we will be visiting California for the first time in early Nov and driving from Frisco down to La along the coast road. Has anybody found any small friendly hotels or guest houses "gems" that they could recommend. We think we will spend two nights on route stoping at two different locaions. e appreciate any advice given to usa first timers. Thanks John and Chris from England

You might want to try searching under California coast. There are a lot of good postings about this subject. I would suggest finding a hotel in Pacific Grove on the Monterey peninsula. We stayed in the Hyatt in Monterey for a night in July. But we had kids with us and wanted a pool, generally I wouldn't recommend it. I wish we had stayed in Pacific Grove. There are some beautiful B&Bs but probably fairly pricey. I thought Borg's Motel looked decent. Close to Monterey but near a nice park in Pacific Grove and right near the Ocean. Nothing fancy but good location and probably not too expensive. We also spent a night at the Big Sur River Inn. It cost a $100 a night. Rustic but with a nice restaurant, nice heated pool and good location. Although my husband and I referred to it as the "Bates Motel", for the whole rest of the trip, it really was fine. You could probably find something nicer in Cambria depending on how you are timing your drive. We spent our last night along the coast in Pismo Beach, the hotel (Best Western Shore Haven I think) was beautiful and right on the ocean. But I wouldn't recommend Pismo Beach as anything special. We drove through San Luis Obisbo and it seemed like a quaint place to stay.
One comment- I would recommend bringing a small pair of binoculars. We found them quite handy for wildlife watching along the coast.

I would suggest you spend one of your nights in Santa Barbara. It is a beautiful small city on the coast surrounded by mountains. There are lots of nice shops and restaurants on State Street. The Old Yacht Club Inn is just a block or so off the beach and has a friendly, homey fee. Villa Rosa is also close to the beach. It's a bit larger and has a swimming pool. The Upham Hotel is near downtown and is a charming , old hotel.

Stay in Carmel. It is unique, quaint, and a lot of fun. Great restaurants all over the place. My favorite place to stay enroute. The other place (especially if you are doing two nights) is Cambria. Then maybe do Hearst castle in the morning before going on to Carmel.

My husband and I have been vacationing along the coastal highway for about 8 years as Floridians visiting grown children in CA. Some of our favorites: Santa Barbara, the restored Montecito Inn (Originally owned by Charlie Chaplin, actually in Montecito just outside of SB); the Blue Dolphin Inn in Cambria; the spectacular view at the Ragged Point Inn, Ragged Point. All in the $l50/night range.

Monterey, Cambria, and Santa Barbara are lovely. Please don't use the word "Frisco" in San Francisco - you'll get rudeness and poor service. (Take the word of a Southern Californian. Northern Californians are very touchy sometimes!) We don't care if you use "LA". Have a great trip!