They really did a great job with the small space given. The service was great and while I thought this was just your simple motel, the owners made it so much more than that! It felt like a cozy inn, service was quick and the inn/room was well designed and clean. Sheets good, bathroom good (no lock but it's okay), air conditioning super cold. Had a great experience! If you ever need a place to stay in this great location, I would definitely recommend. read more

Poor customer service and cramped parking--look elsewhere for longer stays If you just need a bed to sleep in for a single night and nothing else, this place is fine, but if you're staying for two or more nights, I highly recommend booking a different motel. We woke up on our checkout morning to water leaking straight out of the wall, creating a puddle right by the front door. When we brought this up to management, they offered zero customer service--no discount, no partial refund, and not even a gift card or credit for the major inconvenience. To top it off, the parking lot is extremely crammed. People were even parallel parking right by the pool area, making it a pain to navigate. Between the lack of helpful service and the tight parking, you're much better off spending your money at another hotel in Monterey. read more

Check in went fine. We were a little bummed to see no coffee in the room, but the manager assured us there wold be coffee in the check in office at 7am. We left to conduct our business in the area and upon our return we realized there was no working lights in the room.We went to the office and complained and asked for another room but the manager said they were all booked. She gave us one camping lantern for lights. That issue was never resolved during our 2 day stay. Also the refrigerator didn't work, the water pressure was nil, there was no hair dryer, the shower did not drain and to top it off there was no coffee until 7;30 am. The manager overslept. The room was clean. read more

My stay at this hotel was something else. First of all, checking in was pretty easy. The service was good. The room itself was interesting. The water pressure was really bad. Hardly any water would come out of the sink. The whole room smelled like mildew. The shower drain was not good. It would puddle. Other than that, it was clean. There were no bugs. The cleaning personnel were courteous. I was able to get additional clean towels from them. read more

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The location is good, central to visiting Cannery Row, Carmel, downtown Monterey and near to Pacific Grove. It is reasonably priced, but it is an older motel, with visible signs of aging such as poor caulking around tubs, harsh overhead lighting and limited closet areas. Bed was comfortable and the bathroom was sufficient. Notably, the service was uneven, with my room not being serviced during my two night stay. read more

I stayed at Monterey Surf Inn in Monterey, CA [1200 Munras Ave] from Monday, 9/29/25 until Tuesday, 9/30/25. I decided to stay one night for leisure purposes. The room was spacious and clean. The King Size bed was nicely comfortable. The microwave and fridge were functioning properly. The A/C worked amazingly well. I even liked that there was a seating area to relax outdoors. The only slight negative was the parking. It was quite tight and crowded to maneuver the vehicle around. Fortunately, I was able to find a parking space close to the room. Overall, I would not mind staying at Monterey Surf Inn again in the future. Thanks for a positive experience! read more

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I really like this place. It feels clean and we got a really nice room. I would come again

Honestly, I would put one star if there wasn't a chance this gets deleted. But you get what you paid for. They serviced us rooms that had barely any working lights and NONE of the outlets worked. If the room is in this condition they shouldn't service it at all. The only outlet working was for the ac and it was burnt out (photos below). The ac literally had gum stuck to it from previous tenants as well (photo below). The front desk lady didn't seem to care and rolled her eyes when we at least asked for an extension cord, but she did not have any left. AC was honestly humid as well and the bathroom had a foul smell. To be honest it wasn't a great experience and killed the vibe for our trip. I'd recommend paying the difference for a better hotel because the experience wasn't good. read more

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Water pressure is terrible, although it was clean it was very basic. A couple miles away from the beach. Would have spent a little more if i was closer to the beach and had free breakfast and coffee read more

I would not recommend staying at Monterey Surf Inn. We paid around 300 dollars for our room and had a very disappointing experience. The hot water took 10 to 15 minutes to get warm, which is unacceptable for the price. We tried to address the issue with the hotel, but the manager seemed to brush us off and repeatedly just said, 'No refund.' There was no willingness to talk through the problem or find a reasonable solution. It felt like poor communication and no accountability. For us, it just wasn't worth it, and I honestly can't recommend this hotel based on our experience. read more

