Greetings!

I generally do not do trip reports - esp. for a two night local getaway. I think though that because we live in an area that people do love to travel to I would take the time.

Dh and I needed to be alone. We have had more stress then average and have not had any couple time of late. Due to tight time and budget constraints we opted to stay local. I looked at the Surf & Sand and a few other places here in Orange County, or thought about going to Santa Monica... or taking the time to fly up to S.F. but in the end the only weekend that worked for us was March 20-22 and we needed to be home by 10:00 am on Sunday - so local it is. I really wanted to stay at the Surf and Sand but simply could not stomach the rate. Soooooooo Priceline it was. I have had pretty good luck over the years with Priceline in our local areas...so I rolled the dice and ended up with the Hyatt Newport Beach for 64.00 a night.

I was feeling "okay" about it. I had been to the property once in the past and felt it was "okay". But at 64.00 a night I was not going to complain.

We took off around 6:30 or so on Friday night - check in was a breeze. The lobby is lovely and the staff is very friendly. The lobby was a good Southern California/Mexico flair. The property is very laid out and would be difficult for anyone with walking issues or a disability. Some of the buildings, like the one we were in has no elevator. Our room was on the second floor and when the door to the room was opened it definitely had the "musty" smell the comes with an older hotel. The room was up-to-date though and we thought would be fine. All the rooms over look a courtyard with a pool. There are several pools at this property, tennis courts, ping pong tables and shuffle board. There was a lovely fountain on one side of our room with a balcony. The gym was right down stairs and I hoped that it would not mean waking up early due to noise below.

We changed and headed right out to the peninsula in Newport Beach. We were STARVING. I knew we were going out for a nice meal so I had intentionally not eaten much all day. We went to the Cannery. I highly recommend it. It is the second time dh and I had been there and it did not disappoint. I ordered my favorite wine upon arrival and we had scrumptious appetizers and excellent seafood for dinner - they had tres creme brulee for desert so I could not resist! It was a GREAT start to our lovely weekend alone!

Not being party animals we headed back to the hotel and as always we enjoy seeing what good movies they had on pay per view and watched "Doubt" I had wanted to see it in the theater but missed it. A wonderful first night.

Of course I was up early - dh was sleeping in..so I headed over to the lobby with my book - it was a cool day and the lobby had starbucks and a cozy fire going. Perfect sleepy morning.. a little people watching, good coffee and my book. Life is good. The staff are extremely kind and friendly.

Dh called me around 9:00 and we headed over to the gym. The gym is a little small - about 6 pieces of cardio and a limited amount of weights but we managed to get in good work outs. Showered and headed out for breakfast but it was around 11:30 by now. We decided to go to Balboa Island. It is a quaint little "island" in the Newport Beach area. Delightful! Dh and I both commented we would love to live there someday after the kids are "gone" (that does happen right!?? LOL) -- We went to Wilma's on Marine street - the main drag - Jamboree turns into Marine as you head over a little bridge. We found parking with ease - and went into the fabulous, campy, beachy "Wilma's. It was love at first sight for both dh and I. Just what we wanted! Breakfast was again a hit - and the service was great. After breakfast we strolled around the Island, on the bay and then down the street going into the shops that I just adore. Dh was sweet to let me just wander. There is an organic olive oil shop which was sooo neat! I loved the sales person who had just returned from Rome and Florence so we had a blast talking about the two cities. I purchased some gifts for my Mom and we mosided along. Life is good.

We then drove to Corona Del Mar which really reminds me of the Bird Rock area of La Jolla. We enjoyed the view and ended up going into an Open House --- really a fabulous area.

Decided to head back to the hotel and take a nap

We also watched a movie "the Wrestler" - interesting film. I think I liked it a lot even though it was dark.

Decided to head across the way to Fashion Island - had a few g/c for PF Chang's. Another hit! Fashion Island is an amazing "mall" - I hesitate to refer to it as such because it is so lovely with Koi fish ponds... the architecture is unusual and the fountains through out just make it delightful. We strolled about after dinner - shopping a bit and just enjoying the beautiful views (You can see the ocean from spots) as well as the sky.

