# At Laguna Surf now.  My unit is definitely an older one



## Greg G (Jun 29, 2018)

I'm at Laguna Surf now for the 4th of July week.  As expected I didn't get an ocean front unit, but a unit facing PCH 1  (unit 203).  Balcony on second floor opens out to PCH 1.  Plus my large bedroom window opens to the main lobby area.  So not much privacy unless you close all the curtains.  Unit is definitely dated.  Not sure how it compares to the ocean side units in terms of refurbishment.  Good thing is the resort is right on the beach and perfect for viewing the fireworks show about a mile away.

See the attached pictures.


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## Greg G (Jun 29, 2018)

Not only that but apparently everything is attached to the ceiling   (Argg on my picture attachments uploads)


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## Greg G (Jun 29, 2018)

The maids however did a nice job of trying to spruce up the place.

Greg


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## Greg G (Jun 29, 2018)

Right side up this time, hopefully


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## mjm1 (Jun 30, 2018)

Greg, sorry to hear that you were assigned to a unit on the street rather than an ocean view. I know that Emmy loves the resort, but is always hopeful of getting an ocean view unit. It is in a nice location and easy walking distance to the shops and restaurants. And right above the beach of course. Enjoy your time in Laguna.

Best regards.

Mike


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## VegasBella (Jun 30, 2018)

I’ve stayed there and it was acceptable. But yes an ocean view would be much better. 

Laguna Beach has some of the most amazing tidepools. Be sure to check them out if you like nature. 


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## Greg G (Jun 30, 2018)

When I checked in I asked the manager " Probably very unlikely that I could upgrade to an ocean view unit?", and got the expected answer confirming nothing available.  Yes, checking out the tidepools was on my list.  Mostly going to visit the parks, and site see along PCH.  Lots of people out yesterday at the beaches once the sun finally came out.  I drove up PCH to Long beach while waiting for my unit to be ready as I arrived very early (10:00 am).  So many long stretches of beaches.  Got caught in traffic coming back south to Laguna beach.  Have not had to use the AC as looks like temps to be in the low 70s most of the time I'll be here  (can't really open my widows due to being on the PCH side of the resort).

Greg


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 30, 2018)

So are they doing refurbs at Laguna Surf?  I know iconnections owns there, and she would know about any remodels/updates they are doing.  It looks nice to me, even though the furniture is all on the ceiling. 

I am sure people come into our home resort in Colorado and think our place is a dump, compared to the Hilton and Marriott units, but it's what I bought, and we do what we can to keep it up as an HOA.  I am on the BOD and it's a constant money drain to fix the place up like new.  And even so, people will complain no matter what we do.


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## silentg (Jun 30, 2018)

Looks cozy!


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## Luanne (Jun 30, 2018)

It's in Laguna Beach.  How bad can it be? 

If you haven't gone before, or even if you have, try to catch the Paegent of the Masters.  Amazing!

https://www.foapom.com/


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## Greg G (Jun 30, 2018)

Unfortunately, Pagent of the Masters starts the 7th, and I leave on the 6th.   I'm probably confusing this resort with another in regard to renovations so disregard my remarks on that.  I guess I'm a little upset that there is a bus stop right below my unit,  even though I knew I was going to be on the street side (that and seeing what a great view people have on ocean side units).  The unit works fine for me Some how I had it in my head that it would be newer.   I thought I was going to have a problem with the bed but actually slept fine in it.  

Greg


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## silentg (Jun 30, 2018)

Can you walk to the beach from the timeshare? I like OV but if I can walk to the beach it doesn’t matter. Usually sit on the beach if we are close by.
Enjoy it sounds and looks nice by the photos!
Silentg


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 30, 2018)

The beach is on the other side of the resort.  It's a beautiful beach, too.  

Laguna Shores is another resort nearby.  I am pretty sure iconnections owns at Surf.  I could be backwards on that.


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## Greg G (Jun 30, 2018)

Just complaining in my old age I guess.   Also I didn't mean to imply the unit was a dump as it is definitely not.


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## Greg G (Jun 30, 2018)

Yes, it does have a nice beach on the other side (darn it)


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## taffy19 (Jul 1, 2018)

rickandcindy23 said:


> The beach is on the other side of the resort.  It's a beautiful beach, too.
> 
> Laguna Shores is another resort nearby.  I am pretty sure iconnections owns at Surf.  I could be backwards on that.


Cindy, I am supposed to be taffy19 now but still seem to have the identity of iconnections too???  I don’t know why but I replied earlier and it disappeared again.  This happens all the time so have given up.  One more try for you. 

We were here during New Year’s Eve week and a few weeks ago again.

Since then, the bathrooms were refurbished and the carpet torn out and replaced by a wooden looking floor in the living area and carpet replaced in the bedroom plus the sofa and chairs redone and coffe table replaced.  The kitchen is still the same as before.

The condos are very tiny but we love this timeshare resort and certainly on the oceanfront and the location most of all. 

