California Here We Come without a hotel
 

We need help. We are "East Coasters" and are heading west for the very first time.

We will spend 5 wonderful days in LA in July as our FAB daughter (age 12) won a trip!!! Now we need some expert advice. We can extend and thought about the following:

Rent a car and drive from LA to SF
Hearst Castle - stay "somewhere" one night
San Fran - three nights
Napa area - two nights
Gold Country / Yosemite - two nights
Fly out of Sacramento

There are three of us. We need some "best piece of advice" on lodging in ALL stops. I've considered Union Street Inn in San Fran. Thought too about Columbia (City Hotel/Fallons) or Murphys for our gold country time - Is that a good central location to include gold & Yosemite?

I've read lots of "stuff" and I'm getting confused - we hope "the experts" can help.

Thanks

.

And in the car we stay without reservations!

Just kidding. Couldn't resist.

TTT for mommafrog and good luck!

Since you'll have a car, consider the Columbus Motor Inn in San Fran since the rates include parking. I think it's the best-located of any 'free parking hotels'.

Be sure to reserve for dinner at the Getty Center in L.A., their restaurant stays open at night on Fri and Sat. I'd say dine from 7 to 8:30 then go outside for the sunset.

Also, with a 12 year old, I'd cut to one night in Napa and do two nights on the way up the coast from L.A.

Lunch and a stroll in Santa Barbara, overnighter near Hearst in San Simeon or Cambria (check out sspines.com)...then a night in Carmel or Monterey. A stop at Point Lobos State Park would be nice heading north after your morning at Hearst.

Thanks - what does TTT mean?

It means To The Top. It bumps your question back up to the very top of the pile.

"Gold Country / Yosemite - two nights"

Two nights for Gold Country AND Yosmite is not enought time for one of those locations...let alone both.

If you choose to stay in the Gold Country and do a day trip to Yosemite from Murphy's or Columbia...keep in mind you will be spending 5 hours of just driving for a round trip from these locations to and Yosemite and back. Kind of kills the day. I would choose just one.

I would try to spend the two nights in Yosemite Valley if you can get reservations. Lots of times you can get in on a cancellation so keep calling.

On you way from Napa to Yosemite you can travel part of Hwy 49 and do some Gold Country exploring before you reach Yosemite.

Utahtea

Unless you simply "must" go to Napa/Sonoma, I'd drop that part and add one night along the coast and one night in Yosemite.

If you are big into wines that is one thing -- but in July the Napa Valley will just be a HOT, dry valley with lots of other folks driving around wondering why everyone said it is so gorgeous.

Thanks very much for your input. We checked out some hotels on line. We found some that we like. Do you have any suggestions on where to stay in Yosemite?

Thanks so much
MommaFrog :-)

July is very busy along the coast and Yosemite. Your choices are limited at Yosemite,I would be suprised if you could find something inside the park at this date (usually books a year ahead) but you could try the Tenaya Lodge or somewhere in Mariposa.

If you search "Cambria" you will find many hotel recommendations for the area, as well as restaurants.

Cambria is a good spot for overnighting near Hearst Castle. There isn't much in San Simeon. Also check out moonstonehotels.com. In Yosemite, check out Evergreen Lodge if the park is full. You may also be able to stay in the Camp Curry cabins if you don't mind roughing it a bit. It will be fun for your daughter at least!

For Yosemite you could probably still get a tent cabin at Camp Curry. Pretty basic accomodations, but the location is great. Also try the Wawona Hotel on the south end. Very cute hotel with a variety of room types. It is inside the park a few miles from the south entrance. Two night in the Valley would be great.

I'd bag the wine country and add another day to the coast. On your way up the coast, stop at Pfieffer Beach at Big Sur. Gorgeous! Have a great trip.
-Bill

Thanks so much for all of your advice, guys. Has anybody ever been to the Chancellor in San Fransico? We need help!!!

:-) MommaFrog (-:

if you can, get a night in the actual Big Sur area, Pfeiffer-Big Sur Lodge or one of the motels along the Big Sur River. Do a search on "Big Sur Lodging" and you should find the page with links to all the places. Fairly expensive (starts at a hundred bucks a night, mostly) but worth it. Deetjens Inn is worth it if you like the atmosphere.

