Where to stay along coast?

[michelle1]

We will be in San Francisco for a few days in July and then heading down to DL with some overnights in between. I had originally planned to spend a night in Monterey but I can't find any hotels with availability (under $300). Can anyone suggest some places between San Fran and Anaheim that would be a good place to spend the night that has some decent hotels. We will be leaving SF mid day so we won't want to drive any more than 4 hrs that day and we were planning to drive along the coast.

 

[Claire L]

Carmel is a nice little stop over or maybe Pismo Beach but not sure if that can be done in 4 hours along the coast. In 2003 we stayed at the Carmel Mission Inn and although by the main road it was a nice little hotel, the bonus being the mall opposite as it had a few nice restuarants. As for Pismo Beach also in 2003 we stayed at the Shore Cliff Lodge and the views over the cliffs was fantastic and you could hear the waves crashing against the cliff. The pool was great and some restaurants nearby were lovely.

Claire

 

[honeymom]

Carmel definitely has many small motels with less expensive rooms. Not fancy, but nice. Also, next to Monterey is Pacific Grove. You may be able to find something reasonable here. We love the bed and breakfasts there (got engaged there), but there are also some motels if you prefer.

Close to San Simeon is Cambria. The Moonlight Beach area of Cambria is lovely. We like to stay at the Fogcatcher Inn.

 

[woody73]

. . . Also, next to Monterey is Pacific Grove.

We enjoy staying in Pacific Grove.

Woody

 

[Jynohn]

Close to San Simeon is Cambria. The Moonlight Beach area of Cambria is lovely. We like to stay at the Fogcatcher Inn.

We just reserved the Fogcatcher Inn for our first California trip this July. We had read great reviews on TripAdvisor. Glad to read another good review here.

 

[Hound 109]

We just reserved the Fogcatcher Inn for our first California trip this July. We had read great reviews on TripAdvisor. Glad to read another good review here.

Another vote for Cambria for an overnight. Minimum 2 days between Monterey & Santa Barbara.

- 100 drop dead beautiful miles between Monterey & Cambria.
- Elephant Seals.
- Hearst Castle.
- Moonstone Beach. (several nice little inns/motels.)
- Big Sur.
- Cambria.
- Morro Bay & Rock.
- SLO.
- Pismo.
- Winerys.

Here's a neat link of the central coast.

http://www.centralcoast.com/

 

[michelle1]

Another vote for Cambria for an overnight. Minimum 2 days between Monterey & Santa Barbara.

- 100 drop dead beautiful miles between Monterey & Cambria.
- Elephant Seals.
- Hearst Castle.
- Moonstone Beach. (several nice little inns/motels.)
- Big Sur.
- Cambria.
- Morro Bay & Rock.
- SLO.
- Pismo.
- Winerys.

Here's a neat link of the central coast.

http://www.centralcoast.com/

Thanks for the link! The dilemma I seem to be having is the 2 night minimum. I can't seem to find anywhere that's not and we don't want to spend 2 nights in the same spot since once we leave San Francisco we only have a couple days before we need to arrive in Anaheim.

 

[Hound 109]

There are (i think) 6-8 motel/b&bs on Moonstone Beach Dr. in Cambria. Do they all require 2 night minimum?

A bunch of them are here. (i really want to go back there.....it's been 4-5 years.)

http://www.cambria-online.com/lodging/


(Also lots of motels in Morro Bay, 10 - 15 miles south of Cambria.......& in SLO, 30-40 miles south of Cambria. I bet some of them would allow one night stay.)

Good luck. (& google/you tube elephant seals in San Simeon.....amazing critters.)

.

 

[ekmom]

Two years ago we stayed at the Monterey Bay Lodge and at Best Western Fireside Inn on Moonstone Beach (in Cambria). Neither place was fancy but both were clean and pleasant. If you are in Monterey on Tuesday, the farmer's market is fun.

 

[michelle1]

Two years ago we stayed at the Monterey Bay Lodge and at Best Western Fireside Inn on Moonstone Beach (in Cambria). Neither place was fancy but both were clean and pleasant. If you are in Monterey on Tuesday, the farmer's market is fun.

Thanks for the suggestion but they both require a 2 night minimum. I think pretty everywhere requires 2 nights until SLO so we may have to stay there.

 

[ncbyrne]

What's SLO?

 

[mamacatnv]

What's SLO?

San Luis Obispo I assume

 

[Claire L]

The Cramel Mission Inn looks to have good rates for May, I can't see July being too much more as May is max of $169 for brd and breakfast. But they are only booking until end of May at the moment.

Claire

 

[StormalongKay]

If you stick to the chains, you won't run into the 2 night minimum. We drove to Monterey at the end of a full day in SF (about 2hrs) and stayed in a Marriott Courtyard. Woke up the next morning and did the aquarium for 1/2 day - not to be missed if you have kids. We then drove to Solvang. Saw Hearst castle and Cambria along the way but wanted to get further down towards Santa Barbara. Solvang was a cute town but everything was closed when we arrived around 8:30 pm. Tried one of the local hotels and it was terrible. The Marriott in Santa Ynez would have been a better bet - it was new and right off of rt 1. We left Solvang early the next morning and were in Anaheim by 2pm.

 

[Juliah]

We drove up the coast last June, from Anaheim to Monterey. We stayed two places.

First was Santa Barbara. I really liked Santa Barbara, but the hotels were pricey, even the Holiday Inn Express we stayed at. It would be too far from San Francisco for you, too.

The second place we stayed was the Best Western Fireside Inn on Moonstone Beach (Cambria), and we thought it was nice. Apparently there was no 2-night minimum, as we only stayed one night. Before we checked out, we walked across the road to the boardwalk along the ocean--very pretty. A simple continental breakfast was included.

 

[Lizzybear]

We stayed in the Super 8 in Monterey and the Vagabond Inn in San Luis Obispo on our drive down the coast.. Obviously neither were fancy but for our needs they were more than adequate and we loved both cities.