We would sell all our other timeshare beach resorts if they were fixed week/units here but they are not.


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## taffy19 (Jul 1, 2018)

Greg G said:


> Just complaining in my old age I guess.   Also I didn't mean to imply the unit was a dump as it is definitely not.


Hi Greg, I am really sorry that you ended up on the street side and are very disappointed but this is one of their busiest weeks in Laguna.

I am also disappointed for you that you missed the Pageant of the Masters by a single day.

I still recommend this boat trip to you but that may be sold out too. 

https://www.dolphinsafari.com/


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 1, 2018)

taffy19 said:


> Cindy, I am supposed to be taffy19 now but still seem to have the identity of iconnections too???  I don’t know why but I replied earlier and it disappeared again.  This happens all the time so have given up.  One more try for you.


I think I knew you name changed to Taffy something, which was the name of your beloved cat. I knew you would want to comment on your beloved Laguna Surf.


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## Greg G (Jul 1, 2018)

Ok, I'm changing my initial assessment.  The units are not old and dated, and after two days they're growing on me. I think my initial impression was because the faux wood floor reminded me of a darker and dusty 1 bedroom unit I stayed in at Glacier National Park for two days that had a very similar floor.  The walls are a nice light shell color.   For a beach area, I'm guessing you have to use someting hard for a floor (like tile, or linoleum, or faux wood) otherwise it deteriorates too quickly from sand getting into it.  So it was a good idea that they did pull out the carpet and put that down instead.  Plus it's much easier to cleanup.  The bathrooms do have nice tile in them and are big. For privacy I decided to just pull the shear drapes closed, and it still lets in plenty light. 

Yeah, when I talked to the manager I also added "I guess I'm probably lucky just to get a unit at the resort this 4th of July week,much less an ocean view unit ",  and he smiled and agreed.
I'll check out that dolphin tour.  Not sure but I'm guessing this isn't the season for whale tours?

Walked down to Shaw's cove this morning to walk around the tide pools there.  Pretty neat.  Got some decent pictures.  Lots of divers out that morning too.  Also was a good time to see what all shops and restaurants there were while walking down and back.
Think I'll try and grab an umbrella and beach chair and walk down to the beach today.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Greg


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## taffy19 (Jul 1, 2018)

Greg, try this log here and from there go see the current sightings on Facebook or Twitter.

https://www.dolphinsafari.com/sightingslog

Since so many people bring "service" dogs today that shouldn't be there, the Board decided to have a vote to rip the carpets out and put the fake wooden floors in.  I wished it were real wood but our maintenance fees are way too low to pay for that.

I keep telling the Board that the location warrants higher maintenance fees so that we could afford more luxurious soft and hard goods in the condos but the units will still stay very small as that cannot be changed but we like it anyway as it is and can hardly wait to return again.

I hope that you will enjoy the fireworks and all the other activities in Laguna Beach.  There were no fireworks at New Year's Eve and I was a little disappointed but we will have great fireworks here and we will enjoy that too.

Happy Fourth of July to you!


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## Greg G (Jul 1, 2018)

Thanks for the link to Capt Dave's.  Booked the Dolphin and Whale watch tour for tuesday early morning. 

Seen 3 fire trucks in the last 2 days going down PCH.  During my early walk to Shaw's cove passed by 1 young woman proclaiming "no one really has freedom" repeatedly in a very loud voice, and a man proclaiming "Steve Jobs was brilliant" but didn't catch the rest of what he was saying.   Very few people out around 7:30 in the morning.

Hope you have a great 4th too.

Greg


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## SmithOp (Jul 2, 2018)

Be sure to stop by for a gelato at Dolce, I go every visit, and that is often because we live 30 min away. 

I enjoy getting a gyro at Adonis and walk up to the bluff park for some artist and tourist watching.


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## Greg G (Jul 2, 2018)

SmithOp said:


> Be sure to stop by for a gelato at Dolce, I go every visit, and that is often because we live 30 min away.
> 
> I enjoy getting a gyro at Adonis and walk up to the bluff park for some artist and tourist watching.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info.   That does sound good.  

Sat out on the beach today a bit and just relaxed.  

Greg


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## dougp26364 (Jul 3, 2018)

We did the dolphin/whale tour last March, although I don't recall which company. It was out of Balboa Pier is all I recall. It was a nice tour but not like the whale watching tours we've been on in Alaska or Hawaii. We were taking friends with us and they were excited just to see the few whales we did see (followed a pair of grey whales for several miles). While not spectacular, at least for us, it was a nice relaxing boat ride with the ability to see several dolphin and watch a couple of whale breech and occasionally show us their flukes. For the price (we had a groupon for $15/per person) it was a great excursion.


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## b2bailey (Jul 3, 2018)

Greg, I am relating to your visit, and feelings about resort. When I recently stayed at Wave Crest in Del Mar CA I went with high expectations. I am a GPX owner and did exchange through them. Felt that I was assigned the most undesirable unit in the place. I knew I could just walk outside a few steps to see Pacific Ocean, but the street/parking lot view from inside unit was disappointing.


