We came down to Dana Point for our annual tattoo trip and always try to stay somewhere new. We…read morespecifically look for places with ambiance and character rather than chain hotels like Marriott or Hilton. Some boutique hotels are hits, others... not so much. This one absolutely surprised us in the best way. El Caminante Bar & Bungalows is right across the street from the beach and instantly stands out. The interior design is exquisite - thoughtful, warm, and stylish without feeling pretentious. Our room had half doors on both sides that open up so you can enjoy the ocean view and fresh air, which was such a unique and relaxing touch. There's also an in-room record player that even connects to your phone via Bluetooth (such a fun detail). The bed was extremely comfortable, the shower had piping hot water with great pressure, and the Le Labo shower products were a luxe bonus. The on-site bar and food were super convenient, the staff was genuinely kind, and the location is perfect, right in the heart of Dana Point and a short drive to San Clemente. We also loved lounging on the outdoor daybeds outside our room and hanging out on the patio with the chimineas at night. The rooms are on the smaller side (mainly because of the massive king bed), but it honestly didn't feel unbearably cramped. There's plenty of storage with space under the bed for luggage, drawers built into the bed frame, and wall-mounted hangers, which made everything work well. As for the cons: it is close to the train tracks, so it can get a bit noisy, but earplugs are provided and we personally slept just fine without them. There's no fan, so the room can get a little warm, we just kept the windows open. Unfortunately, during our stay the internet wasn't cooperating, so we couldn't screen-cast to the TV, which made it pretty useless, but that was a minor inconvenience overall. We also really loved that this is a small, family-owned property. We will 100% be back. This is officially our new favorite spot in Dana Point--full of charm, comfortably close to the ocean, and reasonably priced without sacrificing style or comfort.

I am so sad you closed! I was just trying to rebook and find you guys and found an article that in…read moreJanuary you closed. The community really missed out as this was a super awesome experience that made me feel like I wasn't in Southern California anymore. Deeply saddened but thank you for the original experience. I just wish I got to stay in that upstairs suite, which is what I was going to book. Best of luck and I hope to see the hotel open soon.

This place is heaven for cigar lovers. I had the pleasure of visiting this lovely cigar club…read moreyesterday and everything about it is perfection. The decor is fabulous, the staff is kind and welcoming, and the atmosphere is so nice. It's a great place to enjoy a nice cigar respite with good friends, and the patrons here are very nice as well. Big shoutout to Steve, the GM, who puts the H in hospitality. He is a mensch and a half. I am looking forward to coming here again. Thank you!

This review is long overdue! I've been a VIP member for about six months, and I'm almost a daily…read morevisitor. The lounge has two main areas. First, there's the sophisticated bar, which is smoke-free and the perfect spot for high-end spirits and amazing cocktails (The Gov'ner Old Fashioned is a must-try!). The staff are welcoming, friendly, and always smiling! They've started adding some events to the schedule, like Whistlepig/Cigar tastings, Cajun Boil, Macallan tastings, and wine tastings. They're also introducing a late-night happy hour with food and live music, which is a great way to enjoy a sophisticated drink when most restaurants have closed in the area. The second part of the lounge is the two cigar lounges: the day lounge and the VIP lounge, which has lockers. Both lounges have high-end luxury seating and lots of screens for all your favorite sports. The staff keeps the lounges clean with friendly service. At the back, there's a walk-in humidor that's well-stocked with a great selection, including Davidoff, Padron, Opus X, Fuentes, My Father, Foundation, and Placencia, just to name a few. The Winston House stick blended by Placencia is an incredible stick for an exceptional price! Both lounges have a bunch of friendly regulars, so it's always easy to find conversation, or you can just relax and enjoy the moment! This place is a hidden gem that I consider to be the best cigar lounge in SoCal!

Longboard Rooftop Lounge in Dana Point is a fantastic spot for sunset cocktails with a view. The…read morerooftop setting over Pacific Coast Highway gives you a great look at the coast, the drinks are creative and well-priced, and the vibe is relaxed but fun. It gets busy on weekends which tells you everything you need to know. Great place to start or end a night in the Dana Point harbor area.

We came for a one night get away at the hotel and had an early dinner at Longboards. The drink…read moreselection is very interesting. My Endless Summer was great. I also had a Beach Therapy. Service was excellent. We were greeted and checked in on - frequency was just right. Our food wasn't the greatest. The Charcuterie Board is fine. The Spinach Artichoke Dip... came with good pitas. We got to look at the water and watch the sunset, which is always lovely. Our bill came and we were happily surprised to see Happy Hour pricing for our starters.

Great service! The chicken and pork sliders are very good, give them a try. We also enjoyed the…read moremac salad. Good drinks and Fun vibe! We watched a Honest Trailers You Tube about the Goonies since we hadn't seen the movie so we got the references.

