Atascadero hotel?
 

We will be traveling from Yosemite/Kings Canyon across to do the coastal trip up Hwy 1 on our trip in early Sept. In checking hotel prices on the coast, I have found them to be very pricey, especially since our arrival there will be on the weekend. I found a HI Express in Atascadero that is slated to open in July of this year that is a substantial savings over any other hotel of it's category in the area. We are essentially using the hotel for a place to rest our heads for 2 nights and want a clean and comfortable place, nothing fancy. We plan to venture out early each day to the surrounding area and then on up the coast to Monterey for another 2 nights and ending in San Francisoco.

My question is, will we be missing out on staying in this town vs San Luis Obispo or Cambria, or even Paso Robles. It seems that Atascadero is never mentioned as a place to visit. Any reason why it should be skipped?

I can't answer your question about the new HI Express in Atascadero, but my family has stayed several times at the Oxford Suites in Pismo Beach and we like it. We have two rooms booked again there in June for our whole family.

http://www.oxfordsuitespismobeach.com/
Although not right on the beach,the rooms are all suite rooms with a seperate bedroom, microwave and small fridge, nice pool area, hot breakfast included in the price, along with an evening reception. The location is good for exploring. We have taken day trips from there to Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Solvang, Morrow Beach, Cambria. Its a good location for exploring.

It's close enough to SLO, Cambria and Paso Robles to use it as a base. I think you will be fine there.

My parents live in Templeton (between Atascadero and Paso Robles) and I used to live in the area. There's really not a lot to see/do in Atascadero as a destination, but it's certainly fine as a central location to "rest your head" for two nights, if you're planning to explore the local area and sights (San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles wine country, Hearst Castle, etc.).

Cheers,
Mike
My personal travel blog: www.stricklandia.com

Ah yes, the weekend on the coast in summer problem.

You might want to try Hotwire and search "San Luis Obispo" and "Pismo Beach". Something may show up.

Atascadero isn't too far inland. Another option with tons of relatively cheap hotel rooms is Lompoc.

There is not much to see or do in Atascadero and the new HI Express is on the other side of the highway from the main part of town(which isn't much). But since you have a car you could access Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo easily. It's about a 20-minute drive from Atascadero to San Luis Obispo and less to Paso Robles.

One idea is to find a large company and contact a hotel and request the corporate rate for that company. PG&E is the large power company that runs the nuclear power power plant there. There is a Marriott Courtyard in SLO at 1605 Calle Joaquin Road 1 805-786-4200. The rate might be about $135 or so.