Hotel Choice en route from LA to SF on Route 1

[andrewilley]

I've got everything booked for our week in California in August, except for a hotel mid-route up the Pacific Coast Highway from LA to SF.

We plan to do the road-trip in about one-and-a-half days, starting with a day driving up from LA and sight-seeing, then stop over somewhere relatively inexpensive (ideally near a sea view though) and then finish the drive the next morning, getting to San Fran early afternoon.

So, any suggestions of somewhere clean and pleasant to stay, nice location but without breaking the bank?


Also, do you suggest I drop off the rental car when we arrive in San Fran, rather than paying for another two days' rental and parking? We'll be staying for two nights close to Union Square before a morning flight out from SFO airport, and I was reckoning that a taxi to the airport will probably be cheaper than another two days of car rental plus city center parking (as we probably won't need the car for anything else while there).

Andre

 

[dfriia]

Will Moonstone Landing work? We loved it but didn't go all the way to SF. Fantastic beach views and some good restaurants in the area. We loved the rocky beach and looking for "moonstones" as well as the beachfront boardwalk.
http://www.moonstonelanding.com/

 

[andrewilley]

Had looked at that one, and the Little Sur Inn next door too. Lovely location and hotels, but about twice the price I really wanted to pay for a simple stopover within walking distance of the sea. Was thinking more in the $100-$125 region if possible.

Andre

 

[dfriia]

I understand. You might try in San Simeon. It is the next town up the beach from Cambria. Maybe 7 miles north. We drove through there on our way to see the elephants seals. There was a small cluster of visible places along the road like Motel 6 and Best Western as well as private labels. Anyway, as I recall there were some on the coast side of the road that were walking distance to the beach. Maybe Google Map San Simeon and look nearby for motels. Good luck. We found motels on the beach in the Big Sur area to be expensive but maybe you'll get lucky.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

We live in the Bay Area, and are in Pismo Beach right now for the weekend. We love the central coast. Pismo is centrally located to all the local destinations. We drove here today from San Francisco, and it took 4 hours.

We often stay at the Oxford Suites. It's a quality place with nice rooms, cooked breakfast, social hour & more. Grover Beach is 5 minutes away. Downtown Pismo is about the same. Here are some other destinations within reach:
Solvang 45 mins
San Luis Obispo 15 mins
Avila Beach 10 mins
Morro Bay 30 mins
Hearst Castle 60 mins

 

[pharmjenn]

We stayed at the Shoreline Inn in Cayucos last fall for my nephews wedding. It was a little more expensive than you quoted, but right on the beach. Cute little town, and the hotel serves a continental breakfast.

 

[pharmjenn]

Also, if you can take BART (the metro train) with your luggage to the airport, it would be cheaper to drop off the rental car in the city when you arrive in SF. The rental price itself may not be much savings, but you are right about the parking fees!
From Downtown SF, the BART is a single train ride to the airport. Probably about $5/pp.

 

[Dduckmom]

We did the same trip about 2 years ago. We stayed at the Apple Farm Inn in San Luis Obispo. Not near the ocean but we loved the town. And, I highly recommend drpping your rental car off at the airport. We did this once we got to SF and it worked out very well. The parking was expensive at our hotel and around the city - we saved a lot by taking a taxi to the airport for our flight home.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

We're doing this too in July! We decided to stay in San Simeon at the Morgan Hotel. It about $160 for a Friday night - a little higher than we wanted, but as you have probably seen, hotels seem to be pricey near the coast. I can't tell you how it is, but I can report back when we return.

Since you are doing the same as us, can I ask where you found the best car deal? I haven't rented a car in over a decade and I'm unsure of the best way to go for a mid-sized car picking up at LAX and dropping off at SFO after 10 days. Thanks!

 

[andrewilley]

Since you are doing the same as us, can I ask where you found the best car deal? I haven't rented a car in over a decade and I'm unsure of the best way to go for a mid-sized car picking up at LAX and dropping off at SFO after 10 days. Thanks!

I haven't booked the car yet, but as a Brit I will probably do it via my normal UK agent as that way we get all the necessary insurances prepaid which are needed for international visitors.

I will probably use Alamo, as they have a pickup location right next to the Disneyland Hotel where we are staying for the first five days. I'll pick up from there probably the day before we intended to drive up the coast, and then drop off near to our hotel in SF when we get there (no point paying for the car, insurance and parking during the periods we are in Disneyland and in SF, when it will just sit in a parking lot).

I'm thinking of booking a mid-sized SUV, does that sound about right for three of us with three large cases, plus the usual hand luggage/shopping/etc?

(I'm thinking of the San Simeon area for the stopover too at the moment, the "Sands By The Sea" motel looks promising at $139/night, with either a sea view or very close walk to beach)

Andre

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I'm thinking of booking a mid-sized SUV, does that sound about right for three of us with three large cases, plus the usual hand luggage/shopping/etc?

