California Dreamin'
 

I am planning a trip in early May for my husband and myself. This will be our first time to California and he has left the planning up to me. We will be flying into San Francisco and plan to do a couple of side trips, he wants to go to Yosemite and I would like to go to Carmel. The problem: my husband is a smoker. Where we live that has not been much of a problem, but when looking for hotels in these three areas, so many of the places state in the travel books that they are non-smoking, that it really seems to limit where we can stay. Any suuggestions for any of these areas? I would prefer a smoking room but could probably get by with a room that has a patio or balcony where he could smoke. Help!

Try www.smokeenders.com

Most of the "chain" type hotels (i.e. Marriott, etc.) have both smoking and non-smoking rooms. Don't rely on guide books -- call the hotel directly and ask.

Many properties in the Monterey Bay area have either rooms with balconies or easily-accessed outdoor patio areas where he could smoke (provided even that's allowed), and of course, it won't be terribly cold outside. I suggest you select 2 or 3 places you'd like to stay and then call and ask about such specifics. A smoking room will be very, very difficult to find anywhere in CA.

E. is wrong about the difficulty of finding smoking rooms in California.<BR>It's much more rare to find an all non-smoking hotel. Just choose a hotel and call first to confirm that they have smoking-designated rooms.

Also, be forewarned that you can't smoke indoors at any public places. That incldues restaurants, bars, nightlcubs, bowling alleys etc.

There ARE smoking rooms in CA hotels. I've been out there 5x this year with my chain-smoking boss, who always requests (and gets) a smoking room.

Carmel and Yosemite are in completely different directions, so unless you've got a few weeks, you'll wind up spending most of your vacation on the road. Choose one and go with it.

I have stayed at the Highlands Inn, which is a park Hyatt with my boyfriend who smokes. Rooms are non-smoking but most have balconies where you can smoke.

If your room is non-smoking, you're not supposed to be smoking on the balcony either. The smoke often drifts into the room and gives the drapes that smoky smell. If you leave that smell in the room, the hotel can charge your credit card for drape and carpet cleaning charges. A friend of mine made that mistake once and learned the hard way.

If I had a non-smoking room with a balcony and you were next door on the balcony, I'd be sick from your smoking. So, please be considerate....

Well Jen, what do you want me to do to be considerate?

xxx, apparently you are one on those kind of people who doesn't like smoking and tries to feed people a bunch of lies. Before we stayed at the Highlands Inn, I had called and they had told me that although the rooms were non-smoking that it was alright to smoke on the balcony. I have read other posts here that talk of hotels with the same policy. So maybe you shouldn't make your statements so general in the future.

Doris. just tell him to quit smoking. You know there is one way he will stop.

I stayed at a Sheraton in Northern California that had the same policy for smoking on the balcony - you smoke, you pay cleaning bills. Non-smoking is non-smoking, not just in certain areas. The neighboring balconies don't want to deal with your smoke.

Just let your husband know that smoking while traveling on trails is Yosemite is prohibited, though you may smoke while stopped. (Crush out and dispose of cigarette butts in a trash receptacle.) <BR><BR>http://www.nps.gov/yose/trip/hiking.htm<BR><BR>There are some national parks that prohibit smoking unless you are in your vehicle!<BR><BR>Utahtea<BR>

This xxx character is really a moron!<BR>Have you ever even been to California?<BR><BR>Just because Doris wants to see both Yosemite and Carmel doesn't mean she has to take a month's leave of absence from work. The drive over from YNP is only 198 miles...though virtually none of it is interstate so drive time is 5.5 hours.<BR>But that's hardly a light year.<BR>People don't get ridiculed for driving from SF to Tahoe, and that's barely an hour less.<BR>Lighten up.

I guess if they think doris is trying to much, they must think that I am really crazy for my travel plans for next April. I was planning on flying into SFO, then spending two nights each in Tahoe, Yosemite and Carmel before spending my last three nights in San Francisco. I really don't mind the driving and relish the thought of getting to see places that I haven't seen before.

www.carmelmissioninn.com<BR><BR>Check the website in April, as they may have last-minute internet specials that lower your room rate.

Even as a non-smoker, this sounds like the MOST REDICULOUS policy I've ever heard. I'm all for all non-smoking rooms whenever possible but to tell a smoker he can't even smoke on his own balcony....get real!! What direction is this country going in anyway. Although most of us are non-smokers, smokers still should have some open air rights!!!<BR>If this is true, I'm appalled! Lucy

Never thought I'd find myself agreeing since smoking around me kind of makes me feel sick, but in this case Lucy seems right on. I've yet to stay in a hotel room with a balcony that doesn't ALSO have a door to prevent the smoke from re=entering. Sounds like a scam to bring in more $ to me (hmmmm.....is &quot;joke&quot; Grey Davis behind this?) If a hotel had such a rediculous policy, I might consider NOT STAYING there because smoker or not, this is a ludicrous policy! Maybe even non-smokers need to speak out on this one...what could it be next!