The Monterey Plaza Hotel is elegant and comfortable. I''ve stayed there several times and found it to be conveniently located and well appointed. There is a nice restaurant with decent if not outstanding food and bar that overlooks the bay, with a deck for balmy nights. You can sip a drink and watch the waves crash against the rocky coastline for hours.
The hotel hosts many meetings and conferences, so there really isn''t that "resort" sort of feeling about the place. The hotel has two ocean front buildings and one smaller building on the other side of Cannery Row, all connected by a bridge. You, of course, have to pay more for an ocean front room. I found the ocean front rooms to be, well, a little loud. There are seagulls going at it early in the morning and I found that the little building across the street to be really quiet. Something to keep in mind if you are finicky about sleeping arrangements. All of the rooms are very clean and nicely furnished, with terrific bathrooms, thick terrycloth robes and a well stocked mini-bar.