Fairmont Newport Beach


Newport Beach, California - Hotel Review

A Place For the Business-Minded

by Jeff Hoyt

The exterior of Fairmont Newport Beach in Southern California

When the Fairmont chain took over the former Sutton Place Hotel, they spent $32 million to renovate the business hotel less than a mile away from John Wayne International Airport. The result is a fine place that makes it easy to conduct business nearby, especially for those whose expense account can handle the Gold Floor.

Despite the Newport Beach name, you'll see a lot more concrete than sand and surf from your window. A trip to the beach is at least a ten-minute car ride away. The 440-room hotel, which includes 56 suites on its ten floors, is quite close to Irvine, home to many corporate headquarters. Road warriors will enjoy a lot of the nice touches offered in the completely redone rooms that feature rich woods and granite, including the 32-inch high-definition flat-panel televisions, DVD players and high-speed Internet access, and comfortable pillow-top mattresses. There are notepads by the elevators in case one is struck with a multi-million dollar idea while en route to the four-story-high atrium lobby, and workout bikes outside by the pool in case your Type A personality never allows you to completely relax. (Those people will also appreciate the plans to add Wi-Fi to the poolside cabanas.) For those who prefer to play rather than work around-the-clock, the well-equipped fitness center is open 24 hours.

Fairmont View Room	Sky Deck pool

Reservations on the Gold Floor not only gets you an upgraded room on the top floor but also free access to the many benefits of the Gold Lounge in the lobby: private and easy check-in and check-out, a buffet breakfast that offers traditional items as well as interesting dishes such as fruit pizza, non-alcoholic beverages all day, and hors d'oeuvres and desserts at night. There's also a game room with overstuffed chairs, CD and DVD library and Internet access, but the best perquisite of all is two free hours in the Salt Creek Room, a high-tech executive boardroom setting with a clubby feel that is sure to impress.

In an effort to attract vacationers interested in nearby Lido Island and Balboa Island for fun in the sun, or Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza for shop-till-you-drop, the hotel offers many weekend packages for couples and families, and even allows dogs. Weddings as well as meetings can be held in the ballrooms that take up some of the 22,000 square feet of meeting space, and couples regularly tie the knot in the Bamboo Garden outside. The new bambú Restaurant serves contemporary California cuisine with an emphasis on fresh seafood under twenty-foot bamboo trees.