Little Sur Inn, Moonstone Beach, Cambria

The thousands of elephant seals jostling at the Elephant Seal Rookery at Piedras Blancas, 7 miles north of San Simeon, are a treat for the eyes and an amazing spectacle for any city slicker passing along the Pacific Coast Highway to or from LA or San Francisco. The coast here is also very well known for whale watching with schools of dolphins frolicking and cavorting just offshore. Moonstone Beach in Cambria, shrouded in a misty fog and the tang of the fresh and salty ocean wind, is one of the most beautiful and lonesome beaches in California, and it really tugs at your heart strings when you hear the cry of the sea otters. Photo credit - Marinebio.net

The area is also well known for landmarks like the Hearst Castle, Piedras Blancas Lighthouse and Nitt Witt Ridge. All this is in addition to the magnificient surfing, beach front resorts and ocean view diners lined up at Carmel, Big Sur, Monterey and all along Highway 101.

Ok, so now you get that a Pacific Coast Highway road trip to this area would make for a truly refreshing getaway from LA or San Francisco. What about lodging on this leg of your trip? If you want to explore in full the pleasures of San Simeon, Big Sur and Cambria, what you need to do is put up at the Little Sur Inn. It's minutes away from Hearst Castle, and centrally located for an extensive tour of everything in the area. Out of all the San Simeon and Cambria hotels, the best one I found - in terms of price, location and amenities & services provided - was the Little Sur Inn.

Guest rooms and suites at the Little Sur Inn are clean and spacious and equipped with a fireplace, cable television, movie channels and VCR with free videos available on request, refrigerator, bottled water, microwave, private bath and bath tub, shower with marble bathrooms, table with chairs, coffee maker, hairdryer, and iron & ironing board. Photo credit - TripAdvisor

The ocean view rooms additionally have a balcony or patio with a whirlpool jacuzzi tub. Room rates start at $175 plus taxes for a standard room with 2 queen beds and a capacity to accomodate 4 guests. That includes a continental breakfast with fruits and rolls and coffee/tea, and afternoon snacks with cheese and crackers. There's also a neat seafood joint right next door called the Sea Chest Restaurant & Oyster Bar.

If you divvy up the cost of the room as a group of 4, and subtract the cost of breakfast, that makes for heck of a cheap hotel in a central beachfront location with an ocean view and plenty of amenities and services provided. Can't really ask for more.

Info: 6190 Moonstone Beach Dr, Cambria, CA 93428; (805) 927-1329