Just about every kind of accommodation can be found in central California, from luxury resort hotels to basic camping facilities.
Hotels around San Francisco and Napa Valley
Tourists looking to stay in a well-known landmark San Francisco hotel should keep in mind that they are generally pricey and located around Union Square. Most of the hotels across town have prices starting at no less than $100 per night. If you're looking to stay in one of the hipper joints in town, try the Hotel Monaco, this place is decked out with lots of vivid interior design. It's a smaller hotel but they offer a complimentary tarot reader and masseuse each evening along with appetizers and wine. The 20-story Hyatt Regency was used in the filming of Mel Brooks' “High Anxiety” and features a 17-story atrium full of lush vegetation and a running stream.
A more “hip” and “cool” California hotel in the city of San Francisco is the Phoenix Inn, located on the corner of Eddy and Larkin Streets. This hotel was obviously decorated in the 1950s and is trimmed with a pink and turquoise color scheme. Most importantly, this hotel is popular with celebrities like Keanu Reeves, Courtney Love, and the band Sonic Youth. Everyone seems to be attracted to the hotel's pool-facing rooms filled with bamboo furniture and tropical plants. To stay in this hotel in the middle of the week costs anywhere from $50-$100, during the weekends the rates double.
Located just off U.S. Highway 101 on the way to downtown San Luis Obispo is the Madonna Inn. This place is a real California hotel trip; it's gaudy, it's tacky, it's pink and it is truly a must see. Each room is done in some bizarre, over-the-top theme, that are so tasteless they come back around to being tasteful. The room prices per night usually run on the high side.
Accommodations in Napa Valley and in Sonoma County can be affordable in the off-season, but prices go through the roof during peak California tourist season from June-November. Many hotels sell out completely well in advance and most places require a two-night minimum.
In scenic Morro Bay, hotel rooms have starting prices of no less than $50 a night but running sometimes as high as $300 per night. Cambria, near San Simeon, is incredibly popular during the summer months and holiday weekends. Without an advanced reservation it's close to impossible to find a place to stay in that area. This can also be said of Paso Robles, where hotel prices can be found as little as $45 a night but can get up to $245 or higher during peak tourist season.
Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) around San Francisco and Napa Valley
There are B&B options in San Francisco but prices for these places don't offer lodging for less than $50-$60 a night. Carmel B&Bs are particularly popular with tourists and prices for one night, with a two-night minimum stay, start around $90, but have been known to run as high as $300 during the peak California summer tourist season. There also heaps of B&Bs in the Napa Valley and Sonoma County wine country, but don't expect the prices to be any cheaper.
Up in the wine country near Clear Lake in Nice there is a unique bed and breakfast called the Featherbed Railroad Company. The Featherbed Railroad Company is a series of nine locomotive cabooses that have been converted into B&B rooms, each painted and decorated in a very distinctive style, such as the Art Deco “Casa Blanca” or the honeymoon suite called “The Lovers.” Most of these caboose rooms come complete with a jacuzzi for two, right in the middle of the room, and rates usually vary between $100-$200.
One place that is truly a unique “experience” is the Red Victorian Bed and Breakfast Inn in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. The Red Victorian Bed and Breakfast has withstood the test of time; it was first established in 1904 and is decorated in a “Summer of Love” sort of style. The rooms are described as “cool,” but keep in mind there are only about 18 of them and none of them have TVs - some of them even have shared bathrooms. Rates for rooms in this B&B range from $50-$100 for a room with a shared bathroom, $100-$150 for a room with a private bathroom, and around $150-$250 for suites.
Motels around Monterey and Napa Valley
There are lots of motels in Napa Valley and in Sonoma County, many of which are located near the major highways. Considering these are motels, however, prices can be on the high side from June-November, when they can reach as high as $80 or more per night. In Monterey, where there is an area known as “motel row,” (located along North Fremont Street just east of the Pacific Coast Highway) prices during the California low season can be had for as low as $45 a night but, during the high season prices can reach $90 a night, if not more.
Hostels in San Francisco
Rather than staying in a San Francisco hotel or motel, you may wish to search for cheaper accommodations. In this area you can head to a hostel where you can find a bed for as little as $20 in a dorm room or $60 for a private room.
Camping in Central California
Camping grounds are abundant in central California but not all campgrounds are open all year round due to weather conditions. Many camping sites in this region are located in state and national parks and tend to be well-equipped with flushing toilets, showers, and RV hookups. There are also private campgrounds located closer to central California cities or recreational areas, but these places usually cater to RV campers. For a one-night stay in a campground, you're looking at prices ranging from $15-$30 a night ($30 a night for RVs).
Hotels in San Francisco Bay Area, Carmel, Napa Valley, Central California Coast
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