The Lost Inferno is a tiki bar in San Clemente that is themed around the classic 1980s movie "The…read moreGoonies". It is a drinks-only bar for now, so eat before coming. Their website teases that food is coming soon. It is a fairly small place and I would definitely recommend making a reservation on Yelp. If there are no reservations available when you want to visit, they also have a Yelp live waitlist. The building has its own parking lot with about ten spaces and is shared with the sushi speakeasy upstairs. We arrived around 6:30pm on a Sunday night, and luckily there were still quite a few spaces available. A half hour later, the place was packed. The outside of the building is not marked. Enter through the red double doors in front, walk to the right, and the entrance will be easy to spot. Seating options include eight seats at the bar, four high-top tables in the main area that seat four people each, and a slightly raised grotto area with one four-seat table and two two-seat tables. We often like to sit at the bar, but I reserved a table in the grotto so we could get the full experience and I'm glad I did. The interior has great décor with a mix of tiki and pirate ship elements. The walls are wooden plank, with cargo netting, ropes, and tiki lights above. The walls have portraits of Goonies movie characters. Take two steps up to the grotto area, and you are inside of a cave with skulls, shells, and treasures embedded in the cave walls. There is also a small waterfall in the corner. Scan the QR code on the table for the cocktail menu. It is colorful and many of the drinks have names tied to The Goonies. Each drink also has zero, one, or two skulls next to it to indicate the booziness factor. They have quite a few original cocktails as well as classic tiki drinks, a few mocktails, spirits, beer, and wine. I started out with the Ash Landing (Hamilton Pot Still Blonde Rum, Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum, Hamilton Pimento Dram, Angostura Bitters, Pineapple, Lime, Ginger, One Skull booziness, $14). This was definitely a little on the boozy side, with good ginger flavor and the pineapple and lime in the background. She started out with the One-Eyed Willy (Pou Vodka, Lychee, Guava, Coconut, Sweet & Sour, $15, keep the mug for $65). It is rare that a vodka drink is my favorite of the night, but this was both of our favorites. It was very balanced and juicy, and not boozy at all. The guava, coconut, and citrus from the sweet and sour were all there. We bought the mug, and they bring you a new one in original packaging. The purchased mug is colored a little differently (blue instead of black) than the mug the drink is served it, but it still looks great. While walking around taking pictures, I ran into our server and mentioned that it was my girlfriend's birthday. He kindly brought us some shots on the house. He said it was a recipe they had for shots during Halloween, and it tasted like a spin on a kamikaze. It was very good and much appreciated. I have a hard time resisting a cool mug, so for my second drink I ordered the Slick Shoes (Planteray Pineapple Rum, Worthy Park Rum, Bounty Dark Rum, Strawberry, Papaya, Lime Juice, $17). It is served in a cool sneaker mug with a flaming lime half on top. It was nicely balanced and just a tiny bit boozy. It had a nice light fruit flavor, not overly sweet at all. I think it is sometimes served in a regular glass, so if you order it, be sure to ask for the sneaker mug. Her second cocktail was the Never Say Die (Producer Mezcal, Kiwi, Lemon, Mango, Grilled Pineapple, $14). The smokiness of the mezcal was on the hairy edge of being too smoky for me, but she loved it. She could taste the kiwi and mango. We shared one last drink, the Garden of Eden (Papa's Pilar Blonde Rum, Lavender, Lemon, Elderflower, Cucumber Bitters, One Skull booziness, $17). It had an interesting (good) floral flavor profile, and didn't strike me as boozy at all. I could definitely taste the cucumber notes from the bitters. There was good 80s music playing in the background. It's a Goonies themed bar, I get it, but we would have enjoyed a few tiki songs in the mix too. There is one unisex restroom out in the lobby area. It is nice that they also themed it with wooden plank on the walls and ceiling, and some nautical décor. Daniel was our server and was very friendly and provided great service. Thanks again Daniel for the birthday shots! Bartender Felipe also delivered one round of our drinks and was also very friendly. All of the drinks were good and there are definitely more on the menu that we would like to return and try. We had a real fun time, thanks Lost Inferno!

My wife and I stopped by Jane in San Clemente for a date night while visiting from San Diego and…read morestaying overnight, and the whole vibe was incredibly chill. The music mix was one of my favorite parts. They played a little bit of everything from A to Z, so there was something for everyone to enjoy, which is exactly what I look for in a bar. Huge shoutout to Dean for the amazing drinks and the solid drink selection. The standout of the night was an off menu drink recommended by a regular, Jeremy. Shoutout to Jeremy! Peter made the drink and it is worthy of a spot on the menu. The Rattlesnake Milk was exactly what I came in looking for. I am dating myself a bit, but it reminded me of the pink SoBe drink, with a nice smoky bite at the tail end that mezcal lovers will appreciate. Top notch cocktail with a top notch, friendly crew. We had a great time and will definitely add this to our must visit spots when coming up from San Diego. Good cocktails and a good time.