Booked this place for Valentine's Day weekend. The location is great! Right by the freeway and close to downtown. You can definitely tell it's getting much needed renovations. However, as soon as we walked into the room, you could tell cleaning hasn't been kept up on the walls and door. You can see it was dirty. All the furniture is due to be replaced. The mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable. We reminded ourselves that we can't complain as we got a deal for the stay. You get what you pay for. read more

The rooms were dingy, depressing lighting, underwear left in bathroom by previous guest. Could not take a bath because they don't provide drain stoppers. They are" trying to conserve water", yet we had to run water for 20 mins to get it hot. The towels had holes in them. Tons of hotels on munras ave. Find another! read more

Monterey Surf Inn - Towel - Hotels Near Me - Monterey, California

Clean rooms, wife and I were happy. Cool owners got me some extra towels, quite reasonable rates

If I could leave zero stars, I absolutely would. Please don't listen to those who say it's "worth the location" and "you get what you pay for." Even if you pay $40 a night, you're at minimum paying for clean sheets and hot water. You won't get either. You won't get AC that works, or a door that properly locks, or potable water, or a carpet that's been vacuumed between a weeks' worth of guests. Stay Away. Dirty, unkempt, and not worth the price or location. The front desk staff live on-site in a room behind the counter, which wouldn't be a problem - except they make it incredibly weird. Checking in felt like interrupting a private family dinner. The clerk emerged from the back with grease and food still on his face and hands, glaring at me like I'd just ruined his entire night by showing up. They do not honor bookings, they do not issue refunds, and they do not care if your room is filthy, falling apart, or nothing like what you paid for. We booked a room for four people with two beds. The listing stated an extra $5 per person - totally reasonable. But the moment we arrived, the clerk, after taking ten minutes to come out from the back, insisted the reservation wasn't for four people. I showed him the confirmation where I had clearly selected "4" as the number of guests. He then claimed the extra charge was $15 per person. When I pointed out the listing said $5, he dismissed it: "Take it up with the booking site." Only when I pressed did he begrudgingly agree to honor the $5 fee. Of course, the next morning, I checked the charge receipt - he had switched it back to $15 per person. When I pointed it out, he denied ever agreeing to $5 and said that he was going to "charge me accordingly." We stayed because every Motel 6 was full, and as four out of town young people, a last-minute Hilton stay wasn't an option. But it was miserable. The pool was essentially condemned, despite being advertised as open. The AC didn't work. They refused to bring extra towels. The beds were so disgusting that we slept on top of our beach towels, pulling back the sheets because even touching them felt like a health hazard. This motel does not care. They know they have a central location, and enough people shrug and leave them 3-star reviews with a "well, you get what you pay for" attitude that they don't have to clean, honor bookings, or issue refunds. Even if you storm out in disgust, they still make a profit. Don't fall for the 3-star rating. It's purely for geography. There is nothing else redeemable about this place. There are a dozen other cheap motels within walking distance - pick literally any of them instead. Stay. Away. read more

Although I've had worse over my 73 years of life, this motel is right there at the bottom of the list. Luckily, my wife stayed home, and didn't have to endure what I did. There was no closet or coat hangers, and no coffee maker in the room. The single chair in the room was stained and elicited thoughts about what those stains consisted of. There was no table in the room. I decided to put a stopwatch on how long it took to get hot water. After 6 minutes the water got lukewarm enough to shave, and didn't get hot enough to take a shower for 8 minutes, this in a location that rations water at times. Having lived in Monterey for the 1st 67 years of my life, I wondered how they got away with wasting all that water. When I was younger every house was restricted to 50 gallons a day per person. The bathroom had leaks at the base of the toilet and around the tub. The towels were threadbare. If you were lucky enough to get your business done early you would have a place to park, but later in the evening all spots were taken. Management should restrict each room to one car, if they haven't already. The first night there the heater didn't work and I froze. I only paid $61 dollars a night, which was overpriced for what you got. Other than that the room was stellar. /s read more

