Location
Embassy Suites Monterey Bay is located just north of Monterey in the small beach town of Seaside. This happens to be the only 12-story building in the area, and it is right next to highway 1 so it is extremely easy to find it.

The hotel is literally a few hundred yards outside of Monterey City limits. I suspect that the location was either chosen to get the building permit for the huge 12-story structure or to avoid the steep hotel taxes imposed by the city of Monterey. The location is still within 10 minutes of driving to most tourist attractions in the city of Monterey and there is plenty of free-parking and easy access to Seaside beach.

Check-in
As you enter the hotel, you are faced with a huge 12-story atrium area that is a typical feature of many of the Embassy Suites hotels. There are quite a number of plants both in the atrium area and placed around all the upper floor corridors that face the atrium that gives the place a warm feeling. There are several pools in the atrium area, including one that has quite a number of large goldfish and turtles.

As you enter the hotel, you see 5 separate desks on the left side that form the reception area. Check-in was quick and efficient. You can get help with your luggage if you need to but they doorman or the receptionist does not push you to use a bell-boy if you don't want to.

There are three elevators with glass walls that face the atrium. As you go up an down, you can get a pretty good view of the atrium area from these elevators - of course, the people in the atrium also get a good view of you. During peak times, waiting for elevators could take quite a bit of time as these elevators are only large enough to take about 7-8 people at a time.

Rooms
All the rooms are around the four walls that circumscribe the atrium. Since the building is approximately a square, about one-fourth of the rooms have no ocean view. Like all Embassy Suites hotels, all rooms are suites, there is a separate sitting area and a bedroom. All rooms have a floor-to-ceiling glass wall facing the corridor which in turn faces the atrium. Even though there is a curtain that covers this glass wall, this is not a very good setup for sound isolation. One day, there was a singing event going on in the atrium area and we were having a hard time hearing the sound of our TV in the sitting area of our suite.

Our room had a chair, coffee table and a couch with a hideaway, a 27" TV that was placed in to an entertainment center and a fairly large square table with 4 chairs in the sitting area. There were a couple of pictures. Most of the colors are tones of faint green and faint pink/cantaloupe, otherwise known as the national colors of Los Angeles. We did not use the pull-out bed, so I could not comment on how comfortable it was.

There was a small kitchenette area between the sitting area and the bedroom. Kitchenette had a small refrigerator and a microwave oven as well as a small countertop, a few drawers and a coffee machine. This is perfect for families traveling with children as you can put milk, juice, fruit, etc. in the refrigerator and you can make some pop-corn in the microwave for a quick snack. There was no mini-bar in the room, again a big plus for families with children.

The bedroom was not too cramped, it was just big enough for two double beds. Some of the rooms have a king bed instead of two double beds. There is also a desk with a chair, a small chest of drawers with a TV on top of it, a stand for putting a suitcase on and a small closet for hanging clothes. There was an iron and ironing board in the closet.

The bathroom was pretty basic. There was a tub with a shower that had a shower curtain, and a single sink with plenty of counter space around it to put your toiletry items.

The room did have a pretty modern thermostat unit that worked by simply setting the desired temperature - you did not have to select warm vs cool, etc.

There were about 20 channels available on the TV, including ESPN, CNN and two channels of Showtime. Pay-per-view movies and pay-per-play video games are available as well. There is a RJ45 cable for high-speed Internet access. All you need is a computer with an Ethernet jack.

Overall, you could see that there was a moderate attempt to decorate the room in some type of style, however, the results are definitely outstanding though acceptable. The suites definitely have plenty of room and the separate sitting vs sleeping arrangement works great if you happen to have some people who want to sleep while others want to watch TV.

Restaurants
Breakfast buffet in the atrium area is included in the room rate. Even though the buffet breakfast offers plenty in terms of quantity, it suffers greatly in terms of quality. On both days we had breakfast at the hotel, the fruit salad consisted entirely of not-yet-ripe cantaloupes. Judging from the fact that there were four separate bowls of this, it may be fair to assume that other types of fruits may find their way into the breakfast fruit salad at other times. Bananas (on the first day) and apples (on the second day) formed the whole fruit selection. The warm breakfast buffet consisted of overdone scrambled eggs, the daily cholesterol overload section of fried bacon and greasy sausages and a potato concoction that tasted like raw potatoes covered with a sprinkling of red and black peppers. On both days, we saw a small number of people eating pancakes or French toast but by the time we made to to breakfast (around 8:30pm) these were gone and a fresh supply did not show up. The cold breakfast buffet consisted of flavored yogurts and jams in individual packages. There was also a "made-to-order" egg counter, however, the line in front of this was so long (about 20-25 people) on both days that we did not try it. A selection of wheat or white bread and very sorry looking Danish pastries completed the buffet. Self serve coffee, tea and/or fruit juice are also included in the breakfast bar. I tried some orange juice the first day but it was so bad that I could not finish it.

Lunch and dinner is served in Pacifica Cafe, located at the end of the atrium. On both days, there was a shortage of servers and approximately 30-minute wait during dinner time. It is strange that a large hotel like this which is away from the downtown area had to run its only restaurant at 30% occupancy due to lack of employees, especially since the hotel was basically full and the unemployment rate is pretty high in the area due to the recent closure of the military bases. The quality of the food for dinner was acceptable but mediocre. Like most other guest who use the hotel has a base station for daytrips to Monterey and Carmel, we did not eat lunch at the hotel.

Other Amenities
There is a swimming pool which seems to be the most happening place in the hotel, especially for kids. Be ready to share the elevator with people in dripping wet swimsuits throughout the day. There is also a game room in the atrium that has a couple of pool tables and 4 video game stations. A kid's club in the atrium area provides various activities for kids (like arts and crafts) on some mornings. You can rent bicycles from the hotel. There is also a store near the lobby that sells a few basic items (aspiring, candy, soda, water) and low quality Monterey souvenirs (t-shirts, mugs, etc.). Beach is less than 5 minutes walk from the hotel.

Conclusion
This is an OK place for families planning a Monterey/Carmel vacation with kids. You get a pretty good size room at a decent rate (especially by Monterey/Carmel standards) and the hotel is typically within a 10 to 20 minutes drive from most areas of attraction like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fisherman's Wharf, Dennis the Menace park, etc. However, if you are looking for a place to spend a romantic weekend, this is probably not the right spot for you.

Recommended: Yes