For Valentine's day 2000, I found a special package at the Monterey Hilton. For around $150, we got a standard room for one night, breakfast vouchers, and a welcome basket with a bottle of champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Considering that we'd paid around $100 for one night at a (nice) motel the previous year, the Hilton offered a pretty good deal.

The Monterey Hilton is a large property with a golf course, several pools, and acres of woods. At this point in my review, I should probably mention that Monterey receives buckets and buckets of rain in February, and the weekend we chose for out getaway was not exactly sunny. When we arrived at the hotel, we had go inside one building to check in (quite speedy, I admit), then drive around the property to find the building where our room was located, then get out of the car and unload our bags. I found this a little inconvenient, especially in the rain.

The room was decently sized and clean, but the redeeming qualities end there. For the luxury hotel that Hilton markets itself to be, the room was quite unremarkable. At least the motel we'd stayed at the previous year had an electric fireplace. At Hilton, the paint was chipped in a few places, the appliances and fixtures were far from new, the bed squeaked. Maybe the non-stop rain made it look even gloomier, but it was difficult to appreciate the view..of the hedge.

I didn't expect much of the complimentary champagne, and it did not surprise me. The "special vintage" of Chandon "produced exclusively for Hilton" tasted a little flat, but I try not to complain about things I don't pay for. To be fair, the chocolate-dipped strawberries were delicious.

In the evening, we ordered Eyes Wide Shut through the pay-per-view thingamajigie. Eyes Wide Shut with a little "snow," to be exact, which of course appeared in the most critical moments in the movie.

The following morning, the checkout line was long, but there were several trays with complimentary orange juice for the masses. I found this to be a nice touch. We mentioned the snow in the movie, the clerk did say to call the front desk if there were reception problems in the future, but removed the $8 movie charge from our bill.

Before leaving the premises, we redeemed our voucher for a delicious buffet breakfast. As we worked out way through the fresh fluffy made-to-order omelets, we marveled at the golf diehards outside the window who seemed to not notice the rain. I guess the golf course at the Hilton must be really something.

Recommended: No