The 8 Best Luxury Hotels in Newport Beach

All eight have a pool, from the luxury resorts to the boutique hotels, and every one of them is outdoors. If you’re choosing your 5-star hotel in Newport Beach by its pool, the real decision is between ocean views, family fun and a quiet cabana.Surf & Sand Resort Laguna Beach · Orange CountyA pool like an amphitheater: The Coliseum Pool at The Resort at Pelican Hill Newport Coast is perfectly round, 136 feet across and only about three feet deep; it’s lined with 1.1 million hand-cut glass mosaic tiles, filled with saltwater and open to resort guests only. There’s also the Bella Vista Pool for guests of all ages and a separate pool at the Villa Club.

With an ocean view: At the Surf & Sand Resort Laguna Beach, you swim in a heated pool right by the ocean, with a hot tub next to it. The Paséa Hotel Huntington Beach has the Ninth Island Pool with a whirlpool, fire pits, cabanas and daybeds, and the 85-foot Edge pool at the VEA Newport Beach looks across the golf course to the coast.

For families: At the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, kids splash around the fenced Slyders family pool, with three waterslides, a baby pool, a hot tub and cabanas; two of the slides are for riders 48 inches and taller.

Quiet in a cabana: The Balboa Bay Resort rents poolside cabanas for two to 20 guests, the Lido House Newport Beach has a saltwater courtyard pool with private cabanas, and at the Pendry Newport Beach you lounge on a checkerboard deck, with a wellness cabana and sauna right by the pool.

Roman-inspired: At the spa at The Resort at Pelican Hill Newport Coast, men and women each have their own lounge with the Acqua Colonnade: a dry sauna, an aromatic steam room and a saltwater whirlpool; the spa is for guests 18 and over. The Balboa Bay Spa at the Balboa Bay Resort has whirlpools, steam rooms, saunas and a quiet lounge, plus a Drybar blow-dry salon; from Monday to Thursday, it’s also open to day guests.Paséa Hotel Huntington Beach · Pacific CityWith the Pacific in view: The Aquaterra Spa at the Surf & Sand Resort Laguna Beach has eight treatment rooms and an ocean-view couples’ room, plus yoga and wellness programs, for guests 16 and over. The Aarna Spa at the Paséa Hotel Huntington Beach takes its cue from Bali, with whirlpools, saunas and steam rooms, an open-air spa garden and a saltwater pool; Spas of America lists it among its Top 100.

At no extra cost: you pay the same rate as booking direct with the hotel – the suitespot benefits come on top, free of charge.

At Newport Center: Both luxury hotels there have their own spa, too. SPA VEA at the VEA Newport Beach has 14 treatment rooms, its own saltwater pool with cabanas and a yoga studio. Spa Pendry at the Pendry Newport Beach offers eucalyptus steam rooms, a cryotherapy chamber and a couples’ suite, and the weekly wellness classes are free for hotel guests.

Rates start at 281 € at the Paséa Hotel Huntington Beach in Huntington Beach and go up to 732 € at The Resort at Pelican Hill Newport Coast. In Newport Beach itself, prices start at 380 € at the Pendry Newport Beach at Newport Center and at 457 € at the Balboa Bay Resort on the harbor. The table shows all eight hotels by area; you’ll find today’s rates and availability in the hotel list further down.

What’s included everywhere: an upgrade on arrival, subject to availability (at the Hyatt Regency already at booking, not from room to suite), plus early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability. The benefits apply from the first night at every hotel.

Breakfast for two is included at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, the Pendry Newport Beach and the Lido House Newport Beach. In the villas at The Resort at Pelican Hill Newport Coast, two of you have breakfast at the Villa Club; in the bungalows, there’s a daily credit of $45 or $25, depending on the rate.

A daily breakfast credit for up to two people applies at the other hotels: $50 at the Paséa Hotel Huntington Beach, $43 at the Surf & Sand Resort Laguna Beach, $35 at the VEA Newport Beach and $20 at the Balboa Bay Resort.

The hotel credit is $100 at every hotel except the Lido House Newport Beach. At the Balboa Bay Resort, you can use it at the spa, for shopping and for dining; at The Resort at Pelican Hill Newport Coast, not in the shops. At the Paséa Hotel Huntington Beach, the Ocean View Studio, Oceanfront One Bedroom Suite and Pasea Penthouse come with an extra $100 from two nights, not combinable with promotions.

Points and status count at seven of the eight luxury hotels in and around Newport Beach: Marriott Bonvoy at The Resort at Pelican Hill Newport Coast, the Lido House Newport Beach and the VEA Newport Beach, I Prefer at the Surf & Sand Resort Laguna Beach, the Balboa Bay Resort and the Pendry Newport Beach, and World of Hyatt at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort. The Paséa Hotel Huntington Beach isn’t part of any program, so the suitespot benefits are what count there.

When it’s loveliest: In summer, all of Huntington Beach surfs and the beaches are busy until evening. In fall, the water is warm and the air clear; in winter, whales pass along the coast, and in December the Christmas boat parade of lit-up vessels cruises through the harbor. Book early for summer weekends and the nights of the boat parade.

How long to stay: For a 5-star hotel in Newport Beach, we recommend three nights – one day for the harbor and Balboa Island, one for Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach, and one for the pool, the spa or golf.