My husband and I are looking for 2 nice places to stay for a 10 year anniversary trip in May. Will be going to the Central Coast and would like to do some wine tasting. Given the occasion, we'd like to stay at an upscale inn or B&B. Has anyone stayed at either the Arbor (now Summerwood) Inn @ Paso Robles or the Pelican Inn Suites @ Cambria? Any recommendations for a specific room? Are they worth the price? (about $300/night avg.) Thanks for your help!

hi Nan,

I think it's fantastic that you're going to the Central Coast for wine tasting. My grandparents live in Paso, and my family goes wine tasting there every Thanksgiving. So, since I stay with my grandparents, I can't really help you in terms of a place to stay, but I did want to let you know about a few of my favorite wineries.

1. Arciero -- great, great little gift shop and many, many wines.
2. J Lohr -- yes, you can buy J Lohr at the store, but I was most impressed with some of their other Paso-only wines.
3. Tobin James, fun, western style winery at the end of the road. - 46E. Super-friendly, down-to-earth.
4. Martin Weyrich -- again, great little gift shop, lovely olive oils and mustards along with some very impressive wines.

Honestly, wine tasting in the central valley is a great experience....rolling hills, beautiful wineries, friendly people...and delicious wine. Have a great anniversary.

Hi Wendy,

Thanks so much for the "insider" scoop on the wineries. Reading your suggestions is making me wish our trip was next weekend and not in May. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it

Like the previous poster, I stay with family when visiting the central coast and can't give a lot of advice on lodging. But in my opinion, Cambria seems like it would be a preferable town to stay in for a romantic weekend.

Grey Wolf and Wild Horse Wineries are both good choices for quality wine in that area.

Have fun!

Nan- we visited last May also for a wedding. Did not stay at either of these places- we stayed at the Sea Otter Inn, which was nice, but rather plain (but more reasonably priced). Friends stayed at the Fog Catcher Inn, seemed a little nicer and had more of an English cottage look to it. From what I saw, most any of the places along the coast in Cambria looked nice, and there is also a lodge-type place in town.
We had a terric time at the wineries just as the other posters did. And we certainly did our part to support the local economy by purchasing from each one. Tip- find out your state's liquor laws. Wineries are happy to ship your purchase home for you if your state allows. Ours did not, so we had to box all the wine we purchased and put it on the plane (you can easily find this out at www.wine.com). In addition to the wineries already mentioned, we enjoyed Bonny Doon and Eberle as well.
We also enjoyed a tour of Heart Castle, which is near Cambria. And be sure to walk on the trail along Moonstone Beach- the seals lounge around on the rocks and it is just a beauiful place.

If you are only wine tasting, Paso Robles is preferable. However, Cambria provides reasonable access to the wineries plus other diversions (Hearst Castle, beach, shopping, etc.) Have Fun!

My wife and I stayed at the Summerwood Inn last month. We also stayed on two previous occasions when it was the Arbor Inn. Unfortunately, much was lost when the ownership change. While the inn's prices have gone up considerably, the service and quality of the rooms has diminished significantly. The warmth that the previous inn keepers conveyed is no longer a part of the inn's hospitality. We experienced breakfasts that were not served as ordered and not properly prepared, dirty blanket that we had to ask to be replaced (a large spill of some kind was on it) and for our shower on the last day that we were there, there was no hot water. The inn keepers were in a state of denial, some how intimating that is was our fault that we had so much trouble. I will not stay at the inn again.

Ugh---Arciero. Second-rate wines and vulgar So. Cal money-can-buy-me-a-winery attitude. The local community (excluding new arrivals) still hasn't accepted the crass arrival of the Arcieros. I would skip it. There are a lot better local wineries. Eberle, for example. Happy Anniversary.

David, Thanks for taking the time to talk about your recent Summaerwood experience. I was nervous that the change in ownership would affect the charm of the Inn. We changed our reservations and will now be staying at the Just Inn @ the Justin Winery. Website looks great so I'll let you know.

Thanks again to all the other post-er's as well. I really appreciate you all taking the time to give us these great tips. Have a great weekend!

Just returned from our anniversary trip and absolutely LOVED the Just Inn. Gorgeous rooms way off the beaten track. The vineyard is gorgeous and the rooms are decorated in a french country theme with very luxurious bedding, etc. Key it to bring food with you for dinner as the nearest restaurant is 30 minutes away on a twisting dark road.

They encourage you to have dinner at Debra's restaurant but we decided against it and were glad we did. Its a 3-hour, 4 course meal...very rich, very expensive. Others who went said it was over the top after a day of wine
tasting.

Many thanks to David for his input on the Summerwood Inn. We stopped by and were very glad we did not stay there. The Just Inn is significantly nicer and in the same price range. Thanks again for all your input!