Little Inn By The Bay Newport Beach

We’re here for the week after traveling from Minnesota, and it’s been such a gem. The rooms are adorable and really clean, and there’s a cute little patio for guests. The location is ideal for walking to the beach and restaurants. The two women at the front and the housekeeping staff have all been kind and helpful. They lend guests beach chairs, umbrellas, and towels, which we really appreciated after traveling so far without those things. I highly recommend it, and we’ll definitely be back next year.

I arrived at 3:30 PM to an empty lobby and used the ring doorbell, which said someone would come help. Nobody did. After 10 minutes I rang again, still no response. We’d been waiting more than 30 minutes by then, and other guests were arriving, but no one came to assist. I could hear staff chatting upstairs while the bell was ignored. I started ringing repeatedly and called the listed number, but got no answer. Eventually a housekeeper came down, glanced at me, said “10 minutes,” and walked away. I’d had high hopes, so this was extremely disappointing. I hope things improve, but for now the experience left a lot to be desired. I’ll update the review if needed.

Being right across from the beach is a great location. The room itself was basic, the bed was comfortable, and the shower worked fine. But the strong smell of Fabuloso hit me as soon as I walked in and was overwhelming. There were also ants in the room during our stay, even though we had no food there. It was okay for what we paid, but next time we’ll use VRBO for practically the same price.

The front desk was extremely rude. When I asked about the $25 per night parking fee, they told us, “you don’t have to stay here.” The bathroom was so cramped I could hardly turn around, and I hit myself on the sink corner in room 218. I’ve got the bruises to prove it. The WiFi and TV were very unreliable. There’s a $40 charge for early or late check-in and checkout, which nobody told us about. The street is very noisy, not the hotel’s fault, but it’s not somewhere to choose if you want quiet. They used to have free bikes, but don’t anymore. If the rate looks good, remember parking, early or late check-in and checkout, and the completely unreliable WiFi all add up.