DH and I, early 60's with a budget of probably $150 to $200/night unless we found something really special--

We will be spending a few days this time next year in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. We have that part worked out.

However, we would like to use about 4 days and loop over to the coast -- maybe Laguna Beach and as far south as Del Mar. We used to live in San Diego for awhile and have been back there some but have never explored this slightly more north part of coast.

I've looked at posts here and on Trip Advisor and am not seeing any hotels or b&bs that I'm falling in love with. We usually like small boutique hotels, don't need a huge $500/night resort complex. We're picturing walking on the beach, some decent restaurants, looking in a few shops--is this the wrong stretch of coast?

Places I've seen mentioned were Casa Laguna, Inn at Laguna Beach, Moonlight Inn, something Riviera, Casa Tropicana, Solana Beach Marriott (is that a Courtyard?) etc. There aren't too many posts on any of these, and I always have trouble navigating Trip Advisor. We loved eating at Hotel Valencia but I think the rooms ($289) may be a bit pricey for their size and age.

Anyway, can anyone shed any light on any of the above? Any particular town that makes a better stay than others? I would really like to be able to walk right out of the hotel and onto the beach unless it is so special in other ways.

The Casa Tropicana in San Clemente is a beautiful place - but it's way out of my budget so I haven't stayed there. The location is fantastic. Right on the beach, with the San Clemente pier, restaurants, shopping and art galleries all in walking distance. And they provide parking which is a big plus at the beach in San Clemente! If you decide to stay in this area, let us know. I've eaten at most of the restaurants in the pier/downtown area and could provide some details on them.

Oh - Casa Tropicana does offer specials and packages and discounts for certain things so it might be worth making the phone call to them to see what rate you could get.

Check this out:

http://www.alisocreekinn.com/

1)Casa Tropicana gets a little loud at night(and I mean ALL night and early morning long) during the summer

2)Also Creek Inn is an idea, its an older resort tucked away in a nice canyon. However the canyon is often cold and damp during the morning. Its a place to go if you want to spend 4 hours playing 9 holes of golf.

There are a few places in the Dana Point Marina area that could be a possibility. Laguna Cliffs Resort is a favorite of ours

"if you want to spend 4 hours playing 9 holes of golf."

Wow, I don't want to get behind your foursome. It definitely can be damp in the early morning (that's when I meet my San Diego friends to play). It is close to Laguna and in your price range, however.

maitaitom,

We found the course even slower than the Municipal Course in San Clemente. It felt even slower for my group, because we can reach all the greens.

I've stayed here and it looks like the city view is within your budget, we enjoyed our stay:

http://www.bluelanterninn.com/rooms.htm

I knew the Fodorites would come through with some places I hadn't found, or info on others!

SeaUrchin, am I recalling having read posts of yours on Italy? BlueLanternInn definitely looks interesting; I'll get out the map and see where Dana Point is.

Guess I also need to check the room prices at Casa Tropicana.

The Also Creek Inn doesn't sound like it's on the beach--right? We don't golf. By the time my DH took it up he had too many aches and pains, so golfs the one day of the year it gets him out of work.

Yes, I have written a few. I stayed at the Blue Lantern when I was attending a friend's outdoor wedding nearby. Now this was a few years ago but from the website it looks like it is the same high quality inn. Dana Point is just south of Laguna. Which route is your loop?

"We found the course even slower than the Municipal Course in San Clemente."

I think that's we always get out early. I'm not a great (well, I'm not really a good either) golfer, but I am a fast golfer. When I get behind slow players, I wish Jack Bauer was in my foursome. Torture is justified for slow play on a golf course.

I looked at room prices on Casa Tropicana--that is over my budget.

I'm thinking of trying to time it right for the partial harbor view room at a sspecial rate at the Blue Lantern. Their rooms looked really nice.

I haven't figured out the loop yet from Palm Desert, but DH says he doesn't like driving through Riverside. It looks like the other possibilities might be winding roads through mountains. Pretty slow?

I haven't been to San Juan Capistrano since I was three. It looks like one road comes out about there.

We have to go back to Palm Springs to fly out, so would try to drive back a different route. I might like one night farther down the coast, i.e., Del Mar or Solana if you guys have any ideas. The Inn at Moonlight Bay does look like the Amtrak train goes right by it. I'm a light sleeper. I don't know if the Solana Courtyard by Marriott is near the water or not.

I think the road that goes into SJC is Ortega Highway (Hwy 74). While it is a scenic drive, please be aware that it is a 2-lane road (one lane in each direction) for most of the drive. The road is constant curves so not good for anyone who gets car sick. It is also known for bad accidents, and when those happen you can be stuck for hours since there is no shoulder lane or passing lane for most of the road.

Testing.

SC Foodie, thanks. Sounds like some of the roads here in Alaska. I don't get carsick but it would be a pain to be held up for hours.

Ortega Hwy could be safe, but the people that drive it are crazy. There is a big Lake Elisinore commuter crowd that know the road well and push every curve to its limitjust to save a few minutes. I guess part of saving a buck by living inland in California includes risking your life on daily commutes. I witnessed a Jag rollover on one of the few 74 straightaways . I still havent figured out what happened, Im guessing the guy made a hard turn and accelerated too early coming out of the turn then overcompensated then lost control. Anyways, they didnt go over a cliff and nobody was too seriously hurt.

You can take the 79 to Temecula. I'd be surprised if theres a lot of traffic on that route. If you are going to north county San Diego this would be shorter but not necessarily faster due to the curvy mountain roads.

Temecula has many wineries and would make a nice stop for lunch.

I will look at 79. Sounds like things have changed a lot. In the early '70's we used to drive all over the Anzo Borego, and out to Ramona and Julian for a Sunday drive. Back then the housing north of San Diego stopped near Miramar and the hillsides were beautiful with scrub oak all the way to the Pacific--instead of houses.

Still hoping to find a neat, reasonably priced place to stay on the ocean Del Mar, Solana, Encinitas, etc.

Visiting the Temecula wine country is a great idea! Once you leave there, you can head south on I-15 and connect to Hwy 76. This will take you to I-5 in Oceanside. Take that north and in a short time you will be in San Clemente; just a few more minutes north is Dana Point and then Laguna Beach. I live in San Clemente and take this trip several times a year. It's about one hour from my house to the wine country.

Thanks for the wine country idea. I hadn't realized there were wineries that far south.

The Temecula wine country is fun. There are at least 20 wineries all within a few miles. Here are the links to a couple of websites about the area.

http://www.temeculawines.org

http://temecula.winecountry.com

We've eaten at the restaurant at Ponte Family Winery and the one at South Coast Winery - both have great food. We've stayed at the South Coast Winery Villas - really nice, but a little on the expensive side. The better deals are on weekdays.