I agree with cutting out Napa and spending the time at Big Sur and Yosemite. You really need a minimum of three days at Yosemite to get a glimpse of everything. One day for the valley, one day for the Mariposa Grove giant sequoias and Glacier Point and one day for the high country and over Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. The last should really be two days anyway. But you'd better get reservations if you're not camping.

We will reconsider wine country time although DAD needs his time - thanks to all who have offer suggestions. I will look into them. We haven't heard from anyone about the Chancellor in SF yet.

Momma,
I stayed at the Chancellor a few years ago and thought it was a great deal for the money. The room was small, but nicely furnished and very clean. It was a bit noisy at night, but I expected that. I would stay there again.
-Bill

Second the recommendation on the Chancellor. Also, if you are driving from Carmel through Big Sur to the Central Coast (Cambria etc...) there will be more wineries than you can count! Dad will not be deprived and you will not have to go out of your way!

Agree with cutting out Napa/Sonoma. Plenty of other places (Santa Barbara,Central Coast, Monterey County) for wine. You will want to also include the Monterey Bay Aquarium for your 12 year old.

besides the central coast wineries -- if you drop Napa/Sonoma - one of those extra days can be used to tour the Amador wine region. W/i 4 or 5 miles of the village of Plymouth there are more than 30 wineries. Some really great wines are produced in a MUCH less crowded/commercial region with even prettier scenery. And you will be right on hwy 49 which heads south to hwy 120 (or a bit farther to 140) into Yosemite.

By dropping Napa/Sonoma you can have 1 day/night in the Amador wine region and 2 days/nights in Yosemite w/o having to drive all the way up to Napa and then back south to Yosemite.

You can hit the Livermore Valley wineries. It's right on the way from SF to Yosemite.

http://www.livermorewine.com/

Utahtea

Thanks so much! We were waiting to hear about the Chancellor. We are getting excited (but nervous) about this trip- or at least, my 12 year old daughter is. Did any one ever hear of or stay at Sir Francis Drake or The Westin Saint Francis?

Thanks, :-) I love these smileys! :-)
Momma Frog

The St Francis is a very famous old hotel with a modern high rise incorporated, and a great place to stay if it fits in the budget. But parking will cost a LOT.

The Sir Francis Drake is also very nice - not quite up to the St Francis level but still a nice property.

The St Francis sits on the west side of Union Square and is one of the best locations in the city. The Sir Francis Drake is just up Powell Street from Union Square. Both are on the Powel St cable car line.

A couple of thoughts for you - if you cannot get loding in Yosemite National Park itself, the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal, just outside the park gates is a great place to stay. Also, if you are staying in Sacramento the night before your flight, the Embassy Suites is a good place to stay. It's right on the river and right next to Old Sacramento, which would be fun for your 12 year old. Also not far away is Sutters Fort. Have a great time!

Did anybody ever stay at the Renaissance Parc 55 in San Fransico. We might be able to get a good rate there. Is it worth it????

Thanks
MommaFrog

Try to stay at the Fishermans Wharf area of SanFran. You can usually get a deal that includes parking, cable car pass and breakfast at the realtively new Argonaut Hotel. Really the best area for a kid in San Francisco. The Marriot Fishermans WHarf is pretty good, too.

i never stay near the wharf...way too crowded and touristy. i always stay near the aiport where i don't pay for parking and just drive in and park. i use priceline and end up w/ a great deal.

I have stayed at the Renaissance Parc 55 before when I was working a convention. It was a nice hotel, good location but typical for the big, business type hotels.

I would not suggest staying by the airport and driving in. Besides dealing with SF traffic, parking is very expensive.

As far as staying by Fisherman's Wharf, it is true that it is very touristy but kids like it. The Argonaut is very nice but when we went last December we stayed at the Columbus Motor Inn. I am not the type to stay at a Motor Inn but it was perfect. One reason I picked it was because they offer free parking. You can even get a room with two bedrooms so your daughter can have her own space. It is about a 5-10 min walk to Fisherman's Wharf, a 5-10 walk to North Beach (Little Italy) and from there you just keep walking into Chinatown. The bus goes right by the front of the hotel and the cable car stop is around the corner. My DD who is 17, did like the Union Square area a little more but if she had her way, she would live in Nordstrom!!