I love being a military veteran and I love staying at the Monterey Pines RV park, but…read more... As others have mentioned in the reviews, 0 stars for management, 4 stars for campground. I'm not writing this review to be intentionally mean or negative. I just want the management to take some responsibility and improve their system. We have stayed at the Monterey Pines RV Park numerous times over the years. It's a great place to stay, but making a reservation and checking in is the most inefficient and frustrating experience ever, and the whole process needs an upgrade. First you make a reservation through the DOD Lodging website, which only allows you to select either full hook-ups, or partial hook-ups. It doesn't allow you to select a spot number. Then you will receive an email from Navy Gateways, not Monterey Pines, indicating that you have made a reservation, but it doesn't provide you a spot number. The RV Park is located at the Monterey Pines Golf Course. If your a first time visitor, and you arrive after hours, there is a locked gate, so this will be an issue when you arrive. For us, we have visited many times over the years. We know the code, so it's not a problem. And actually the gate has been broken over the past year, or more, so it's still not a problem. Ah, but there's a code for the bathroom as well. In the past we used to receive an email from the Monterey Pines RV Park, providing all the check in information. This is no longer the case. We now have to call them directly. However, we have found that when we call the Monterey Pines RV Park, the call typically goes to voice mail, and then they never return the call. Your best option is to arrive during normal business hours, and hope that somebody is in the office. The last time we visited, the office was empty, so we just picked a spot and hoped for the best. There used to be a campground host to help people check-in, but that position has been vacated. My message to management. Please make efforts to fix/improve the Monterey Pines RV Park Reservation/Check-in process. Create a database so that returning customers don't have to initial and sign 5 pages of redundant paperwork every time they visit. E-mail the customer the important check-in information, such as their spot number, gate codes, bathrooms codes, etc. This should be a common procedure and would greatly help those arriving after normal business hours. Please fix the broken access gate. Our military personnel and their families deserve the extra security. Please do away with the $1 pet fee per night. It's unnecessary and ridiculous! I would also suggest that the bathrooms not be cleaned from 9 - 10:30am every morning. Pick a later time of day to clean them. This is a big inconvenience for those without trailers, meaning the bathrooms are completely off limits until they are finished cleaning. Yes, I enjoy the clean bathrooms, but I also like to use them first thing in the morning. So to everyone out there planning on visiting the Monterey Pines RV Park, I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay once you get there, but good luck with the reservation/check-in process. Prices have doubled over the last ten years, but the level of customer service has decreased by a proportional amount. I will gladly change this to a 5 star review, but not until I see some changes.

I had a great experience here and will return again. The only thing that may deter people from…read morecoming here is the airport noice. I didn't have an issue with this distraction. Its a very quiet location otherwise and has a clean campground area, shower and laundry facilities.

We spend 9 days at this place and we enjoy every single minute of it. Looking forward to our next…read moreguest.

My site was in full sun and it was warm. My biggest concern was the last day/night of my stay there…read morewas a prolonged domestic dispute (noonish and again after midnight) between a couple in "campers inn". They were screaming obscenities at each other for a good hour. Then things calmed down. Went to bed and was woken up to blood curdling screaming about 12:10am. Then these two started screaming obscenities again for a few minutes hr raced up the hill in his truck, she jumped and they sped away. I did NOT sleep the rest of the night. I was terrified it was going to happen again. The next morning I went to the office to complain about the day before. She told me they were only here 6 days and were leaving today. I did not fall off a turnip truck. There's no way they were there only 6 days. They had decking, storage boxes is the front and sides of their huge fifth wheel. Do not stay here. They have long term workers living at the campground.

1 star. Rodent in our room. Terrible resolution…read more Food, spa, and location were all great. But there was a live rodent in our room on night one of my husband's 40th birthday trip. It scampered into a hole in the wall. Staff tried to stuff a rag in it before moving us to a closet-sized "unsaleable" room, a third the size of our suite. Compensation for a thousands-per-night booking gone wrong? A slight room upgrade for one night, a comped activity, and $150 (which didn't even cover the resort fee). When we followed up through our third-party booking, Ventana told them we'd already been compensated. For a rodent, two room changes, and a ruined special occasion. Nice property. Awful management. If something goes wrong, don't expect them to make it right.

We had a three night stay to celebrate our birthdays and wedding anniversary. We were late in…read morearriving - it was dark and couldn't see anything beyond our deck - but they were ready for us. A nice surprise waiting in our room: chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne, a nice way to start things off. We explored the Japanese hot pools. They have separate men and women pools with one in the middle if you want to meet and look at the sky together. Very romantic and the water temperature was just right. It was wonderful to wake up the next morning and have a perfect view of the ocean from our room. We had breakfast, we walked around the grounds for a little hike, back to our room to hang out. Lunch, more walking, dinner. Rinse and repeat. Spent one afternoon carving a pumpkin we picked up along the way. The staff were professional and friendly, kept our room stocked with bath salts, coffee pods and a bottle of water on the nightstand when they turn down the bed. Gorgeous views, awesome weather. It is a great place to unwind and just be.

