jamie99

In Carmel we liked the Highlands Inn (now a Grand Hyatt) and got a discount of 50% off for midweek in May, but not sure if they sleep 5 or not. Terrific views and a good restaurant.

janisj

I doubt there would be any discounts at the Highlands Inn in Mid July . . . it is a pricey property. What is your budget?

Patty

Highlands Inn is one of the more expensive properties here and is actually located 5 miles south of Carmel in a mostly residential area called Carmel Highlands. Highlands Inn doesn't have any rooms in the hotel portion that sleeps 5. However there is a timeshare portion which has larger units. Do you want to be right in downtown Carmel? One advantage of staying in downtown Carmel would be the ability to walk to restaurants, shops, the beach, etc. From Carmel Highlands you have to drive everywhere and while it's not far, traffic on Hwy 1 in July can be heavy. Views from Carmel Highlands are very dramatic though whereas commercial development on the coastline in Carmel isn't allowed.

janisj

I totally agree -- wasn't recommending the Highlands Inn. Was responding to jamie99's post. IMO it is expensive, in the wrong location, and not particularly family friendly,

Patty

I didn't think you were, janisj. I never thought of it as being family friendly either but the one time I've stayed there was in July and it was filled with families.

varghesepaul

Hello all: thanks again. I was looking at a budget of max $300/per night for the stay. After that downtown Carmel would be better. My travel starts on July9th, so would be looking for accommodation at Pismo and Carmel on July 16th/17th for Pismo and the next 2-3 days for Carmel. What places would your recommend for those days/prices?
If I drop universal and Hearst, any other place that I could include or should I spend the extra day in Carmel or SF?
Thanks

petemadz

@vargheseapul It is interesting to see your thread. I went through a similar exercise and completed a 15 day trip to California. You might want to see my thread where I started and where I ended with based on the excellent adive I received form this forum.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-itinerary.cfm

I have also started a trip report here. Please let me know if I can help you get this done so that the trip is enjoyably rather than tedious.

Btw, please understand that planning for a July travel in June is a very BAD idea. You are going to end up spending too much money for air tickets and hotel bookings. I strongly suggest you push down the dates post August if possible to avoid the summer rush. In my case I started planning for my trip in September 2014 and the trip happened in last half of May 2015. I suggest you to have at least 6 months of lead time for such a trip unless you dont mind spending big money and being jostled around with millions of tourists in most places.

clarkgriswold

Spyglass Inn between Pismo Beach and Shell Beach has availability on that night for $200. 2 queen beds and I believe they charge $10 extra for a rollout bed for the 3rd child. It is cancellable up until 2 days before arrival:

http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/spyg...1&#tab-reviews

petemadz

I stayed at Holiday Inn at Cannery Row in Monterey Bay and Inn at the Cove at Pismo Beach. I recommend both very highly. Holiday Inn was very conveniently located, walkable distance from Aquarium and lot of food options nearby including beaches. Inn at the Cove is an excellent hotel with great Ocean View rooms. Try to get upper level rooms for better view. In my case the rates here were between $150 and $200 per night for suite/2 queen bed room. This will be higher now.

clarkgriswold

Carmel is going to test the budget since it's a weekend stay in July. Monterey Bay Travelodge or El Castell Motel or Pacific Inn show availability with two queen beds.
Sea Breeze Inn in Pacific Grove has a kitchen suite available,a bit over your budget, no extra beds avail but they do offer one free crib or crib mattress for the 2 year old.

Patty

In downtown Carmel, Hofsas House shows a 2 queen bed room with a rollaway option within your budget for that weekend. And just above your budget, they show a 2 room/2 bath suite with kitchenette available. This is a family friendly property that's walkable to everything in town.

clarkgriswold

(You'll have to book that at Hofsashouse.com as booking.com and other sites list them as sold out that weekend).

varghesepaul

Thanks so much all, will get to making the bookings and see how that goes. I cannot change the dates, would have loved to do so but cannot. Realise that I am very late in getting this done and really appreciate all your help and advice.

varghesepaul

Hello all
I wanted to provide a quick update on how this is progressing.
1. I ended up booking the flight tickets to PHX instead of LAS as the flight + car rental cost were working out cheaper for PHX than LAS, was surprised.
2. I took a chance and called the GC reservation and they had a cancellation and so got a room in the park at Yavapai lodge. So cancelled the red feather reservation.
3. Got a good rate at the ramada maingate in Anaheim for 3 nites.
4. On day 8, I was thinking of doing an LA city tour instead during the day and then heading to pismo beach to stay, even if we get there a bit late in the evening.
5. At pismo and Carmel, I was able to use my Hilton points to get the accommodation at the Hilton garden inn in both places, so that was good.
6. In SF, I got the reservation done at the Columbus motor inn.
I now need to firm up what specific activities we can do at Pismo, Carmel and SF. Thanks for all your suggestions. I want to do as much as we can without making it too hectic especially with the kids around.
I still need to figure out between Carmel, Pismo or SF, which would be a good beach to spend a day with family. Any recommendations?
Thanks again for all your advice and help, this group is really great

VMay

Before three years I traveled with 4 of my friends after a period of seasonal work of 5 months in Maine on the east coast.Our target destination was Western coast and all the famous attractions that are located there. We gave up travel between cities using planes, and after the first flight from New York to Las Vegas, we choosed an option of renting a car and continued our journey by car. Our map and itinerary consisted of starting the journey from Las Vegas and visiting the Grand Canyon, continuing further to San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Regarding accommodation, we did all rentals through booking site and we were very pleased with everything.

Accommodation, gasoline consumption and prices of rental car at the end of our youney turned out cheaper and more favorable than we thought, and we saw more we planed before our trip. So I would certainly recommend this option of traveling with rent a car

clarkgriswold

Getting to Pismo after a full day in L.A. will be tough, you really have to escape from L.A. by 3pm or else wait until 8pm. If not, the first 40 miles will take you two hours, and you'll hit another crawl @ Santa Barbara. This day is complicated by the fact that if you're staying in Anaheim, you have an annoying morning crawl into Los Angeles (snail's pace between 7am and 10:30am).

Also watch the time of day that you head towards Anaheim, I would try to pull into that hotel by 4pm. Enjoy the pool and have dinner. Maybe head down to Newport Beach around 8pm for the sunset.

MichelleY

Spyglass and Cottage Inn by the Sea in Pismo are part of the Pacifica Hotels group. They have a summer special:

http://www.pacificahotels.com/specia...ifica-20150605

Have stayed at both and like them very much.

Cjar

As trite as it sounds , the kids might enjoy the cable car ride in San Fran. We stayed near union square a couple of years ago with our kids and took it from there to fisherman's wharf. The kids enjoyed ice cream at Ghirardelli square. The wharf itself was not as impressive. They did however enjoy Hyde st pier and visiting the Balclutha , a 19th century cargo ship. The California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park is another great option with kids. It is a bit pricey though.
Golden Gate park itself is an all day event. You can stroll, bike, visit great museums and gardens and in summer catch live music. There is a carousel, a Dutch windmill, a Japanese Tea Garden and on and on. Please dress warmly. San Francisco is chilly in summer. Check out
www.hiddensf.com

Have fun.

suze

Since you are now flying into Phoenix, will you skip Las Vegas?

Driving Phoenix to San Francisco in two weeks (even without Las Vegas) is a lot of time on the road!