Pros are good location good customer service and price. The cons are horrible bed that sinks,loose toilet that wobbled, cheap towels cheap soap and the shower head pressure was not great. For the price it's ok but if those things are important I would spend a little more for a better room. I didn't spend much time in the room only to sleep really but I would probably not book here again. read more

Ownership are so sweet, ant truly trying to transform this property into a special place! I give them credit for all their efforts and the fact that they have they have a wonderful location. Keep it up Monterey surf Inn! read more

We booked this place through Hotwire.com which could a hit and miss for getting good or not so good hotels. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The parking is ok as well. We have a brand new car and were a bit concerned who will park beside us. Fortunately, we were there in the middle of the week so they were not ro capacity. The room as clean and the bed was comfortable. So that was definitely a plus. It was definitely dated and needs an upgrade. We stayed in to sleep and get ready and we were out majority of the day. They are doing construction so it was quite busy during the day time. It's definitely not a 5-star hotel but it worked for us. Another plus is we had descent next door neighbors who kept the noise down to a minimum and they were sleeping by 10AM. I can't say I would recommended this motel because our experience was unique. It was the middle of the week and our neighbors were nice. If you stay during the weekend or summer months, I am sure be will be busy. The walls are fairly thin, so depending on how nice your next door neighbor is will dictate if you get some sleep or not. read more

If I could give no stars, I would. Room was okay, nothing special. BUT then my husband and I took a shower in the morning, and it smelled like someone was continuously farting directly into my face. I was sniffing my soap to find out what it was coming from, and it was from the hot water!!! Warm, hot fart water. The hot water from the tap also smelled like farts. The owner refused to comp us for the fart water because all of the rooms were like that. WELL IT ISNT ADVERTISED!! We even had the front desk person Mike come and smell the water, and he hadn't encountered the issue before. Definitely a bait and switch situation for an affluent area. Disgusting. read more

Rooms are clean & everything is good quality for the price I paid. Staff is friendly and did not hesitate to put us in another room ( it was just shaped weird and too small for us ). Would stay here again read more

Summary: Do not stay here. Period! Spend 15 more dollars and I promise anything will be better than this. This place was the worst hotel experience I've ever had. The only reason it gets 2 stars is because it's cheap. Other than that, everything else is 1 star. Story: The room was filthy. The paper thin walls were dingy and stained with only god knows what. The floors were redone with a laminate that was peeling up and had these huge gaps that were literal tripping hazards. The inlet tubing for the AC was a completely different size from that of the hole in the wall. So there was a void from the outside of the room to the inside. Like, you could fit your hand through it from the outside. The ceiling fan was on the same switch as a wall light. So I couldn't sleep with the fan on unless I wanted the wall light on. Oh and let's talk lightbulbs. I counted 9 light sockets, yet there was only 3 bulbs in the whole room, lol. I don't even know what to say about that other than to laugh. The bed was gross. I ditched the blanket and 2 of the pillows because everything else looked dirty. The bathroom would have been decent if the frosted privacy window wasn't broken in the open position for the outside world to see in. Basically, the pane moved from top to bottom. Down to open; up to close. Well the problem was the latch was broken so the pane had no way of being latched in the closed (up) position. The only reason I stayed overnight was because I got in really late and left super early. I spent about 7ish total hours in the room and those are 7 hours of my life I want to forget. Sorry Monterey Surf Inn but you need a lot of work! read more

I spent two nights here with my nephew and his girlfriend. After completing my usual bedbug check (I check my room thoroughly no matter where I stay), I brought my things inside and settled in. Almost immediately I could hear someone running their shower. I heard a variety of tapping noises throughout both nights. The walls are way too thin, I could even hear my nephew's voice from next door. I wanted to relax in a bubble bath, but there was no way to plug the drain. My nephew complained that there was no water pressure in his shower. The hair dryer worked really well. I didn't end up using the TV because I am partially blind and can't see it from the bed, but I noticed there was a Roku remote. That was cool. The desk chair was in really bad condition. read more

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This place was so cozy and nice for a quick trip to Monterey. I highly recommend. The appliances in the room were great and the bed was comfy:) read more

