This article was published on March 29th, 2015
There are many choices of hotels when it comes to planning a vacation in Southern California. In Orange County, a hotel that is centrally located, easy to get to, clean, and affordable is pretty easy to find. The Fairmont Newport Beach is one of these hotels.
If you’re planning a trip to Orange County, including to Disneyland, try to fly into John Wayne International Airport, not LAX. It’s a smaller, ocean-side airport, which makes it fast and easy to get in and out of.
Located just a couple of blocks away is the Fairmont Newport Beach. Like most airport hotels, their rates are slightly lower, which is a bonus for any savvy and budget-conscious traveller. It’s not off the beaten path either. The beach is located just a few minutes away, along with great restaurants, and even local gay-bars. Disneyland is about a 25 minute drive North East, and the Queen Mary, along with it’s fabulous Tea Room Aboard the Queen Mary, is about a 30 minute drive north.
The Fairmont Newport Beach hotel rooms are tastefully decorated with bright and cheery colours. Large windows allow the glorious sunshine to fill the room, making it feel even bigger and brighter. The rooms are very well kept, with crisp white sheets and fluffy white towels.
Each room has all the standard hotel amenities that travellers now expect in a quality hotel room, including a large LCD TV, desk, sitting area, coffee maker, and ironing board. But this property, like many other hotels catering to the digital traveller is on board with two important features; extra plug-ins in the bedside lamps to recharge mobile devices, and free Wi-Fi internet connection to share all your travel moments on social media and to keep up on email. These two details, while seemingly small, are incredibly important.
The Fairmont Newport Beach also has a gym, pool, hot tub, exercise room, and a lobby bar and restaurant. The hotel staff are incredibly friendly and happy to help out however they can.
The biggest downfall for this property is the valet fee. All vehicles on the property are required to be valet parked for a $30 charge. It’s common for most hotels to offer free self-parking with a valet option, but not here. Just something to be aware of. However, the hotel rate is significantly cheaper than staying at an ocean-side property or one at Disneyland, so it all works out in the end.
Overall, the Fairmont Newport Beach is a fantastic hotel. It’s very clean, they accommodate the digital traveller, it is easily accessible, and has very affordable rates for a premium brand hotel. Next time you’re in the Orange Country area, give them a try; you won’t be disappointed.
Guest Room: ★★★★☆
Bedding: ★★★★☆
Towels and Toiletries: ★★★★☆
Restaurants / Amenities: ★★★★☆
Customer Service: ★★★★★
Overall Experience: ★★★★☆
Price / Value: ★★★★☆
