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Alila Ventana Big Sur is one of the best Big Sur resorts in California, United States. Exactly one day before checking in, Hyatt’s mobile app showed that my standard 1 King Bed with Fireplace room got upgraded to their specialty room type: Big Sur Villa.
It’s worth noting that I am a World of Hyatt Globalist member. Generally speaking, I should have received an upgrade to Ventana’s standard Big Sur Suite, which is subject to availability. So being able to get upgraded all the way to the Big Sur Villa is quite nice.
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| Alila Ventana Big Sur Villa |
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Big Sur Villa at Ventana
Big Sur Villa at Alila Ventana Big Sur is a two-story villa. The villa is categorized by Ventana resort as a Specialty room type and spans 1,000 square feet with a living room downstairs and bedroom and bathroom upstairs.
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| Ventana Big Sur Villa |
Depending on your stay dates, the Big Sur Villa is typically priced at insanely $2,500 – $3,500 per night, all-inclusive before resort fees and taxes. You can, however, use World of Hyatt points to redeem for a free stay and hope that you will receive an upgrade.
Here’s a complete description of the Big Sur Villa:
The expanse of Big Sur is awe-inspiring and Ventana’s Big Sur Villas evoke a similar response, thanks to spacious bi-level accommodations with room to roam. Lounge on the full size sofa and light the wood burning fireplace for rustic ambience. Your king bed and a stone lined master bathroom a wait on the second floor. Private outdoor spaces on both levels provide the perfect setting for taking in stunning Big Sur views.
Big Sur Villa Highlights:
- Spacious living room with full-size sofa
- Second-floor bedroom
- Aromatherapy bath products
- In-room safe, phone, iron/ironing board, and hairdryer
- Binoculars, lanterns, and walking sticks
Big Sur Villa Based on Hyatt’s Description:
“This two-story villa spans 1,000 square feet and includes one king bed, a private deck with forest or ocean views, and a living room with a wood-burning fireplace.”
Room Amenities
- Individually-controlled heat and air conditioning
- Blackout curtains
- Hairdryer
- Branded bath toiletries
- Plush robes and slippers
- Coffeemaker
- Minifridge Iron and ironing board upon request
- In-room safe
- Daily newspaper upon request
Location
Big Sur Villa is located at the Meadow House, which is very close to the reception and the Social House at the resort.
There are two villas: Big Sur Villa 23 and 26. See the map below.
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| Alila Ventana Big Sur Map |
The villa that I was assigned to at the time was 23. The Villa 23 is neighbored with individual non-villa room types. Those rooms look pretty small, so I was grateful that our room was upgraded to the villa. Fortunately, we did not have neighbors when we were there. Villa number 26 actually interested me more because it looks like a stand-alone villa with no neighbors, so it can be more quiet and secluded. See the photo below.
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| The Third Unit is Two-Story Villa 23 (Upstairs & Downstairs), Adjacent to Individual Rooms The Fourth Unit is Two-Story Villa 26, which is Stand-Alone |
Villa Entrance
Villa 23 shared the big entrance with non-villa rooms. Alila Ventana Big Sur updated their room key to a cool interesting wooden Ventana logo key. You simply tap it on the villa’s door just like you usually do with the regular room key. At the end of your stay, you are welcome to keep those keys for souvenirs.
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| Ventana Big Sur Unique Room Key |
Living Room
Upon entering the villa, the staircase to get to the bedroom upstairs is to the left, which I will discuss more below.
The living room at the Big Sur Villa is quite spacious, and it comes with comfortable seats and a sofa bed. There are also tables, chairs, a sink with a minifridge stocked with non-alcoholic drinks, and a coffee maker. The villa also includes a lovely fireplace and an outside patio that looks at the lush green meadow field. We enjoyed sitting on the patio every morning with room-service breakfast and coffee/tea and watching birds.
The only downside of the living room is the AC fan is pretty loud and noisy.
The Alila Ventana Big Sur Villa’s Living Room Video & Photos:
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| Living Room Downstairs |
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| Living Room |
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| Small Dining Room |
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| Real Wood Fireplace |
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| Big Sur Villa Patio Downstairs With Room Service Breakfast |
Bedroom
You can find the Big Sur Villa’s bedroom upstairs. I love the high ceiling in the bedroom area, making the room is large and comfortable. There is a ceiling fan, but it also created loud noise when operated, so we did not turn the fan on at night. The bed and pillows are amazingly comfortable that you can expect a luxury stay. See the video and photos below.
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| High Ceiling Bedroom |
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| King Bed |
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| Bedroom |
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| Bedroom |
There’s also a balcony overlooking scenic trees and a partial ocean view outside the bedroom area. You may need to lean over to really see the ocean, though.
Bathroom
The bathroom at the Big Sur Villa is also located upstairs, adjacent to the bedroom. The bathroom consists of a private toilet, a walk-in shower, and a tub. While I did not really like the low pressure of the shower, I did love the double vanity sink. The overall layout really makes you feel at home.
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| Bedroom & Double Vanity Sink |
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| Shower & Bathtub |
Patio & Decks
The crazy thing about the Big Sur Villa is that it has one patio downstairs and two decks upstairs.
The downstairs patio is lovely and relaxing to enjoy bird watching and the meadow every morning with a cup of coffee or tea.
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| Downstairs Patio Overlooking Green Meadow |
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| Patio Downstairs Oceanview |
There are two decks upstairs, one is upfront, and the other is in the back. Both private decks overlook green forests and trees, but the front deck offers a partial ocean view. Each provides serenity and relaxation that one seeks to wind down and admire natures.
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| Front Bedroom Upstairs Deck |
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| Front Bedroom Upstairs Deck |
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| Upstairs Deck in the Back of Bedroom |
Summary
The Big Sur Villa at the Ventana Big Sur features a living room with a wood-burning fireplace downstairs, a bedroom with a high ceiling, and a bathroom with a walk-in shower and double vanity sink. The 1,000 square feet Big Sur Villa is really big, making it very comfortable to stay in and making you feel at home. The villa also comes with a total of three private outside decks with one patio downstairs outside of the living room and two private balconies upstairs with forest views and a partial ocean view.
Overall, I am very grateful that we received a complimentary upgrade from the standard small room type to the spacious two-story Big Sur Villa to experience. Whether the Big Sur Villa is worth the price tag of $3,000 per night or not, I will have to disagree with that. Thankfully, I redeemed 30,000 World of Hyatt points per night for a total of 3 free nights stay, and all food and non-alcoholic beverages are included, so that was a really great use of Hyatt points redemption.