Unprofessional host, blatant favoritism…read more BLUF: The host treated the bar like a house party -- saving seats and catering to his friends instead of paying guests. We went to Jane on Saturday, January 17th around 8:30-8:45 pm for a nightcap with a group of three. It was crowded, which was fine -- the service was not. The host (a man in his late 20s or early 30s with a buzz cut and mustache) had us put our name in but couldn't give even a rough wait estimate. He then told us there were open seats at the bar. As we walked toward them, he immediately went to his friends sitting nearby, and they jumped up and took the bar seats he had just told us were available. We waited 40 minutes and received a text that our "table for three" was ready -- only to be told when we returned that there was actually standing room only. When we again saw open bar seats, the same friends reappeared and claimed they were "saving them" because they'd gone out to smoke. The host backed them up. This felt less like a cocktail lounge and more like a place where the host plays bouncer for his friends. Prioritizing friends over paying guests, brushing people off, and mismanaging the waitlist is incredibly unprofessional. We left without ever being served. For a place that positions itself as a cocktail lounge, this kind of favoritism is unacceptable and disappointing.

My fiancé and i love this place. We've had the pleasure of having Griffin as our server twice and…read morehe's amazing. Great food great cocktails. 10/10 We love the mushroom pizza & the meat lovers Arugula salad is also so delicious and can't forget those wings!

San Clemente: Lovely and lively, The Parlor replaced Brick restaurant and a nice replacement it…read moreis. Fabulous service from start to finish. Very attentive without being intrusive. Ordered were a Pepperoni pizza and the Margherita pizza. Margherita is always too bland for me no matter where I have it. I have to go for pepperoni always on my pizza, and it was tasty. I would've added mushrooms, but it wasn't my turn. Nice crust, flavorful, very thin Woodfired pizza. Just a note-share and eat it there. Too floppy for leftovers. My preference. Tagliatelle Bolognese was upscale flavor with the right spice and totally 100% agreed with my taste buds. I am a fan of thinner pasta, but this is how it's done at Parlor. Funny, it was extremely long strands of pasta so have your knife ready. Unlike the pizza, it made great leftovers, and I thought it tasted even better the next day. So I don't recommend sharing it. Ha! Make reservations, find parking or take the trolley when it's running.

We had a wonderful time at Franco's. The food was fabulous. Loved my "Smash Burger Taco." Cocktails…read morewere delicous also. We had the cucumber, jalapeño margarita. Amanda was out server, and we hope to have her serve us again. She delivered us awesome table service and great menu suggestions. Our first time there and we will return. San Clemente support this restaurant! Good Food and nice outdoor patio.

Didn't even know this place until my friend found it under Margs in San Clemente and Happy Hour as…read morethe key words. We got there just in time for Happy Hour on Thursday (4-6pm) and honestly, its 5 o'clock somewhere. Our server was Amber and the best server, it was our first time here and she made sure we were served well in the patio area. First thing we ordered was margaritas and I had to get the mango for I wanna say a dollar or two dollar more from the Happy Hour prices which was fine because I love a good mango margarita. Worth the price and it was goooddd. strong but good flavor and that tajin rim. We got a couple of appetizer, chips and salsa was included when we sat down but we wnated more food. It's a girls much needed debriefing time on our life and this place was it, Such a vibe, great food and great company, plus it wasn't too much when we got there. Definitely coming back here in the next few weeks, and since I'm working locally now, I might have to stop by for a marg or two after work.

Paid by card. Hook & Anchor is located in a plaza and offers some street and some plaza parking. I…read morewent here on a Saturday night with a party of 8 and had to wait about 15 min to be seated. I had no issues ordering and the server came around frequently to check on the party. I ordered the 4oz lobster roll and wished I had gotten the larger one since it was so good. I would definitely recommend this place and would go back.

What a phenomenal meal--and even better service. From the hosts, to the waitstaff, to Vincent, our…read morebusser, everyone was warm, attentive, and genuinely welcoming. They were especially accommodating with my father's walker, which was greatly appreciated. The poke appetizer and salads were excellent, and the fish and chips were absolutely incredible--perfectly crisp on the outside, yet moist and flaky on the inside. The lobster roll deserves all the praise it receives. One bite and it's easy to understand why it's considered one of the best in the state. And the cioppino? Spectacular. Light and delicate, yet somehow packed with rich, layered flavor at the same time. A beautifully balanced dish. Exceptional food, outstanding hospitality, and a wonderful dining experience from start to finish. We love this place and will definitely be back.