Dana Point, United States

Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club

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The takeaway

Choose this Dana Point blufftop resort for a coastal stay where golf, pools and a tram-linked beach club are all part of the same 175-acre setting.

About the hotel

On Dana Point’s Southern California coast, this 175-acre resort occupies a 150-foot seaside bluff above the Pacific. Its 400 guest rooms and suites have private terraces or patios, with interiors in a coastal palette. The resort’s golf links offer ocean views, while Monarch Bay Beach Club sits at the shore; guests reach it from the main hotel by tram. Pools, a spa and several dining venues round out a stay designed around the coast and resort grounds.

Choose it if

You want a beach-club day with chairs, towels and beach rentals available to resort guests, while accepting a tram ride from the main hotel.
You want golf with Pacific views close at hand; Monarch Beach Golf Links is part of the resort and open year-round.
You’re traveling with children and want a resort that welcomes all ages, with a family-friendly pool and children’s menus.

Skip it if

You want to walk straight from the main hotel onto the sand: the resort’s beach-club route uses a tram that passes under Pacific Coast Highway.

The property

In photographs.

Guest discussion

What real people are saying.

Reddit excerpts · separate from Rex’s editorial judgment

One guest found the resort nice but small, with limited things to do nearby in Dana Point, and advised expecting to spend time on site. Another reported that although one hot tub was unavailable during part of the stay, arriving early still made it possible to use the hot tubs.

Discussion is limited; these accounts offer a glimpse rather than a broad verdict.

“while one of the hot tubs were out during part of our stay, as long as we got there early, we still got to use them”

r/Hilton ↗ · May 12, 2026

“It’s nice but small. Just expect to stay at the resort bc there’s not much to do there in Dana point.”

r/Hilton ↗ · Jan 9, 2026

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