I had planned a mid-May stay at Alila Marea in Encinitas but wound up with a free stay at the Seabird Resort in nearby Oceanside, California instead. Seabird opened a year ago as part of Hyatt’s Destination Hotels brand.
Base rooms were selling for over $400 per night during my stay. I was given the most comparable room on the property to the suite I originally booked, since the Alila sold out their entire property in two weeks.
I used points at Alila and a confirmed suite upgrade. I received a reservation for the Grand Estate Suite at the Seabird Resort after I returned my points. I had argued that the standard suites at Seabird were not comparable to the suites at Alila. TheEstate Suites weren't available at Seabird for my dates, but the top suite at the hotel was.
Seabird Resort is not on the beach. The hotel is across the street from the beach and offers beach service. The pool can get crowded at times. You will see families and kids at the property. If you want to avoid young children, there is a sister property called Mission Pacific that is more geared towards adults. The facilities can be used by guests.
The lobby of the hotel is beautiful. The design of the beach house is very similar to what you might find in Florida.
I left my car at the airport. When I moved from Alila to Hyatt Globalist, I was able to keep my free valet parking benefit. Even at 4:30 a.m., the parking was prompt. I went to Starbucks on the Pacific time zone. You can get an estimated wait time by requesting your car via text. When the car is available, you receive confirmation.
I walked to the front desk.
I was helped to my room. The Globalist benefits card was given to me. The card made it clear that the credit couldn't be used at Mission Pacific's High/Low next door. I would be leaving early on my last day so I didn't question their claim. It's not available as a resort.
The Grand Estate suite is the furthest walk from the hotel to a non-descript door.
You went from wow to wow inside the room. This is a two bedroom suite with two full bathrooms, a separate bar area, and effectively three balconies including two that overlook the pool and one huge one with multiple living areas looking out directly over the ocean.
There was a coffee station on the left side of the room. They offered Illy coffee and the machine was clean. The room was clean and new, but it still felt new to me. I wondered if they didn't use it a lot, but the rooms don't stay so clean.
The bar area is right inside the room and can be accessed from outside the suite via a separate door.
The large room had a dining room, work desk, and living room. The couch in the living room was large. Two metal water bottles that can be reloaded at a water station on each floor were on the desk. Guests can take the bottles with them.
The outdoor living space of the Seabird Resort Grand Estate Suite was the center of attention. There was a wraparound balcony and a separate balcony off of the second bedroom. The small area of the wraparound balcony had a round dining table with chairs.
The larger outdoor space had to be seen to be believed. It had multiple seating zones, a fireplace and even binoculars. It faced the ocean with no obstructions, as well as a long view down the coastline.
The main bedroom had windows on both sides of it. There was a small closet and entrance to the main bath in the hallway. Most of your time will be spent in the indoor and outdoor living areas of the suite because the bedroom is small.
The hallway is from the main living area to the main bedroom.
The bedroom itself.
The views from the main bedroom are great, but there is no balcony in the second bedroom.
The main bath has a soaking tub that is placed oddly. The bathroom has a second door that opens so you can look out. The tub is in the doorway. The tub is in the way so you can't walk into the bathroom from the bedroom.
The bathroom's night lights are bright, so you want to keep this door closed at night. If you go to the bathroom during the night, the entire bedroom will light up.
There is a large walk-in shower and dual sinks in the main bath.
There are two queen beds and a closet in the second bedroom. There is a balcony overlooking the pool.
Outside the second bedroom is the guest bathroom, which is meant to be used by whoever is staying there or for guests in the room. It also has a full shower.
At check-in, I was told that the rooms were only used for housekeeping once every four days. When we wanted to have them come at a different time, we had no problem calling for housekeeping and having them show up promptly. A beach resort needs to be clean every day. It seems like they are going back to this.
The restaurant was good for breakfast. Vaga restaurant was one of the highlights of Alila, but it was one of the most disappointing things. But she did not miss a beat.
During the week they offer off of the menu and on the weekend they have both their menu and a buffet. The Globalist breakfast benefit is $40 per person per day and should cover either ordering from the menu or the buffet.
Most of the views of the street are of the street, whereas High/Low at Mission Pacific has ocean views.
The menu is here.
There is hot food on offer as well, though these are a few photos from the buffet.
I was happy to order from the menu.
Alcoholic beverages are not included in the breakfast credit. The benefit was not mentioned at check-in or on the hotel's card. On our first day, I rounded up a lot for the tip and the full amount was removed. There was a bloody mary on the bill. The hotel told my concierge about the alcohol policy when I asked about it. It would have been nice if they told me.
The hotel pool was very family-friendly during the week. Young children will be playing. It is very busy on the weekend. Several locals were not staying at the hotel and not just coming over from Mission Pacific.
I picked this up from watching people being let into the pool area by staff rather than using key cards, and also seeing people leave the hotel directly from the pool. During the week when it wasn't as busy, the service at the pool was good.
The pool restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating, but I didn't eat there.
The Top Gun House is in front of Mission Pacific.
It was built in the 19th century and was once a vacation home for a doctor. In 1985 it was rented by Paramount for a movie. It is where Kelly McGillis, playing instructor Charlotte, lived.
The house was moved to make way for the resort project. The pie shop is now the High Pie.
The Seabird Resort had a fire alarm that went off on the last night of my stay. We were getting ready for an early night since we would be leaving the hotel around 5:30 a.m.
We left the room and went down the stairs. There wasn't a single hotel employee in charge of the process or communicating with guests.
After the fire alarm went off for a while, we walked around the front of the hotel and asked if it was safe to return. Staff were just at the desk going about their business and were perplexed, like of course it is.
Someone from the hotel should have been in charge of communication. We were never told what happened and no apology was offered.
Seabird feels more like a resort but is also going to have more families with young children, so I think you should choose Seabird over Mission Pacific. Mission Pacific has more suite types. The Mission Pacific pool is on the roof. You can use both properties as a guest of one of them. The hotel is on the corner of Mission and Pacific.
The hotels are located in the Oceanside area. It is still a surfer town, and surfing here is better than in Encinitas. The property is located in a more upscale area than I anticipated.
I was moved to the Seabird Resort after the Alila Marea hotel shut down for a private event. The suite I had at the Seabird was truly magnificent and was a lucky break. Food and service were excellent. I might not have stayed here otherwise.
I felt like I had a special stay despite a few minor quibbles. The Grand Ocean Suite isn't going to be the same as the Grand Estate Suite, but I will definitely return.
I decided to book my stay a year in advance because it was difficult to get a confirmed suite because there were only a few on the property. I received an email and a voicemail two weeks before I arrived.
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Hyatt loyalists can redeem points at the new Alila Marea Encinitas. It is a category 6 hotel with 25,000 points per night. I was able to confirm an upgrade to an ocean suite that costs $2000 per person.
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Hyatt is making changes to the hotel category every year, making some hotels more expensive and others less expensive, based on the room rates those hotels are projected to achieve. The changes will go into effect on March 22, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. Central.
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