It doesn't get any better than this. We stayed in cabin 14 and had everything we needed and more…read more Really big space too and it was so nice to have an indoor fire every night. Housekeeping was so great and it felt so good to disconnect. It was so quiet every night. Do yourself a favor and stay here.

My husband and I spent the weekend in Cabin 4. It was clean and well-maintained. The setting is…read morebeautiful, and you have a deck overlooking the river, as well as a fireplace and fire pit. The staff were friendly and helpful. We had breakfast at the cafe twice and enjoyed it thoroughly. I read some negative reviews and was a little nervous, but I was pleasantly surprised. I would totally stay at Ripplewood again! A couple things to be aware of...these are old, rustic, cabins in the woods, so don't expect a fancy hotel. There was housekeeping everyday though, so it really is the best of both worlds. Also, there's no full length mirror. We were going to a wedding so this was a little inconvenient but we managed. Also, walking to the general store and cafe from the river cabins is up a steep hill so, if you have mobility issues it's not easy. It's a quick car ride though. There's no TV's or phones, and sketchy WiFi but all of that is part of the charm and a reminder to enjoy the moment and the beauty around you. Oh, and don't feed the blue jays.

We absolutely love going here. It's amazing and we always have a good time. We hike around record…read moreswimming holes we just make a great day of it and adventure day. If you will I will say the bugs are quite bad, but we are expecting that and we know that going in.

Military base right smack in the middle so slow down or you might run down a soldier in training…read more Redwoods can be found. Long winding roads perfect for bikes and sports cars. Not for motion sick people though. LOL! Winding roads suddenly open up to the ocean. Gasp inspiring.

If you find yourself in Point Lobos State Park, don't skip Bird Island. This hike is short (less…read morethan 1 mile) and gentle, with views of all the best of Point Lobos flora, fauna, and geology. The trailhead area offers about 12 regulae spaces and 3 for handicapped licensed vehicles. There are several picnic tables, 2 unisex restrooms, and trash/recycling bins. The trail map and any park updates are posted on the board outside the restrooms. On the trail to reach views of Bird Island, you can expect to see a variety of blooming plants, tall coastal trees, and some thoroughly gorgeous views of the powerful Pacific bashing rocky cliffs with the occasional slit inlet. There's even a natural bridge and cave to be seen. Of course, the main attraction for some is the massive population of pelicans and gulls nesting across from the trail. The island itself is white with, well, bird droppings. Centuries of them. If you like birding, bring your binoculars and enjoy! If you're more adventurous, you can take the side quest to Gibson Beach, with white sands and few spots great for kids to explore. Just know that you need to be fit enough to climb down and back up about 100 steps, including a ladder.

Stayed at the Alila Ventana Big Sur and this hike was one of the activities. We started off from…read morethe property onto a dirt road like path up the hills passing a few homes along the way. The first part of the hike is nice and shady with redwoods surrounding you. Eventually, you go beyond the redwoods where it's a little hotter but you get a beautiful view of the coast. This hike is relatively easy with a slight incline. Definitely recommend. Will need to go back next time to do the full hike.

I'm a happily sedentary person, but Big Sur is so uniquely, astonishingly beautiful, I think it…read morewould've offended even my conscience to spend three days there without at least one good hike. We asked someone at our hotel to recommend an easy hike and he suggested Coast Ridge Road. It was a great recommendation, one I'll pass onto anyone else in pitiable physical condition who would nonetheless like to get outside, walk uphill, and drink in some views. I did make the mistake of underestimating either the hike's difficulty or my own decrepitude. It would've been fine if I'd just taken a bottle of water, but I didn't want to carry it and quickly regretted my decision. We walked from the Post Ranch Inn to the Ventana, where the hike begins, and I was already kind of tired by the time we reached the bottom of the trail. Going up a noticeable incline for several more minutes was just kind of a challenge, and I complained heartily and made a few stops before I got accustomed to the elevated activity level. Once I did, though, I really enjoyed the hike. The trail was, objectively, not hard, and it was lush and pretty the whole way through. We walked past tons of trees, which also afforded us cover from the son, and even a lovely waterfall. I don't know how far the trail went, but people were going up there with overnight camping gear. We stopped walking shortly after we lost tree cover and that felt like a good end point. We got to stand on the mountain and admire the endless sky and Big Sur laid out below us, the drama of all that coast and sparkling water. This was a lot of exercise for a lazy person, but it was definitely worthwhile. It was a great way to soak up the beauty of Big Sur.

Excellent communication from start to finish, not one issue. The house was exactly as described,…read moreclean, cozy and well thought out.

Pros: The house was as described. It was clean and well appointed…read more Cons: Some of the outlets didn't work and a toilet seat was broken. To be fair, they came and fixed them within 24 hours. But when you're there for a few days, those things should be identified and resolved before the next rental. Also, the power company shut off power for 8 hours and the project was so big we couldn't even access the house the during the day. After some back and forth, the company comped us an insufficient amount given we didn't have access to the property for a day. For that price, the place should have been in good working order and available for the entire rental time.