I don't understand all the negative revisions here. I have noticed for Yelp versus Expedia the reviews that the reviews and ratings for this and other moteld Ive stayed in can be complete opposites. Who to believe ? From my personal experience stay at Surf Inn twice this year. The rooms were basic yet clean with comfortable beds , nice TVs etc. Quite satisfied read more

The dirtiest and nasty inn in Monterey this 118 dollars per night they don't clean their rooms nasty shower room and dirty linens they don't change their lines after the next guest. No blower fridge doesn't work, phone doesn't work too and nasty towels that looks like a rugs. Smells toilet inside the room I demand a refund this place doesn't worth the 118 dollars/ night! But I don't think the management cares! If I can put zero ratings I will but it won't give you that option! read more

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Comfortable, clean, and quiet at a reasonable price. I see a lot of complaints about housekeeping and the cost, but I don't think it was terrible. It's all about location. If you want a good place out of the hustle and a reasonable price, this is not bad. A plus, the bed is comfortable. read more

Monterey Surf Inn - Comfortable, clean, and quiet at a reasonable price. - Hotels Near Me - Monterey, California

price great. service great. everything great. came here over spring break for one night and it was everything we needed. looked recently renovated and was a very clean property. read more

It's a dump. You get what you pay for. It was one of the cheaper places to stay and it shows. Holes and cracks in the ceiling. Splatter of God knows what all over the walls of thr bathroom and also the ceiling above the bed. Looked like more splatter or mildew on the curtains. Corners of the room, especially in the bathroom, looked disgusting. Stains on all of the furniture except the bed. Just a very dirty place. They need to hire a better professional cleaning crew. We stayed 2 nights and we never felt comfortable in the room due to the filth. The grounds were fine but looked to be under construction in many areas. If you want a super cheap room go ahead but next time I will spend the extra money to get a better place. read more

Monterey Surf Inn - Crack in ceiling - Hotels Near Me - Monterey, California

Check in is horrible. Nobody at the front desk. You enter the office and have to pick up a phone (not too covid friendly). Wait and eventually someone comes to check you in. Front staff not too welcoming. This was not late at night. We got there at 3:00 pm. Parking lot is full of construction material making parking quite difficult. Rooms were sort of newly renovated, but you can see where the old fixtures were attached and paint splotches on the walls. Bathtub had no drain plug, so advertising of a full tub is dishonest. Pool unusable, it is full of construction material. There were long black hairs on our floor so felt a bit dirty. I will say, the bed was very comfortable and the room was quiet. For $250/night they're a much better options. Oh, most importantly, we reserved two rooms. NEITHER HAD A SMOKE ALARM INSTALLED!!!!! read more

I would not even give this disgusting place one star! This place needs to be inspected! I wish I could have taken pictures but all of the other pictures that are already uploaded are ACCURATE! Totally disgusting. Moldy room, dirty floor, disgusting shower was not even clean at all. This whole place needs to be shut down! Mike the "manager" refunded our second night. He was supposed to give us 30% off our first night but did not follow through. I am doing this review to let you guys know to be aware of this place. DO NOT COME HERE. We brough our baby and toddler thinking this place was decent. Spend a little extra and get a decent place. This place is rancid! read more

When I walked into my room, the first thing I noticed was the musty smell. Turns out there was mold under the mattress. There was dirt on the floor , furniture was broken. After being in the hotel for 20 mins I decided there was no way I could comfortably sleep here. So I went to ask for a new room. The receptionist up front had nothing to say expect " I can't do this now. I leave at 4" While it was already 4:07. He was always making excuses to be lazy. If he was gonna leave. Why couldn't anyone else help? Was nobody gonna be there. Does that mean check in was only from 3-4 read more

Monterey Surf Inn - Moldy bed - Hotels Near Me - Monterey, California

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I got put here by my company for the Concourse De Elagance and while I totally get that every hotel in the area is sold out this was just not acceptable for me... sorry but it's a motel. The room is about 12x12 with a very warped fake wood floor and a tiny TV that only gets certain channels and not all your favorites. There is some good news though... just up the road about a thousand feet and across the road is a big shopping center with a Starbucks and a Whole Foods and a CPK... read more

