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Just spent a couple days at Marbrisa on Open Season. There are now 3 construction areas. I was told that there will be buildings going all the way around the new pool area. At the moment, there is only one building complete there. Check in is still in the old building. I asked about renting a cabana and they were unsure of what to do. They said last they knew, it was a commitment to spend $100. at the pool bar/food place to reserve the cabana, but that it was run by the Sheraton. Since I knew we would spend that much eating lunch and dinner there, I told her we wanted it. She called me later and said it was reserved for me and that $100. food charge was still the same.
We arrived Friday evening pre "special event" at the Sheraton next door. The parking lot was crazy and there were valets, parking attendants and security all over the place. Checking in was great. We had the sweetest young lady at the front desk. She said that the chaos outside was for the Switchfoot concert on the lawn right next to where we were. I was surprised that Switchfoot would play such a small venue, but it was a fundraiser and then I remembered that Switchfoot were surfers from Carlsbad. So, they were probably very comfortable performing outside at a hotel right there in their hometown.
We got our pool wristbands from the concierge. I must mention that we were the only people who had wristbands at the pool and the gate is not locked going into the pool. I don't think they are very concerned with wristbands, even though they give them out. She also gave us coupons for dining out. I saved them because I do enjoy Carlsbad as often as I can. The concierge was also very friendly and she didn't push an update. She said that she could tell that we have visited there a number of times before and asked if we know about all the new stuff going into phase 2. Then, she said based on where our room was, we could put our patio chairs outside in front of the front doors and enjoy the concert for free. I was really into either doing that or trying to buy tickets for the event, but my husband didn't seem interested and I didn't push it. We tend to wander around when we go places and find stuff to do. Although, had I known about the concert ahead of time, I probably would have bought tickets online.
We put stuff in our room and then walked around. I mentioned buying tickets for the concert and my husband didn't say anything he kept walking past it, so I took that as a no. I love rock concerts. He doesn't, but has suffered through a number of them for me in the past. I think we are past that part of our lives now. We walked all the way over to the new pool area. We got to the pool bar at 7:30pm and the bartender told us that they close at 8:00pm. I ordered a turkey burger and fries and we had a couple drinks, sat by the fire and played a round of pool. At 8:00pm, a Disney movie was being shown on a large screen and it was loud. The area is huge, but there are speakers all around it. The good news is that you could see and hear the movie from far away. The bad news it was hard to have a conversation.
WHen we were walking back, the concert was going. We watched for a song on the other side of the bushes like peeping toms. It was a very small venue and it wasn't close to being too crowded. The sound system was great. They sounded excellent. We walked back to our room and I moved my patio chair to the front so I could listen some more. There were only a couple more songs but it was very nice.
BTW, our room was right behind the car rollercoaster at Legoland. We were really into it when we first checked in. We tired of hearing the screams after a while, though.
We arrived Friday evening pre "special event" at the Sheraton next door. The parking lot was crazy and there were valets, parking attendants and security all over the place. Checking in was great. We had the sweetest young lady at the front desk. She said that the chaos outside was for the Switchfoot concert on the lawn right next to where we were. I was surprised that Switchfoot would play such a small venue, but it was a fundraiser and then I remembered that Switchfoot were surfers from Carlsbad. So, they were probably very comfortable performing outside at a hotel right there in their hometown.
We got our pool wristbands from the concierge. I must mention that we were the only people who had wristbands at the pool and the gate is not locked going into the pool. I don't think they are very concerned with wristbands, even though they give them out. She also gave us coupons for dining out. I saved them because I do enjoy Carlsbad as often as I can. The concierge was also very friendly and she didn't push an update. She said that she could tell that we have visited there a number of times before and asked if we know about all the new stuff going into phase 2. Then, she said based on where our room was, we could put our patio chairs outside in front of the front doors and enjoy the concert for free. I was really into either doing that or trying to buy tickets for the event, but my husband didn't seem interested and I didn't push it. We tend to wander around when we go places and find stuff to do. Although, had I known about the concert ahead of time, I probably would have bought tickets online.
We put stuff in our room and then walked around. I mentioned buying tickets for the concert and my husband didn't say anything he kept walking past it, so I took that as a no. I love rock concerts. He doesn't, but has suffered through a number of them for me in the past. I think we are past that part of our lives now. We walked all the way over to the new pool area. We got to the pool bar at 7:30pm and the bartender told us that they close at 8:00pm. I ordered a turkey burger and fries and we had a couple drinks, sat by the fire and played a round of pool. At 8:00pm, a Disney movie was being shown on a large screen and it was loud. The area is huge, but there are speakers all around it. The good news is that you could see and hear the movie from far away. The bad news it was hard to have a conversation.
WHen we were walking back, the concert was going. We watched for a song on the other side of the bushes like peeping toms. It was a very small venue and it wasn't close to being too crowded. The sound system was great. They sounded excellent. We walked back to our room and I moved my patio chair to the front so I could listen some more. There were only a couple more songs but it was very nice.
BTW, our room was right behind the car rollercoaster at Legoland. We were really into it when we first checked in. We tired of hearing the screams after a while, though.
At one point, the chef came out to go over all the food items with my husband because he has so many dietary restrictions. Really good service, decent food and decent prices. I asked for a raspberry margarita and he actually smashed up fresh raspberries and made the drink for me even though they have a mix already made up. OMG, it was soooo good. He told us the staff there all work at Twenty/20 grille and they rotate down by the pool. We've had excellent experiences at Twenty/20 in the past. This was consistent. 
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