Accommodations in San Luis Obispo vicinity: beach or inland?
 

I went to school at Cal Poly SLO around 1980 and am bringing my family down from Oregon in July to show them the sights from the Bay Area down through Big Sur to SLO. We are going to spend 3 nights in the SLO area. I was planning on staying in San Luis, but am wondering whether it would be more fun to stay at the beach. I remember the Pismo/Shell Beach area as being more likely to be sunny and warm than Morro Bay/Los Osos, but other than that, it didn't have a lot to recommend it. I see now there are a lot more big hotels overlooking the ocean and wonder if it has become a nicer place to stay. Or should we forego the possibly foggy beach and stay in SLO? It's so hard to imagine what these places are like 25 years later--how much they have grown, improved, or deteriorated.... Any suggestions would be appreciated! :)

We stayed at the Quality Suites in San Luis Obispo and it was wonderful. Two rooms, complimentary made-to-order breakfast (plus loads of fruits and extras) in their breakfast room and a good location in town. SLO is really a charming spot. Can't help you on the beach accomodations. We were driving north on Hwy. 1 and visited the Hearst Castle the next day.

I like Pismo Beach and Morro Bay. You are right that Pismo is more likely to be sunny than Morro Bay. Also Pismo is more of the classic "California beach town" that a lot of people think of, whereas Morro Bay is more of a fishing village, small tourist town kind of place.

I would opt for the beach, but I'm a beach bum. In Pismo we love The Sea Venture resort, located right on the beach. Rooms are rather small, but the property is great with featherbeds, soft-tub jacuzzis, breakfast delivered to your room in a picnic basket and free use of the surrey bikes to ride around town. Even comp beach chairs.

If you stay in Morro Bay, The Inn at Morro Bay is definitely the best place for luxury lodging. Both places have websites you can check out. Have fun and don't forget to go to The Splash Cafe for some award-winning clam chowder! ***kim***

Thanks for the responses. The Sea Venture appears to be out of our price range since we'll need two rooms (travelling with our two teenagers). Anyone have any thoughts on how these towns have changed (or not) in the last 20 years? For example, when we lived there Sycamore Springs was a very simple, funky hot-tubbing place, and now it looks like a luxury resort!

Well, Pismo has built up a fair bit, most (but not all) of the funky falling down parts have been replaced by new hotels, timeshares and condos. Oh yeah, and Grover City decided they wanted to change their name to "Grover Beach", to help draw tourists. Avila Beach was pretty much flattened by the process of cleaning up contamination from leaks in the oil pipeline that ran under the main street, I'm not sure how much has been rebuilt. Yes, Sycamore Springs turned into a nice small resort; the restaraunt is good, haven't stayed there. SLO and Morro Bay have been more stable, because water supply limits meant tight building restrictions for a long time. In SLO, thursday night cruising night has been replaced by farmers market - basically a street fair, very popular, especially in summer. Most of the old generic motels in SLO have reconstructed and gone upmarket a notch, and a few new places have gone in as well (I would second Quality Suites as a pretty nice mid-range place).

If you want Pismo, I'd probably pick the beach end over the bluffs in the Pismo area, because there would be more for teens to do. Downtown SLO is pretty popular, but there isn't much in the way of hotels in easy walking distance.

Since you're traveling with two teenagers, the Quality Suites makes sense as it provides a sofa bed in the "living area."

That's the kind of info I was looking for, curmudgeon. It's always hard going back to a place you loved and seeing it changed. I am leaning toward the Quality Suites, but will check with the family and see what they prefer. Thanks, everyone. :)