We stayed at Casa Munras for one night. Upon arrival I felt nervous as though my family was thinking "We're staying here?" The exterior looks weather worn, with faded exterior paint and looks more like an apartment complex or a cheap motel compared to the boutique impression from the website. However once we entered our room that all went away. Casa Munras is a small, quaint and intimate hotel that is undergoing a major facelift renovation since recently being purchased by the Larkspur chain of unique hotels. This hotel offers great value and nice amenities for the price we paid (Travelzoo offer) of $129. We were welcomed with a gift bag of bottled water and dry snacks. The room had a European feel. Small, nice warm earthy color palette. Overly comfortable, Full size (not queen) Featherborne down filled bedding. A wool throw blanket you can take to wrap yourself in at the pool in the evenings, Starbucks coffee and tea in your room, small closet with iron and luggage rack. The bathroom was clean and bright with white fixtures and cabinetry, pink tile and pink and blue patterned wallpaper. At closer glance some tiles on the shower/tub ceiling had been replaced with beige ones. A couple of tiles in the shower had dirt in the grout, but nothing gross. The bathroom looked as if it had been recently given a temporary facelift since the hotel was recently purchased. Lots of towels, and nice minty smelling toiletries. Complimentary Internet access too. What I really liked about this hotel was the selection of tv channels. I have noticed many hotels don't take children into consideration. This hotel had both Disney and Nikelodeon channels, which my kids were thrilled about.. On top of that, the hotel has a complimentary DVD library. A list of movies available is in your room with most titles being from within the last year (we borrowed "A Night at the Museum") and some all time favorites. The pool is in the center of the hotel. Very clean and well maintained. New Smith & Hawkin patio furnishing, pool towels provided and a phone to front desk should you need extras. Pool ranges from 3 to 9 feet deep. In the morning complimentary continental breakfast is served; bagels, yogurt, juices, muffins, fruit, cereal, instant oatmeal, milk, Starbucks coffee and hot chocolate. There are even nice little brown bags with handles set out in case you want to to take something for the road. The dining room was busy with people constantly coming in. The staff was attentive in consistently replenishing food as it ran out. The dining room and front desk are currently makeshift in temporary locations due to the renovation. The lobby also offers a welcome reception of coffee, biscotti, chocolate chip cookies and fruit. New King suites are being built and the hotel is going to be painted. A display with the architectual sketch and interior design with paint colors and fabrics are displayed in the dining room. There was no disturbance from the construction going on. There is a Thai restaurant across the street that you can call in an order from and pick up. The hotel is within walking distance to a small area of restaurants and shops and the ocean. However, to Cannery Row (Aquarium, restaurants and shops you are better off driving (tip: get quarters for metered parking). The down side to this hotel is that there is no AC in the rooms. Keep in mind being in Monterey it is cool at night and it does not get overtly warm in the room. The rooms have windows you can open with shutters for privacy. Unless you are the type of person who sweats alot no matter what time of year it is, this shoud not pose a problem. Tip: Request a room on the 1st floor if you a have a lot or heavy luggage as there are no elevators. Parking is conveniently located at your front door making it very easy to load/unload luggage. I definately would recommend this hotel as being family friendly.

We found this place on Travelzoo and booked a while on a visit to the aquarium. We found half the place under renovation, which is understandable as it needs an update. We had a "special" rate of $129 which proved to be expensive for what we got. The room was a double, in the style of any motel off of any freeway. We happened to be there on a hot one, which is rare for monterey in the summer and there was no air contitioning. Naturally, we had to open the windows which proved to be worthless in cooling the room. Since the windows were open all night we were subjected to rowdy, drunken guests hanging out in front and keeping us awake until two thirty in the morning. Now I am a pretty tolerant guy but when I am awake against my will at that hour, I get a little peeved; hence this review. All I am saying is ...buyer beware. I have payed much less and gotten much more at other establishments. To their credit, the manager gave us half off the $129 rate after we complained.

The last 5 years we have stayed at this beautiful old motel when we travel to the Motorcycle Races at Laguna but this year we were informed 7/13/07 that we did not have a room as they required a 3 night stay and we normally book for 2 nights. The races are the 22 of July. The hotel also upped the price an extra $106 per night. We were fortunate to find another motel on such short notice but we are sorely disappointed in the customer service and price gouging that the new ownership has offered .

Having stayed at many of Monterey's finest Hotels I was pleasantly surprised at my stay at Casa Munras. The staff
was outstanding in every detail. Therroom was more charming than I expected and the experience was the best I have had when visiting Monterey. My total endorsement for anyone looking
to stay in Monterey.

Robert Hodgson
Senior Producer
Up in the Air Pictures