Monterey Surf Inn

Charming, cottage-​like ambiance, with attractive landscaping. Room small but spotless. Everything from linens to granite sink counter was amazing for a $ 45 room in a popular destination area. Where do you find this value for this price these days?

No surf for the Monterey Surf Inn. The short of it is that the rooms look very clean, the air/​heaters are noisy, the beds are just okay and shower drain backed up daily. In Room #3, the shower drain backed up, bathroom shower tiles were falling off the wall, bathroom fan not working, cheap laminate floor is sinking on left side of the bed and there’s a missing window screen to let the bugs surf in. Before I made my reservation, I called the Patels (true name, I saw the AT&T bill sitting on the lobby’s counter) and asked if there was a coffee maker in the room and I was told there was one. However, when I got there, there was none in the room but one in the hotel lobby.
If you don’t mind rolling out of bed, looking your best and walking into the lobby to get your morning coffee, then it’s all good. Similarly, if you like the loud humming of a window air conditioner /​heter unit to rock you to sleep, then this is the place to book.
If, on the other hand, you prefer silence on a cold Northern California night, you can simply turn off the loud humming heater and ask for an extra blanket. Although only in his early 20’s, the young Patel will happily oblige and walk you right over to the garage /​linen room adjacent to the lobby and give you an extra blanket, like he gave to me. The only thing you have to do is make sure it’s a clean blanket. When I was handed a bunched up blanken I questioned whether it was clean. When I asked why it wasn’t folded, the response was, I don’t know. I had already made myself at home after only two nights, so I walked right into the garage /​linen room and walked over to the shelf from where he pulled the blanket and saw that he’d pulled it out of one I f those really thin, transparent looking large trash bags in which another bunched up blanken remained. I saw neatly folded sheets on another shelf and politely asked if I could just take two sheets instead if the bunched up white blanket with the two long black hairs hangings from it.

Far exceeded my expectations for a $ 45 motel. Faux wood floors, nice bed, brand-​new AC unit, mini fridge and microwave, super nice bathroom, mounted flat screen TV, convenient location, and very warm, friendly staff!

Located on Monterey’s motel strip, this family-​owned motel is an affordable stay option. However, despite some of its good amenities, Monterey Surf Inn may be a choice that you should reconsider.
PROS:
1) Free HD DirecTV
2) Free parking
3) Free coffee
4) Fridge and microwave included
CONS:
1) Although free, WiFi does not work most of the time
2) Toilet emits constant sewage smell
3) Room key card continuously disabled, requiring constant update at the front desk
4) No ²⁴⁄₇ desk reception that is usually unreceptive, making help requests or complaints difficult
BOTTOM LINE:
Because of its cheap price, Monterey Surf Inn may be a decent choice for an one-​night stay, but for a longer stay, you may want to consider paying a little more to stay at a much more comfortable accommodation.

seriously the best for the price! we stayed 2 nights for under $ 50 each night, clean, remodeled, satellite tv and close to downtown! Close to everything actually, there was a mall within walking distance with an H&M, Forever 21 and movie theatre! Great deal and seriously loved it. Has a heated pool too. great find. highly recommend.

I mean this place isn’t so bad other than the costumer service. My room was alright, standard tiny thing, but when we arrived, this Indian lady in charge of the front desk, just decides to argue with saying that we had more than two people and wanted to charge us $ 50 more than what we paid. But honestly we only had 3 people and I got very mad that she was charging so much more just for one person more. She also followed us by going around cars just to make sure we had three. This places is crazy, I’m only staying here for a night and never experienced nothing like this. You rather go to another hotel across the street.

Clean, free wifi and comfortable! I would return. Reasons for not giving it 5 stars are no jacuzzi or breakfast available.

Reasonably nice small hotel that’s within striking distance of the downtown area, but not walking distance. Lots of competition in the area in a wide spectrum of cost, quality and features…
— Arrived in the room to see no pillows on one of the beds. Maid said «Sorry, people steal them…» That doesn’t sound like my problem… I paid for pillows…
— Awkward parking in the corner rooms.
— Small bench seating area outside my room invited some young, bohemian a-​holes to hoot n holler until way after bedtime… If it’s too loud, I’m too old… LOL! ;-)
— No in room coffee.
— Small room, reasonable price.
— Just average TV.
— Laminate wood floor would be good for puppies, but I don’t recall a pet area…
— Small nightstand wasn’t enough for two…

This place was great! The pool was clean the hotel room was clean. Stayed two nights and paid $ 220 total! Hard wood floors. The maid service was great! Don’t get any great perks but it’s inexpensive for a good room!

This is a no frills, clean, basic motel. I was there to sleep and clean up only and the place was good enough for just that. A.C. unit in my room was underpowered but I wasn’t there on a hot weather night. I will stay there again when I need a clean place to crash for the night.

Staff was not very welcoming… Room seemed clean enough-​but cramped with two queen beds. Nice TV and had a fridge and microwave. Not even donuts for breakfast though.
And the worst part was the pool was shut down.