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## Greg G (Jul 3, 2018)

Went on Captain Dave's Whale and Dolphin tour this morning.  Saw lots of dolphins but no whales.

Greg


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## taffy19 (Jul 3, 2018)

Luck is not with you, Greg.  I hope that you still enjoyed the ocean tour.

There was another thread about Laguna Beach where you posted a message but you will no longer be there to see the releasing of their patients but you can visit their center most any day.  That may be interesting too to you since you live far away from the ocean. 

https://www.pacificmmc.org/hours-and-directions/


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## Greg G (Jul 3, 2018)

The tour was still fun, as the dolphins were very close to the boat.   Thanks for the link to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

Greg


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## Greg G (Jul 3, 2018)

SmithOp said:


> Be sure to stop by for a gelato at Dolce, I go every visit, and that is often because we live 30 min away.
> 
> I enjoy getting a gyro at Adonis and walk up to the bluff park for some artist and tourist watching.
> 
> ...




Wow, had Black Forest (berry) and Mango Sorbet.  That was very tasty.

Greg


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## Greg G (Jul 4, 2018)

So getting up early to go see the tide pools at Woods Cove, I encountered more creatures than expected.  There was a young woman in a bikini with her photographer doing a photo shoot in one of the larger tide pools.  Didn't see that in the literature on tide pools 
Woods cove has pretty neat tide pools.  Brimming with fish and crabs, anemones.

Greg


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## Greg G (Jul 4, 2018)

Beach is packed with people today, both for normal beach suff  and getting a spot for the fireworks tonight.


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## SmithOp (Jul 5, 2018)

Greg G said:


> Wow, had Black Forest (berry) and Mango Sorbet.  That was very tasty.
> 
> Greg



Her flavors are so authentic, I don’t know how she does it, nothing artificial tasting.  I’m a chocaholic so I go for the Ferro Rocher paired with Pistachio.

There is a young lady that does her signs free hand, amazing artist.


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## Greg G (Jul 5, 2018)

Fireworks were pretty good although I think they expected more of a breeze to blow the smoke away.  The smoke started to obscure the fireworks that were shot higher up in the sky than the lower ones.  Neat to see the town to the north and to the south of Laguna shoot off their fireworks at about the same time, so that you could see fireworks up and down the coast.

Not sure if this link works but here is smartphone video of some of the fireworks from the top of Laguna Surf resort.  The fireworks were about 0.8 miles away from where we were.
(click on the video once to get full screen then click on the setting gear wheel, and select the 720 resolution for playback otherwise it defaults to 360 )

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ChgMwADsuCqzqipY8


Greg


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## Greg G (Jul 5, 2018)

So after staying a week at the resort, I like it.   It's centrally located to the downtown area, main beach, and shops and restaurants,  and I was able to walk to two of the tide pools, Shaws cove and Woods cove,  from the resort in approx 25 minutes.  You can walk down a flight of steps to the beach behind the resort and it was not crowded at all there (short of the day of the 4th where it was a little more crowded than normal).  Granted it would have been nicer to have an ocean view unit, but all in all it's a good resort to stay at,  Nice tile walk ways at the resort.  Manager and staff were very helpful and their front desk was available the entire week from 8-5 ( 8-10 on Friday checkin/out day).  Housekeeping came in during mid week to make up the bed, refresh the towels which was nice.  Ralphs grocery store is like a block or so  away.  For checkout you don't need to strip the bed, or put used bathroom towels in a pile, or start the dishwasher, as housekeeping will do that (which is better than the normal timeshare routine of you doing that).   If you have to check out early, it's no big deal, as you get to keep your key cards (no need to drop them off)
Top floor area was nice for viewing fireworks.  Thougt it would be more crowded up there that night but it was fine.  I scoped out my lounge chair about 1 1/2 hours early at the top floor spa area, but probably could have come up later than that and still been ok finding a space. 



Greg


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## Harry (Jul 12, 2018)

Yes, Laguna Surf is one of a kind. We actually toured years ago when first developed and we owned at Laguna Shores. I have tried yo trade there for years unsuccessfully. Nice posts. 

Harry


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## SmithOp (Jul 18, 2018)

Stopped in yesterday for a gelato, took this pick of the special flavors board to show what the artist can do with a little chalk.  I had the Ziggy, yum.







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## Greg G (Jul 18, 2018)

Wow, that's some artwork.

Greg


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## Greg G (Jul 18, 2018)

Pics of a few surfers the 2nd to last day I was there.  Taken from the sunset observation deck at Laguna Surf   (pretty much full zoom on my camera)


 

 

 

 

 





A few more tide pool pics





 




During Dolpin tour


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## Greg G (Jul 18, 2018)




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## Greg G (Jul 18, 2018)




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