A few California Road Trip questions

[smithlane]

I'm in the middle of planning our 3 week trip to California next July/August.
As a family of 4 with 2 teenage children we need to have a bit more space so ideally looking for suite type hotels with possibly a few Air BnB's thrown in. Can anyone recommend some hotels for the following places
San Francisco
Monterey
Pismo/Cambria/Morro Bay
LA
Anaheim
San Diego
Would a budget of about £200 a night be realistic? It doesn't need to be the Ritz, just clean and fairly central.
I keep stumbling across Motel 8's and Super 8's, what are these chains like? Avoid like the plague or ok for a few nights?
Finally has anyone rented an RV to travel the PCH before as this is another idea we have?

[pad406]

There were 5 of us and it was Christmas (2016) so likely these would be worst case pricing.

Originally Posted by smithlane

San Francisco

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We stayed in the Holiday Inn and Suites at Fishermans Wharf. We had a family Suite which was basically a larger room. Nice and comfortable though. It includes a free breakfast, but was about $450 per night.

Originally Posted by smithlane

Pismo/Cambria/Morro Bay

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Stopped at the Pleasant Inn in Morro Bay. $189 per night for a family room. Basically 2 bedrooms. Nice, clean and comfortable. Morro Bay was a lovely spot. Recommend Rose's Bar&Grill for food, good quality and very reasonable.

Originally Posted by smithlane

LA

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Stayed in the Orchid Suites which was steps away from the Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame. Lovely and friendly, again breakfast included. Here we had a separate bedroom and a kitchen area. Highly recommend this place. $300 per night. If you do decide to stay here the entrance to their car park is quite low, so make sure whatever car you get will fit. We had a big SUV, but it was the lowest available.

Originally Posted by smithlane

Anaheim

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Stayed in the Grand Californian, absolutely fab. Shredded the bill in case it upset me, but truly was worth it.

Originally Posted by smithlane

San Diego

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We stayed with family there, so can't help. Lovely city, one of the very few places I'd consider living in the US.

Originally Posted by smithlane

Finally has anyone rented an RV to travel the PCH before as this is another idea we have?

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I'd love to try a road trip in an RV but DW, not a chance.

You don't mention where you land in, but if it is San Francisco, I'd recommend not getting a car till you leave. Parking is exorbitant, say $60pn. There are some places you can get free parking a little further out, heard Cow Hollow Motor Inn getting good feedback here.

Depending on what you are planning visiting in LA, it might be worth splitting your time and staying on different sides of the city. Traffic there is mental. Personally I wouldn't spend to long there, wasn't really taken with it.

Try and catch a sunset on your way down the PCH, it's beautiful.

We missed Hearst Castle, near San Simeon, would have liked to see that, but the opening times when we were around just didn't fit in unfortunately.

[Vinniecat]

We stayed at the holiday inn express fishermans wharf in San Francisco. We just had one room with two double beds and a rollaway bed but was ideal for two adults and two teens. I would stay there again.
We booked our Monterey and Pismo beach accommodation last minute as it was an alternative to Yosemite which we cancelled due to the fires.
In Monterey we stayed at the Abrego as recommended on here it was nice but only one room.
In Pismo beach we stayed at Pismo lighthouse suites which was ideal for a family of four. Huge rooms split into two separate bedrooms and two bathrooms.
We stayed at the Bahia in San Diego which was ok but I think you could find better.
In Anaheim we stayed at the courtyard by Marriott theme park entrance and I would highly recommend it. It is just across the road from the parks and plenty of restaurants nearby.

[flo-tinka]

I know what you mean about the space! We were there August this year and did some of the places you mention...
We had a 2 queen suite at Hyatt House. This was bedroom, bathroom plus quite a large lounge diner kitchen with full fridge freezer microwave etc.
LA we stayed Hilton Garden Inn Burbank at the end of our holiday. Just a 2 queen room I’m afraid but we were out most of the time and walking distance to restaurants
San Diego we hired a Home Away house, great to have three bedrooms for 6 nights plus a proper kitchen/yard for bbqs/firepit but it was nearly double your budget This is where we chilled a bit more, ate in on an evening etc
Happy planning

[pacswoman]

Originally Posted by smithlane

Finally has anyone rented an RV to travel the PCH before as this is another idea we have?

