if they chose to use them). So park in any space you want! That would have have been nice to know but instead we went straight to valet parking because we were afraid it was assigned parking spaces.
This place may be nice for events, but as a guest I didn’t feel very welcomed. The front desk clerk asked, «How can I help you?» with just a bit of attitude. We were not off to a good start. After telling her we’d be staying here, she printed a paper and had us sign it with many signatures. It looked like a mini contract. «Sign here, initial there…» Geez, we’re just staying the night not buying a condo. And they tack on an extra $ 27.50 a night for using the amenities. As if the price per night wasn’t enough. Really? Then why advertise your nightly rate if that really isn’t the price? Ridiculous if you ask me.
When I asked her about the parking situation I got the «It’s complimentary valet parking» response. As if it were beneath someone to want to park their own car before coming into the main lobby. Well, pardon me for wanting to decode the parking situation! I didn’t let that stop me from asking further what does it all mean. Basically any open space you see up the hills and below the hills is fine. Even the ones near the front entrance. So there you have it. You don’t have to feel foolish because I asked for you!
When we got to our rooms, they were just okay. All the buildings outside of the main lobby area feel like their getting older now, and need some updating. For the price we were paying per night, and the attitude we got at the counter, you’d think we were at the Ritz Carlton. You have to either be up-​to-​date expensive, or old and charming. This felt old without the charm and expensive. Not a good deal for the price your paying.
As we got settled in I set my phone down on the night stand. I’m not sure how often they dust but when I picked up my phone it was completely covered with dust particles. I was really grossed out. I wiped my phone off and took a trip to the Spa.
Everywhere I went there were pretentious guests walking about, who never look you in the eye but yet this was supposed to be a relaxing getaway. Felt very cold to me. We obviously didn’t fit the type of clients they’re used to serving. I was sitting in a rocking chair trying to absorb the sun, but I never felt more uncomfortable in my life. We left for dinner and breakfast times because the thought of mingling with any more of the guests or staff was making us nauseous.
This hotel feels like it best serves business travelers and wedding guests. I can’t say I’d recommend coming here for their hotel accommodations or relaxing enough to use their spa treatments. Sorry but this whole experience was deeply disappointing.