Hotels California

"Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place." -- Eagles

During my trip through California, I stayed in eight different hotels. I found all of them online in searches for certain towns. I selected them based on several criteria: safe area (in respect to San Francisco), proximity to beaches, cost, and reviews by others. I kept thorough notes on all of the hotels with the intent of sharing with you. In case any of you decide to drive the PCH (I highly recommend it!) or are just planning on staying in one of these cities or towns, this information might be helpful. Most of the pictures are from online and are just to give you an idea of the size/type of each hotel. I didn't take pictures of any of the places I stayed except for Madonna Inn. 

I am listing the hotels in the order of my visits, which means that they will start at San Francisco and head south, ending at Oceanside. Due to an error in my original planning, two of the hotels are very close together (10 minutes). This ended up being not so bad because they were both on very different beaches, and I went back and forth between the beaches depending on the time of day. 

I would probably stay at any of these hotels again, except for the ones in Santa Cruz and Oceanside; I wasn't crazy about either of those. I might not stay in Pacific Grove again, but not because of the hotel; I would just rather stay in Carmel, which is very nearby. 

Ok, enough intro... I'll get the list going!

San Francisco -- Wyndam Canterbury ($225/night)

• Very large room, actually a bedroom, living room, kitchen/dinette, bathroom
• This room only sleeps two, but would be good for hosting guests
• Very friendly staff
• Gave me a large bag of flavored popcorn when I checked in
• Always fresh water with lemon in lobby
• No breakfast
• Very quiet room
• In a safe downtown area
• Good restaurant nearby
• Short walk from cablecar stop

Santa Cruz -- Riverside Inn and Suites ($125/night)

                       

• Name is very misleading, obviously
• Great location, short walk to shopping main street shopping area and short walk in opposite direction to beach and amusement park
• Comfortable bed
• VERY small room
• Loud street noise from outside (no air, so window was open)
• No breakfast

Pacific Grove -- Sea Breeze Inn ($170/night)

• Good sized room
• Good location -- a short walk to beach in two different directions
• Friendly staff
• Quiet
• No air, opened windows
• Someone's back yard right behind my room
• Breakfast included

San Simeon -- Sands by the Sea ($189/night)

• Perfect location right on the beach
• Outdoor area very nice with beach chairs, lawn games
• Breakfast voucher to be used at nearby restaurant
• King bed
• Large room
• No air, opened window
• Friendly staff

Cambria -- Castle Inn ($212/night)

• Good location right across street from beach
• Pool with large beach towels for use
• Friendly staff
• Breakfast included
• Yummy cookies in room
• Average sized room
• No air, opened window
• Overpriced when compared with San Simeon room above 

San Luis Obispo -- Madonna Inn ($253/night)

• Amazing hotel!
• Lots of amenities
• Restaurant/cafe
• Pool/hot-tub
• Gardens
• Free postcard picturing each room
• Each room is unique
• Friendly staff
• Large room

Solvang -- King Frederik Inn ($129/night)

• Very friendly staff, desk clerk remembered my name the day after I checked in
• Good location right in center of town
• Great price
• Delicious breakfast included (brought in from local bakery)
• Pool/hot tub
• Loud people in room next door

Oceanside -- Rodeway Inn ($120/night)

• Not such a friendly staff
• Breakfast included, but I didn't have it
• Not that safe of an area, homeless man in a secluded area near hotel
• Location just okay, long walk from beach, one restaurant nearby
• Large room

This is the end of my hotel saga. I hope that this will assist some of you as you plan your trips to California. The one I most recommend is Madonna Inn, of course. Because I loved Solvang so much, King Frederik Inn is probably my second place recommendation. 

Coming Home

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." -- T. S. Eliot

Coming home is always part of the adventure, and this trip was no exception. In packing my suitcase before leaving San Diego, I got a bad feeling, especially when I had to sit on it to close it. The interesting thing is I had already decided to put my bag of rocks in my bookbag, so that was not included in the suitcase's load. 😁I was filled with trepidation about that bag of rocks; I did not want them taken away from me. The suitcase though was really huge and really full. I don't usually check a bag, so let me say up front that I knew there was a cost to having an overweight bag, but I just didn't know what it was.

I turned in my rental car with absolutely no problems. I was a little worried about that too because I turned it in two hours later than the agreed upon time. Somehow the time I chose was much too early and would have me at the airport for five hours. I figured I'd turn it in late and pay the $15 penalty. Not only did they not charge me for my tardiness, they refunded me money because I filled the gas tank!

Now on to baggage check... When I hefted the suitcase on the the platform scale, the baggage attendant grimaced and asked me if I was aware of the baggage weight limit. I responded that I was aware of it and was ready to pay the overweight fee. She shook her head at me and said, "I don't think you realize what it is. It will cost you $100! It would be cheaper to check another bag for $30." Once I picked myself up off the floor, I told her that I didn't have a way to go get another bag and that my bookbag was already full. (I didn't say with what.) She then instructed me to go downstairs to Delta's baggage room and tell the attendant there that "Nancy sent me." She said to ask them for one of their bags that was slightly damaged. Hesitantly and pessimistically I followed her directions. When I found the attendant downstairs and repeated Nancy's words, she said, "That Nancy is always trying to save people money!" She then found me a rolling carry-on bag with a loose handle. She found me a place to go where I'd have room to open both suitcases and transfer my belongings. I returned upstairs, got back in the winding line, and ended up back with Nancy. I was effusive in my thanks, especially when she said that since it was carry-on size, Delta would prefer to check it and would do so at no charge to me! Delta just won my allegiance!!

Next stop TSA, and remember I'm still carrying my rocks (along with my laptop, Kindle, a box of shells, my chargers and cords, and wallet). It was no surprise when my bag did not make it through the initial x-ray scan. I waited for them to hand search it. When they asked if there was anything pointed or that could possibly hurt them, I answered no, but that there was a bag of rocks in there. The TSA agent blanched and unbelievingly asked, "You are carrying a bag of rocks on your back??? You're going to wear yourself out." I told her I was fine with that; I just didn't want to give up those rocks. The end of the story is that I got to keep my rocks and shells, and happily heaved my beach haul onto my back, practically skipping to my gate.

There were no other issues in my flights to Atlanta and then Raleigh. I got in about 11:30 pm and stayed the night in Raleigh, knowing I'd be too tired to drive the hour plus back to Greensboro. I made my way home the next morning and was greeted by this happy face below. She hasn't left my side since I walked in.

There are so many things about my trip that I still have to share. I will be continuing to post about it here until I'm either all shared out or I go on another adventure that I can tell about. Thanks for continuing to read.