Help and Advice - Family West Coast

[Loch Lomond]

Hi
We’re a family of 4, kids 16,13, booked into SF and home from LA June 19 for 3 weeks.
We got to LA last year with a 3 week plan and had to come home after 2 days with a bereavement so we have a rough idea but everything seems so much more expensive in accommodation this year?
Initial plan is to stay SF 4 nights, pick up our car, drive the PCH with 2 night stops in Monterey area and another area before North LA for Universal and some LA tours. Then no plan. Vegas? San Diego?
The biggest challenge and advice is 4* family accommodation appears to be around £250 a night everywhere and for 3 weeks it’s sore.

Any advice or help?

[jdouds]

Hi from there a few days san diego wood be good, palm springs , vegas, and then Yosemite and back to san fran

[floridasgirl]

Don't restrict yourself to 4* for starters! For one or 2 niight stays, a lower star rating if chosen carefully will be fine!
We looked at West Coast and wernt looking at those figures!

[TinkerBabe]

We did a similar route 18 mo the ago and found some great hotels for no more than £150 a night, often less. Best Western hotels were great, we stayed in a fabulous one in a place called Capitola that had 4 double beds across a 2 room suite (paid about £130 a night) and had a similar set up at the Best Western Yosemite Gateway in a beautiful town called Oakhurst. We enjoyed mixing it up and staying in some fancy places and some more characterful places. We had great fun staying at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, in a room with a bedroom and a separate living area with 2 sofa beds in it. Again it all came in under my £150 a night limit, although admittedly I spent many hours on Hotels.com, searching and booking free cancellation hotels that I could then cancel if/when the hotel I really wanted came within budget.

You will have a great trip, it’s a fantastic part of the world!

[Bella1]

We did San Diego, Las Vegas and Joshua Tree NP and loved them all so can't really advise which is best!

However I suggest using motel chains for your accommodation, much more spacious for a family of 4, most had 2 beds and a sofa bed which was so much easier (our kids were 18 and 15, a boy and girl). They usually had free parking, free internet, free breakfasts and some even had free laundrettes. We liked them much more than the more expensive hotel chains that we tried and they saved us a fortune.

[lottiesmum0]

I feel your pain- we found finding decent priced accommodation more challenging for our California trip last year.
We did :
San Francisco- 3 nights in a motel style hotel- Lombard plaza motel
Madera near Fresno - so we could go to Yosemite (closed due to fire) but then we went to sequoia- stayed in Spring Hill suites - 5 nights
Las Vegas- 7 nights in mgm signature through air B and B
Then LA- condo on the outskirts booked through HomeAway - 7 nights
Then an air band b in templeton for 4 nights
Up to Watsonville - best western (worst hotel) 4 nights

[Sandraoh40]

When we went in 2016 we mixed up our accommodation quite a bit. We had some pretty expensive stays , where we really wanted a particular hotel, along with some really quite cheap stays, one of which was an Airbnb type cottage. This really helped us stick to our budget and actually made for a much better experience imho as we got to see and stay places we originally wouldn’t have considered.

[daytonababe]

Lower your standards a bit ..

I do 3 weeks every year ( I’ve just come back ) and don’t pay anywhere near that ..

I did 1 night Ontario Mills , 9 nights Vegas , 1 night wiliams Arizona , 3 Goodyear Arizona , 3 Anaheim , 4 Ontario Mills and averaged £100 a night .
Vegas can be had for very good rates , then I search all the brokers / Hotwire/ Priceline often rebooking if I find it cheaper which I usually do .
The likes of best western / holiday inn are perfectly adequate for road trips where you spend little time there .

Vegas I always stop at south point as it’s such good value for money .

[Aims]

Hotels are always more expensive in the summer, especially in California, as that is the height of the tourist season. If you are there over any major holidays, like July 4th, that will also raise the prices even more. You could try signing up for the email lists for the hotels you are most interested in- a lot of hotels will offer special deals..sometimes last minute...to their email list that they don't advertise on their websites.


You can also do as others here have suggested and mix in a couple more moderately priced 2 or 3* hotels. There are a few hotel chains spread across California that are moderately priced, very nice and decent places to stay, and offer perks like free breakfast which can help offset some of the costs. Look for chains like Residence Inn by Marriott, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Hampton Inn & Suites (also a Hilton Brand), Holiday Inn Express, and Embassy Suites (again, by Hilton).


Best of luck with your planning!

[jdouds]

Hi defiantly check out airbnb or home away, we have used both on our 2 last trips and stayed some fantastic places,some with personal touch and lots of helpful suggestions from owners. In vegas stayed in signature suits at the MGM booked privately and much cheaper than through hotel