Not enough parking, no working AC- when asked to switch rooms, or be provided a refund to go to another hotel, night staff would not help and told us to use the space heater. Absolutely horrible hotel. read more

In late may and early June we stayed there so we could have a closer hotel to a family members house. We left one day and we're not at the hotel for the whole day since we were with family enjoying our visit. After a long day we come back to our hotel room bathroom completely destroyed. They claim it's a technical problem but it does not look like a technical problem to me. They said we could get a refund only for the night. We called the police and they helped us get a full refund on our stay there but once we got back home and we're able to do the refund things it turns out that they deleted the whole reservation and never got none of our money back. read more

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This motel is not a resort by any means but if you are just looking for a place to sleep, shower and feel safe then this is your spot. You really do get what you pay for I stayed here for 2 nights, and don't have any complains. Parking is free and the front clerk/housekeepers are super friendly and nice. They are currently remodeling their pool and are also super closer the the Monterey bay aquarium (approximately 7 minutes) and also close to fisherman wharf (whale watching, etc) about (5-6 minutes). Expect to pay for parking when visiting a tourist location out there, parking ranges between ($10-$15) a day. read more

Paid an extraordinary amount of money (3x normal amount, we stay frequently out of convenience and price) for this holiday weekend....come to find the place is apparently under renovation, couldn't tell that anything had been renovated, nor was there mention on website. Our first room had an air conditioner stuck on wall, broken window frame and no lock on window. Moved to another room....glue all over the floors which were filthy, urine in the toilet! Maybe from a worker? Unacceptable. No coffee maker...air conditioner didn't work. Like I said before, use this place out of convenience and cheap price, but this is truly pretty bad. I will not be visiting here again...we were promised a 10% discount, let's see if it actually gets discounted. There are several other inexpensive motels on this strip that I will visit instead. This place needs a lot of work! I would give zero stars, but no option to do so. *** after reading all the other reviews on this place I am horrified for all of us that have stayed there. This place really should be reported to the health department! read more

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This place is the worst. It was very dirty and the staff's attempt to make things better was pathetic. There was gum, or some sort of mystery glob, on the floor next to the bed. There was hair all over the sheets, hair in the bathroom, and fake eye-lash extensions all over the floor by the sink. The floor also had all sorts of dirt and sand everywhere (yes, its close to the ocean, but it was excessive). The bedding was also covered in stains and other gross things. The walls were covered in stains too. How do you stain the wall? In multiple places? When I asked if we could get a cleaner room, the staff said they were booked. When I asked if they could re-clean the room, all they did was get a broom and kind of swept the floor. When I asked for clean sheets, they handed it to me, which also had stains and more hair, and did not help remake the beds. Do not stay here. You would be much better off sleeping in your car. read more

Crappy customer service, they booked the room even before I said to go ahead and book it... Frank was horrible he booked the room without me saying to go ahead and book it, when I told him I didn't want room he said you agreed with term it's booked I was pissed i didn't agree to booking, he said "no one says book it anymore", guess he spoke all humanity..... im out $159 without any help!!!! read more

Stayed there last night 8-5-23 and it was rough!!! The worst was when the next day my head started itching I felt bites bumps and I was disgusted!!! We left earlier thankfully I took my own towels and sheets but still had bites on legs. I wanted to save money but it's not worth it!!! I checked previous reviews for this place and they are lies. The room smells like pine sol. and the police was called in for a matter as we arrived. Awful experience!!!! The room we stayed in was #17 not good at all. I also asked another lady who was leaving the hotel and she was not happy either read more

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Room is decent. There is nothing spectacular by any means about this hotel/motel. It's a good place for a night. The front desk gentleman didn't know squat about the area!! He didn't seem like he knew very much English and communication was a bit lacking. It's the beginning of summer and the pool is closed. We couldn't even wait poolside for our room to be available. The rooms are non smoking but outside every door is an ashtray?! I guess as long as you don't open your window you're all good, unless you're a smoker. Perks, it's extremely close to shops, Cannery Row, Restaurants and the aquarium. read more

Monterey Surf Inn - Bathroom towel rack, rusty along with the curtain rod - Hotels Near Me - Monterey, California