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I wanted to take my dogs to Huntington Beach (an off-leash dog beach) and decided to stay nearby at the Kimpton Shorebreak Resort for one night. All of the Kimpton properties are super pet-friendly hotels and this one was conveniently located right across the street from Huntington Beach.

FIRST IMPRESSION

This was not my first time visiting the hotel as I had brunch here a year and a half ago with Crystal. However, this was my first time staying the night.

Parking was a little confusing since there was an option to self-park or valet. I initially self-parked since I prefer this over valet, but after speaking with the valet attendant, he advised that the self-parking garage was not owned by the hotel so going in and out would cost a fee each time. They were very helpful and switched me over to valet without incurring a fee.

Once the valet situation was taken care of, we headed upstairs to check-in. We arrived a couple of hours prior to check-in, but they were able to check us in early. On top of that, we were upgraded to an oceanfront view room. I really appreciated this since I wanted to head to our room and immediately get ready for the beach.

All of the staff were giving Captain and Zooey (my two English Springer Spaniels) a ton of attention and one of them asked if she could snap a polaroid of the two pups. The polaroids were used to display on their dog guest bulletin board, which was located next to the front desk. This was such a cute idea.

LOCATION

This hotel is in a great location with tons of local restaurants nearby. We visited on a Tuesday and just a couple of blocks away was the Tuesday night Farmer’s Market, which had a ton of food options as well.

As I mentioned earlier, we were across the street from Huntington Beach and the off-leash dog area of the beach was just a couple of miles down. Everything we wanted to do was within walking distance.

THE ROOM

I booked the Deluxe King Room (315 square feet) with my IHG points, but since we received a complimentary upgrade, we got to stay in the King Premium Oceanfront view room (415 square feet). This was such a nice surprise and the extra space was great for the pups.

The bed was facing the window and it was comfy with plenty of pillows. I didn’t see any dog beds, so I called the front desk and they brought up two beds for Captain and Zooey. There also weren’t any dog bowls, but I always have dog bowls in my dog bag when I am traveling with the pups.

There was a spacious work area with a writing desk that also faced the window. My husband needed the space for a Zoom meeting he had and the Wifi worked great.

USB outlets were provided on one of the nightstands and there was also a sound machine. I pulled out the wooden luggage rack from the closet so that it was easy to lay out our luggage and organize our belongings.

The room came with a flat-screen TV, mini refrigerator, accent chair, dresser, iron, ironing board, Italian Frette bathrobes, yoga mat, umbrella, safe, and record player. The record player was definitely a unique touch and there were more records available in the lobby.

The bathroom was super spacious with tons of counter space for our toiletry bags. I was really happy to see an oversized tub since I wanted to take a hot bath before going to bed. There were bath salts and plenty of towels as well.

There was a separate shower next to the tub; however, barely any water was flowing out of it. I don’t think it was an issue with the water pressure, but the showerhead itself was not working properly. It took forever to take a shower and I didn’t feel like switching rooms since I had already settled in and it was getting late.

The toiletries available were very minimal. A small bottle of lotion and a soap bar was provided, and the shower had refillable liquid body soap, shampoo, and conditioner. I wasn’t familiar with the brand of the products, but everything smelled lovely.

There was a blow dryer, but I think this blow dryer needed to be replaced. There was barely any heat coming out of it (I had it on the highest setting), so it took forever to dry my hair. The specialty suites here are equipped with the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer which I should have requested since mine was pretty much useless.

AMENITIES

Beach Gear

Since the beach is located right across the street, the hotel provides beach chairs, umbrellas, towels, boogie boards, kids’ toys, and coolers.

Nightly Fireside S’mores Kits

I definitely would have taken advantage of this if I was a fan of S’mores. The fire pits are located on the lobby floor and they even surround the pits with real sand.

Fitness Center

The fitness center here is spacious and very unique as it has a 40’ wide climbing wall. If I didn’t have the pups with me, I definitely would have given this a try. On top of the climbing wall, there is a Peloton Bike, a Smart Workout MIRROR, and plenty of training equipment.

They also provided towels, water, and sanitizer. It was a very clean fitness center. I wanted to take some photos, but there were quite a bit of people working out.

Locker

If you are here to enjoy some surfing, they provide a locker to store your surfboard.

PACIFIC HIDEAWAY

We had a lovely dinner with the pups on their outdoor patio which is located on the second floor. The interior is bright and filled with casual trendy decor. We ordered a variety of taco dishes (chicken, fish, and shrimp) and I was delighted to see there was an entree for dogs.

Of the three taco dishes, my favorite was the shrimp tacos. The breading on the fried shrimp was light and crispy, which is just the way I like it. The fish taco had a nice cajun flavor as well as the chicken tacos.

I had actually brought food for my pups since I wasn’t aware that they had a dog menu. I went ahead and ordered their chicken, rice, and carrot entree to see what it was like. The staff was so kind and split the dish into two so that they didn’t have to share one bowl.

I think they make their dog food to order since we had already finished our food by the time theirs came out. For $7 it was a very generous portion, so it was well worth the wait.

PET-FRIENDLINESS

The Kimpton is known to be super pet-friendly, so they do not charge a fee for your pup. They also do not have a size or weight limit.

There wasn’t a dedicated pet relief area within the hotel, but that wasn’t an issue since the surrounding area had plenty of places to walk the pups.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, we had a really great stay here. The shower not working properly was a bit of a bummer, but other than that, everything else was great. The staff showered our pups with love and attention and they got some yummy treats when we checked out of the hotel.

My husband and I were celebrating an anniversary and when I was making the reservation there was a section where I could mark what my stay was for. I completely forgot about that so when the staff brought bottled water, champagne, and three large warm cookies to our room it was a VERY nice surprise.

Although I booked my room with points, I still had to pay the $35 resort fee and also for valet parking, so my stay wasn’t completely covered with points. In the end, those small fees were worth it; especially since we got the complimentary upgrade. I would love to stay here again.

KIMPTON SHOREBREAK HUNTINGTON BEACH RESORT
ADDRESS: 500 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
PHONE: (714) 861-4470

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