California, Nevada, Arizona itinerary help needed
 

Dear all,

June 7th we will go to the west coast of the US for our 24-day honeymoon. Below you will find our draft travel scheme. Since there are so many hotels offers, we find it hard to make a selection. We would really appreciate hotel suggestions in any of the places we intend to stay. Of course other tips/suggestions on how to plan our trip and what places to stay overnight are more than welcome! Our budget is between 100-175 US$ per night.
Thanks a lot for your help!

Tom & Madeleine

San Francisco
Santa cruz
Monterey
Big sur
Santa Barbara
Malibu
LA
San Diego
Death Valley
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon
Bryce national park
Zion national park
Sequoia national park
Yosemite national park
Napa valley

For all of the National Parks, go to the www.nps.gov site and see if you can get lodging in the park. If they say they are full there, take the number and call, and keep calling as they get cancellations all the time.

Seaway Inn is a cute little hotel in Santa Cruz lodging near the Boardwalk:
http://www.seawayinn.com/. It’s right across the street from the Fabulous Dream Inn. We stayed at the Dream Inn at the tail end of the remodel but after they finished the remodel we couldn’t afford it anymore and we stayed at the Seaway. We thought it was a nice little place. The B & B next door though is spectacular. You might be able to find a special for the place and I would suggest that.
http://www.westcliffinn.com/

You can see the Seaway in the picture of the West Cliff Inn too.

For Yosemite try to stay in the Valley so arrange through www.yosemitepark.com.
If you can’t stay there then try close by El Portal at the Yosemite View. It’s right oin the Merced River.

I've not done it (because I live here), but people on this forum say San Francisco is a particularly good city to use Priceline for your hotel. Bid for a 4* hotel in the Union Square East or Embarcadero areas, and you won't go wrong.

Last month I made a reservation for lodging in the Grand Canyon and almost everything was booked - and this was a reservation for September. I also looked for lodging at Yosemite and everything in the park itself was booked for June.

You probably won't find any lodging in June for either of these parks at this late of a date. But you may luck out if somehow has just canceled a reservation. Start looking for reservation at these parks TODAY.

I've heard nice things about Yosemite View which is just a bit outside of the park, but it also was booked when I was looking for lodging last month

This has to be 2011, right? June 7th is only 2 weeks away.

<<<This has to be 2011, right? June 7th is only 2 weeks away.>>>

I don't think so. In the other thread, it says "in two weeks..."

Thanks for your tips! Indeed, we leave in two weeks from now... Due to all wedding preparations we postponed the honeymoon planning a bit :-)

Wow you may have some real trouble getting lodging in or near Yosemite. But keep trying there are always cancellations. I think the best time to check on line later in the evening, when I think canceled rooms are made available. www.yosemitepark.com

The B & B in Santa Cruz that I mentioned is having some good specials that you may be able to take ad\vantage of, so check that out.

Just booked a room in Curry Village in Yosemite park... I was lucky I guess!

Wow - someone must have just cancelled - you ARE lucky, and that's great!

Somehow the availability for this accomodation is quite okay for June... all other accomodations are indeed fully booked.

Keep checking the other parks by phone, people book a year ahead and then find they can't go last minute. If you try for reservations in a motel that can be cancelled within the last couple of days, you will be ok if something comes up.

You're right, there are available reservations for weekdays in June at Curry Village. And it's better to visit during the week - it's less crowded. Glad that it worked out.

I just replied on your other threads the hotels we used...

If you cannot locate lodging within Zion, you might try Springdale, Utah, a community a few miles away. If nothing available at the Grand Canyon, look in Flagstaff, Arizona (an hour or two away). Neither will give you the same experience of staying within the park, however.
Our favorite places to stay in Vegas are: The Venetian, (best atmosphere) and The MGM Grand.(great pools).
TripAdvisor.com is another great site for reliable reviews of accommodations.

Where are you flying in & out of? Just curious.

If the order of the places they will visit is any indication then it looks like flying in and out of SF.

If you're trying to keep your costs in check, in Las Vegas you might consider Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Casino. I know, the name sounds awful, but we stayed there last month after seeing recommendations for it here on Fodor's. The location is great, mid-strip, and the rooms are quite nice - not as luxurious as some of the higher-priced hotels on the strip, and the bathroom was a little small (but the sink is outside the toilet/shower room, which I like), and the price was quite good. One advantage is that it's a fairly small hotel, so you don't have to walk for miles to get to your room, and it's right next to the street, so you can get in and out pretty quickly - so many of the hotels are set so far back from the street, it takes quite a long time just to walk from your room out to the strip. That was somewhat of a drawback, too, as you could hear lots of noise from the revelers out on the street until late at night. It was more pronounced on the weekend, not so bad during the week. We had a wonderful view of the Bellagio fountains from our room, and also of the Eiffel Tower at Paris - if you do stay there, try to get a room with a view of the fountains. The Bellagio Fountains are my very favorite thing in Las Vegas, I could watch them for hours! Bill's doesn't have a pool, but you can use the pool at the Flamingo next door if you show them your room key. You might prefer to go more upscale in Vegas, but we were pretty happy staying here.

Although normally I advise trying to stay inside the National Parks, when you go to Zion I think you should try to get a room at the Desert Pearl Inn in Springdale, especially as it's your honeymoon. We stayed there last month, and were blown away at how nice it is. The rooms are huge, and include a large eating area and a couch, coffee table, & chairs, private patio or balcony, and floor-to-ceiling windows with wonderful views of the red rock cliffs. They also have a kitchenette with small refrigerator, microwave, sink, toaster, counters, dishes, flatware, & glassware. You could save some money by making some of your own meals. The Desert Pearl is at the upper range of your prices, but absolutely worth it! It's close to the entrance to Zion, and shuttle buses into the park stop right out front every few minutes.

Dear all, thanks for all great tips! We indeed fly in and out San Francisco. Does it make any difference in what direction I would do the trip (SF-LV-LA or SF-LA-LV)? