Hampton Inn Monterey

The rooms are roomy, with lots of places to put your luggage, and I loved the movable ottomans. There's an In-N-Out close enough to walk to, though it gets crowded. The refill station for water is handy, but the water tastes a little sweet. Breakfast got repetitive fast since they rotate between two menus: potatoes with western omelets and sausage one day, then potatoes, pork sausage, and scrambled eggs the next. It kept looping, and I got tired of the sausage and eggs. There are also waffles, oatmeal, and a juice machine with three juices and cold water. Someone please fix the capitalization on that machine! Still, a good hotel.

The room was bigger than the ones we've had at other Hampton Inn locations, and the area is convenient, with Costco, Target, McDonald's, In-N-Out Burger, Starbucks, and plenty of other shops and restaurants nearby. We enjoyed our two-night stay, though check-in was a letdown: at 4 p.m., the room wasn't ready or tidied, even though check-in was meant to start at 3. We'd booked well ahead and selected that specific room the night before.

The room was clean and had enough towels for us after a long day of driving. The building is older, but it's clearly well cared for, and it's handy for getting to Cannery Row, Ocean Avenue, and other popular spots. We had a pleasant welcome at check-in and a great stay. I'd book again.

The location made it easy to drive to most places without staying in the busy areas, and the rooms were clean and a decent size. We requested a crib, but our baby wouldn't sleep in it because the so-called mattress was just hard plastic with no padding, in an off-brand Pack 'n Play. We bought a Graco Pack 'n Play and left it there in hopes the next family won't run into the same problem. We skipped breakfast since it was the usual hotel kind.