The Mission Pacific Hotel (along with its sister property next door the Seabird Resort), is one of the newest hotels in the California Hyatt portfolio.
Not one to miss out on a new Hyatt beach resort in SoCal, I recently had the opportunity to check it out.
Review: Mission Pacific Hotel (Oceanside, CA)
About The Mission Pacific Hotel
Just up the coast from the Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas is the Joie de Vivre (JDV) branded Mission Pacific Hotel, an upscale, beachfront property surrounded by the beach town of Oceanside, California.
Oceanside, once a sleepy little town best known for its proximity to Camp Pendleton, is now known as a destination in its own right representing a microcosm of everything awesome that California beach life has to offer. There’s surfing, swimming, shopping, breweries, and fine dining – and that’s just what’s close to the pier.
Oh, and did I mention the “Top Gun house” is located at the Mission Pacific Hotel now as well?
Location & Parking
The Mission Pacific Hotel is located on Mission Ave and North Myers St, across from Rotary Park and the Oceanside Pier.
The town of Oceanside itself is located in North San Diego County – just South of Camp Pendleton and North of Carlsbad. For reference, the Mission Pacific Hotel is located about one hour North of Downtown San Diego and most of the main tourist attractions.
There is a valet circle at the front entrance where parking will run you $44 per night (complementary for Hyatt Globalists).
FHOP Tip – If valet parking for $44 per night is not your thing, there is also the option of parking in the public parking lot across Myers St. (near the railroad) for a lesser fee. There is no security in that parking lot, so parking is at your own risk.
The valet area
The public parking lot
World of Hyatt Booking & Redemption
The nightly rate during our stay started at $496.99 USD (plus taxes and fees) for a “1 King Bed” room.
However, because the Mission Pacific Hotel was a World of Hyatt Category 5 property, I booked the room for 20,000 points (for which there was a Chase World of Hyatt card refund promotion for 25% points at JDV hotels – meaning it only cost me 15,000 per night for a room).
This was an excellent redemption value for Hyatt points of 2.5 CPP before the JDV promotion (3.3 CPP with the promotion).
Arrival & Courtyard
After leaving our car with the valet, we walked toward the entrance near the outer edge of the lush courtyard garden.
The Lobby
Instantly upon entering the hotel we noticed the Mission Pacific Hotel had its own delightful proprietary sent pumped through the hotel (which smelled great).
The lobby was large and well-organized, attractively decorated with wooden browns and sandy beiges and perfectly placed plants providing the lively green accents.
There was a small lounge area near the front desk with interesting artwork of what appeared to be pink ocotillo plants somewhere in the local landscape of the SoCal desert.
Front Desk & Check-In
We were greeted by name and welcomed to the hotel at the front desk.
We were recognized for our World of Hyatt Globalist status and informed we’d been given an upgrade to a higher floor with an “excellent view”.
Room Key
Elevator Area
Artwork inside of the elevator
The Bridge & Hallway
As we took the elevator up and entered the hallway, we realized getting to our room required a long walk to the other side of the hotel (and over the footbridge with the view of the Oceanside Pier).
View of the Oceanside Pier from the bridge
Hallway Artwork
Room Entrance
The 1 King Room (Upgrade)
Right off-the-bat, we were impressed with the room.
My first impression was that this room was very much like a “little sister” of sorts to the room we had at the Alila Marea Beach Resort.
Bedroom
The decor aesthetic of braided lightwoods, blue-grays and beiges, and frosted glass and glowing orb lighting perfectly suited the room and screamed “Coastal SoCal”.
The room was elegantly decorated and immaculately cleaned with one of the most comfortable beds I can remember.
Living Area
Room Amenities
As far as the room amenities go, the room was stocked with [mostly] local artisan snacks, juices, and alcoholic beverages.
There was also an Illy coffee machine (which is my personal favorite in-room coffee machine).
Complimentary Water Bottles & Water Bar
Another touch that we really appreciated was the complementary metal water bottles.
Near the elevators, there was an alkaline water bar where we could fill up our metal bottles. There were two spigots; one for room temperature water and one for iced water.
This is NOT in the room, but near the elevators
Closet
Bathroom
Like the rest of the room, we were really impressed with the bathroom area. There was a full walk-in shower, a sink area with electronic controls built-into the mirror, a water closet, and perhaps the highest quality bathrobes and slippers I’ve ever seen at a Hyatt hotel.
The shower was outfitted with communal bottles of the Pharmacopia brand’s Argan Oil Collection.
Balcony
Just like they said at check-in, we had an amazing view of the pier, the beach, and the sunset.
We found ourselves hanging out on the balcony morning, noon, and night.
We even got to watch a surf competition and its award ceremony. For whatever reason, the strip below on North Pacific Street seems to be the place for low-riders to cruise on the weekend and they put on some interesting shows.
View From The Room
From our room, we could look down on to the “Top Gun House”, which (as the name implies) is literally the house from the 1980’s Top Gun movie. I read the hotel paid upwards of $1,000,000 to relocate the house to to this property, and I’ve been told the plan is to turn the house into an ice cream shop.
The Top Gun House
Sunset
Morning
In Room Magazine (& Room Service Menu)
Breakfast
For breakfast, we headed downstairs to use our complimentary Globalist breakfast benefit at the High/Low restaurant.
The menu consisted of some lattes, a green juice, a quesadilla, and the chili keyless.
Overall, I’d say the High/Low had a great outdoor beachfront location with great service, although food was good but not great.
The High/Low Quesadilla ($10)
The Huevos Rancheros ($14)
Vanilla Latte ($5)
Green Juice ($8)
Walking The Property Exterior
The bar at High/Low
The Top Gun House
Valle Restaurant
FHOP Tip: A walk up Mission St. will take you to the newly-developed downtown area with plenty of high-end and low-dining, popular spots include Craft Coast Beer and Tacos, Harney Oceanside Lounge, and Breakwater Brewing Co. Also, don’t forget to check out Mission Pacific’s sister hotel, the Seabird Resort, where you can eat and drink and charge it to your room at Mission Pacific Hotel.
The Oceanside Pier
The Oceanside Pier is worth checking out, as are the “surfer beaches” nearby.
Just just after sunrise, we headed to check out the Oceanside Pier which was bustling with surfers, fisherman, and people out for their morning jog.
The Bottom-Line Review: Mission Pacific Hotel (Oceanside, CA)
We were pleasantly surprised by our excellent stay at Mission Pacific Hotel, and equally pleasantly surprised by the seaside town of Oceanside, which made us feel like we stumbled upon one of SoCal’s best kept secrets. When you think of California beaches, chances are you’re thinking of a place that looks exactly like Oceanside.
The hotel appeared brand new, the service was excellent, the rooms were excellent, and the overall vibe was that of a perfect “California vacation”.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the Mission Pacific Hotel for first-time tourists to San Diego (or Southern California for that matter) as it is quite far (over an hour’s drive) to the main tourist attractions of San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles.
I would highly recommend the Mission Pacific Hotel for Californians looking for a “staycation”, couples looking for a romantic getaway, and families looking to stay busy with family-friendly activities.
Final Rating: 9 out of 10