(I'm thinking of the San Simeon area for the stopover too at the moment, the "Sands By The Sea" motel looks promising at $139/night, with either a sea view or very close walk to beach)

Andre

A mid-sized SUV sounds perfect for your needs. And that sized SUV is usually pretty fuel efficient as I understand gas to be pricey in CA!

I ended up renting through Hertz with a AAA discount (auto club) for 10 days for about $500 for 10 days. Our car is likely to sit in Anaheim for our 3 Anaheim days but we wanted to go into LA on our last full day and then hit the road.

Good luck with your planning! If I can find it again, I'll post after we return about our thoughts in San Simeon

 

[endy]

We stayed at The Morgan 2 weeks ago. It was okay nothing as special as seen online but it was clean and had a free breakfast. I think we had booked thru Expedia as secret deal or whatever they call it. We paid $142 CDN. The secret described it as a spa so we kind of knew it would be the Morgan so it was $10 or so less/night.

HINT - make sure you have enough gas so you don't need to buy it one of the little, tiny gas stops. We paid $5.84/gallon because we had no choice. Most other stops between LA and Monterey were closer to $4/gal.

Are you going to Hearst Castle? We did the evening tour and really enjoyed it. Amazing how someone could build such an over the top place during the Depression.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

We stayed at The Morgan 2 weeks ago. It was okay nothing as special as seen online but it was clean and had a free breakfast. I think we had booked thru Expedia as secret deal or whatever they call it. We paid $142 CDN. The secret described it as a spa so we kind of knew it would be the Morgan so it was $10 or so less/night.

HINT - make sure you have enough gas so you don't need to buy it one of the little, tiny gas stops. We paid $5.84/gallon because we had no choice. Most other stops between LA and Monterey were closer to $4/gal.

Are you going to Hearst Castle? We did the evening tour and really enjoyed it. Amazing how someone could build such an over the top place during the Depression.

Thanks for the info! Since we're just stopping over, I'm not sure if we will do the Hearst Castle but it sounds neat. I wonder if it's one of those places that requires advanced planning or if we can simply show up during their operating hours if our time allows?

 

[andrewilley]

Thanks for the info! Since we're just stopping over, I'm not sure if we will do the Hearst Castle but it sounds neat. I wonder if it's one of those places that requires advanced planning or if we can simply show up during their operating hours if our time allows?

Same here, we only expect to sleep in San Simeon really, not do the Castle (anyway, I'm from England so there are tons of real castles all around here ). I've booked the Sands by the Sea for $139 (plus tax), which is a couple of hundred yards up the road from the Morgan! We'll have to compare notes once we've both done our trips (mine is mid-August).

Andre

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Same here, we only expect to sleep in San Simeon really, not do the Castle (anyway, I'm from England so there are tons of real castles all around here ). I've booked the Sands by the Sea for $139 (plus tax), which is a couple of hundred yards up the road from the Morgan! We'll have to compare notes once we've both done our trips (mine is mid-August).

Andre

UK castles are much more preferable!

 

[TravelingCoopers]

Glad you found a place and seem ready for your trip.

The California coastline is absolutely gorgeous (and I've traveled and seen a lot of places!). Nothing beats those amazing cliffs, blue water, sunshine, trees, food and people. I might be a bit biased because I'm from California, but I'm sure lots of other people would agree.

Have a great trip.

 

[Tommy_B]

Same here, we only expect to sleep in San Simeon really, not do the Castle (anyway, I'm from England so there are tons of real castles all around here ). I've booked the Sands by the Sea for $139 (plus tax), which is a couple of hundred yards up the road from the Morgan! We'll have to compare notes once we've both done our trips (mine is mid-August).

I'd reconsider. The dining choices in San Simeon are grim. You are far better off in Cambria, just down the road.

 

[andrewilley]

I'd reconsider. The dining choices in San Simeon are grim. You are far better off in Cambria, just down the road.

We weren't planning on any fine dining en route just a place to sleep near to the sea really. We'll probably just get a burger or something, we might even drive back down to Cambia if you recommend it (as you say it's only about 6 miles away). Unless you have a suggestion of a better place to stay in the $125-ish region? I had already checked some places in Moonstone Landing and Cambria, but anything that looked halfway decent was quite a bit more expensive.

Andre

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Update: we stayed at The Morgan in San Simeon on Friday night and it was perfectly fine. Nothing awesome and nothing bad. I was a little nervous about not having air conditioning but since the weather is cooler on the coast, it worked out fine. We ate dinner in Cambria as others suggested. Most dining options were rather pricey but not surprising since they have a captive audience. We chose a place called Indigo Moon(?) or something. It was pretty good The drive on highway 1 was a great adventure for us!