We headed back to the hotel and again strolled around a little - I wanted to be sure to get a good idea of the property and if we came back see if I wanted to request certain buildings. There appear to be a few two story villas that might work for a family. It is on the bay but really no room appeared to have much of a bayview. (I could be wrong but could not find one). The rooms in the lobby are more "traditional" in the sense that they are not all on a courtyard.

We watched yet another film "Traitor" which I was surprised was as good as it was - and were going to share some wine I had brought - but alas - I forgot the quark screw and neither one of us really wanted to deal with trying to get one from the lobby or the bellman.

This morning we arose and had to head back - so it was up and out - we stopped for bagels on the way home as I HATE to eat breakfast on a property if there is an alternative I generally find it to be one of the biggest rip offs at hotels..(jmo of course!)

One note - our valet charges for our car were 27.00 a night. Yikes. Almost 1/2 of what we paid for the room.

There are bikes that the hotel lets you use - which is a nice touch but you have to ride a little on Jamboree which is a REALLY busy road before you get over to Balboa Island.

Over all two thumbs up for the weekend

Hi MomDDTravel-

I'm so glad you got to get away and relaxed a bit. Funny you mentioned the Hyatt. I think that was my first ever Priceline win! This was exactly 6 years ago and I was a Priceline "virgin". We were going to Newport Beach for a wedding, and the groom basically told us exactly what to bid and how much to bid for (we didn't even know about bidding for travel). Anyway, we were just excited to get a 4* hotel for 2* prices!

Balboa Island is absolutely gorgeous. We went there the morning after the wedding, and that was just lovely. We haven't been back since, but now after reading your trip report, I feel like we need to go back soon!

Thanks for posting.

Thanks for reading YK I was not overly excited to get that Hyatt - but was thrilled for 64.00. I forget how much I love that area till I go back... if we end up staying in California - I hope we get to retire down there.

Hi MomDDTravel, we've done local weekends "away" a couple of times and found that even if "away" is only 24 hours, it's quite enough to recharge the batteries! We'll just stay in the city, have dinner, spend the night, get up, have breakfast and/or lunch out, do a little shopping and go home. Even if it's short, it's away from home, without the "burdens" of home - no planning, cooking, serving meals, no cleaning up, no errands to run -- so worth it! Glad it worked out for you.

sf7307 - I was VERY nervous about it as things got pretty heated here over the week with dh and stepson...and I was afraid it would just be a diaster. One thing about my dh that is wonderful is he said he refused to permit it to ruin our weekend away. At one point I figured I was just going to end up taking dd down there for the weekend and do a "girls" weekend..but we have had plenty of time together (she and I) and dh and I REALLY needed this. Based on the circumstances in our lives right now we promised each other to try to do this again over the summer - it really was pretty low budget over all and it was really needed.

We are blessed to live in an area that people flock to to vacation.

There were SO many different languages being spoken at the Hyatt and Fashion Island... amazing.

Dawn, I'm so glad you got away for a nice weekend with your DH. My DH and I have found some of the local quick weekends have been the best. I have never stayed at the Hyatt but have been there for receptions and meetings and your description is exactly what I thought it would be. As you say - a good deal for $64. I too enjoy the Cannery (I'm a creme brulee junkie) and Wilma's and Fashion Island. I never get tired of them. Hope life calms down for you soon.

Cali - thanks so much I do not think I would ever tire of them either. LIfe is life. It is what it is - just how we deal with it right?

Yes, the Hyatt is a good deal for 64.00 - I do not think I would have been happy if I had paid more. The nice thing about it only costing that much is the expectation is a little less.

$64/nt is a better deal than even the apartments close by . Even if the Hyatt didnt throw in heat/water/h2o/maid service and free coffee its a good deal.

Glad you had a good get-away! I chuckled at all the movies - 'cause I do the same thing

I almost did not share it Starrs..we are such dorks .

I wanted to share the website of the neat oil store we went to - www.oliveoilandbeyond.com it was a cool place!

I have never been to the oil store. Now I can't wait to go there. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. Thanks for sharing. We are dorks too - love to watch movies in hotel rooms when we are relaxing. It seems to be the only time we have time to watch them. Again, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the fun read, we also loved Fashion Island when we were there last 4th of July weekend! ***kim***

Kimamom - it is really a cool place Thanks for reading!