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We did this a few years ago.

We rented from company called Road Bear which is in Agora Hills near LA.

2 of us in a 32 ft Class C

With a bike rack on the back,with the bikes we bought from Walmart, which was cheaper that renting them for our trip.

Loved it, would love to do it again.

[pinkandfluffy]

Hi, we are in a similar position travelling with my daughter (17) and son (19) so bed sharing is definitely out of the question. I have booked El Castell in Monterey, the Dolphin Cove Motel at Pismo Beach, Seaview Inn at Manhattan Beach LA (our first two nights) and Hilton Homewood Suites, Redondo Beach (last two nights) - all 2 bedroom suites. We are paying around £300 per night as I struggled to find anything cheaper and I really didnt want altogether separate hotel rooms.

We wont be going to San Diego but doing Sequoia and Yosemite instead. In San Francisco we have the standard, one room - two queen beds and I will share with my daughter and my son with my husband as I was surprised by the cost. Its 3 nights out of 16 so a small compromise in the grand scheme of things.

All accommodation is free cancellation so if you find any better bargains, let me know!

Hope this helps.

[Edie ray]

Originally Posted by pinkandfluffy

Hi, we are in a similar position travelling with my daughter (17) and son (19) so bed sharing is definitely out of the question. I have booked El Castell in Monterey, the Dolphin Cove Motel at Pismo Beach, Seaview Inn at Manhattan Beach LA (our first two nights) and Hilton Homewood Suites, Redondo Beach (last two nights) - all 2 bedroom suites. We are paying around £300 per night as I struggled to find anything cheaper and I really didnt want altogether separate hotel rooms.

We wont be going to San Diego but doing Sequoia and Yosemite instead. In San Francisco we have the standard, one room - two queen beds and I will share with my daughter and my son with my husband as I was surprised by the cost. Its 3 nights out of 16 so a small compromise in the grand scheme of things.

All accommodation is free cancellation so if you find any better bargains, let me know!

Hope this helps.

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We have stayed at the Seaview Inn, Manhattan beach, it was out teens favourite spot of the holiday, went body boarding and bike riding up the strand, some lovely restaurants and a great ice cream shop as well, we stayed for our last 3 mights here, I would defo stay here again

[pinkandfluffy]

Originally Posted by Edie ray

We have stayed at the Seaview Inn, Manhattan beach, it was out teens favourite spot of the holiday, went body boarding and bike riding up the strand, some lovely restaurants and a great ice cream shop as well, we stayed for our last 3 mights here, I would defo stay here again

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Ooh lovely, it seems to get great reviews. I can’t wait! 😆

[MichelleB]

We are looking at Marriott Residence Inns, they have 1 and 2 bedroom suites, also Homewood Suites. There are only 3 of us but my son will be 18 so want to have separate sleeping areas really, although he is happy on a sofabed.

[smithlane]

Wow thank you all! Certainly got lots to research in the coming months and by the looks of it we may need to increase our budget, best not give up the day job
We haven't booked flights yet and if they don't reduce in price then we wont be going at all . Ideally want to fly in and out of LAX but would consider into SFO and out of LAX, basically whatever is cheapest!
Rough itinerary is

LAX (depending what time flight arrives) - 1 night
Yosemite - 3 nights
San Fran - 3 nights
Monterey - 3 nights
Pismo/Morro Bay/Cambria - 1 night
LA - 2 nights
Anaheim - 3 nights
San Diego - 5 nights
If we can get an early flight into LAX then my OH would like to drive straight to Yosemite that day but having heard about the nightmare traffic in and around LA, I think its best to stay close then head out early the next morning.

Any thoughts on the above?