This was by far the worst hotel I ever stayed in my life and I’m a senior citizen. I booked on a booking site —bad mistake they charged me $ 40 more than the person who came in after I registered. When I mentioned it to the person at the check-​in and why the different price he indicated well it was a different room. All I can say is I can’t imagine how bad that room could have been.
We came into the room and couldn’t understand the musty smell and realized one of the walls and floor was water damaged. They covered the floor with the towel as if we wouldn’t pick up the towel. No real amenities they barely gave you soap and shampoo. Obviously no breakfast or coffee was served.

Terrible customer service. Indian lady at the counter was quite nasty.
Pros:
Updated décor in room. Flat screen tv. Small fridge and microwave.
Cons:
Pool closed. Small rooms.
Overall not somewhere I would choose to stay!

If there were 0 stars to rate for this joke of a motel, then I would, so think of the 1 star you see as 0 stars.
This was absolutely the worst motel I have ever stayed in in my life and I travel quite frequently. I have never been in a motel with no window, no hot running water, no air conditioning, no lamps by my bedside, and the lights on the wall connected to the same switch the fan on the ceiling is. When the lights goes off honey, the fan goes off. So, with there being no air conditioning in the room, we felt very suffocated, and my mother being claustrophobic, about broke down the door to get a breath of air! We woke up so drugged-​feeling from being shut up in a non ventilated room! This is not a normal room, but an old storage shed that they converted into a so-​called room. So, you have to walk in sideways and if you have a larger than normal backside, good luck! The conversation from the next door was so clear and so loud that we heard everything and could not sleep until they went to sleep. I wouldn’t send my old, dying dog or my worst enemy here.

Super cheap price through Trip Advisor. Yet, yes, you get what you pay for. The ceiling is damaged/​cracked (as you can see in the picture I uploaded), terrible walls, the floor sinks as you walk by, dirty lamps. Restroom and bed are decent. Clean floors. WiFi works. Refrigerator, microwave, AC/​heater. I just hope there are no roof leaks in the middle of the night; it’s raining.

I was able to get a room for $ 55/​night for 2 nights via Expedia. Of course, I was a little trepidacious since this was clearly a motel but I read all the other positive Expedia reviews and took a chance. For the price I got it for, I was impressed. Not too long ago, I ended up in another motel for $ 70/​night and it was really run down with such thin walls that I heard our neighbor’s entire conversation for the whole night. This motel went for a cheaper rate, was much closer to Cannery Row and the wharf, and was much cleaner than the other one. There’s no carpet, which is a plus since carpet usually tends to contribute to musty smells in most motel rooms. We had a microwave and a fridge available and a good size flat screen TV. My only complaints about this place, knocking it down one less star, have to do with the crappy internet connection, the fact that the AC goes on and off, and the lack of channels. Other than that, would most definitely stay here again. This place is well maintained and a definite bargain at $ 55/​night!

This was the cutest hotel. Small and very reasonable prices. Walking distant to the mall and a short drive to the beach and Cannery Row/​Aquarium. We stayed in room 15. Parking was at our front door. The room was very clean and the beds comfortable. Would stay here again!

A WINDOWLESS motel room???
We were shocked to learn that our room (room number 8) had NO WINDOW. I complained to the management who seemed bored and uninterested. They said they were 100% booked and had no other rooms available. They acted like they were surprised our room had no window. The man at the desk said, «Really? No window? There should be one…» as if maybe I had just not found it yet and needed to look harder.
I do believe that they were full and had no other rooms — the motel was crowded with drunk, college-​age people.
The price was great, but now I see why. This is one of the motels furthest from downtown, and therefore has the lowest rates. It is patronized by young people who don’t care because they’re spending their money on partying! Good for them, but not good for people looking to get some sleep.
Our windowless room also smelled badly of cigarette smoke. The «smoking area» was right outside our room and the ashtray was full of butts. Again, management was uninterested in our comfort and said only, «All our rooms are non-​smoking.» That didn’t change how my room smelled…
Finally, in the bathroom, we found left-​over clothing from the occupants before us. This left us wondering how well the room had been cleaned.
Not in a million years would I return to this motel.

A quaint and very clean single level motor lodge style hotel. We stayed there on our first night in Monterey and it wasn’t the fanciest place but it was definitely clean and nice with a comfortable bed. A really wonderful Vietnamese restaurant called Chopstix is within walking distance just around the corner too. Our room had a single king bed in it was was cozy for my wife, our 3 year old son and me. They also had a shower but no tub which was ok by me. This is definitely a great place to stay on a budget in an pricey area. I’d definitely stay there again.

Perfectly fine for what it is — a cheap motel in a strip of motels.
The room was small but very clean. obviously someone takes good cars of the property.
Bare floors added to the clean feeling. No motel smell. The AC was adequate but no better than that. dorm size fridge and microwave were useful.
The pool wasn’t very compelling since it was up next to a busy road. The coffee was abysmal but there are many local options.
The staff was efficient and friendly.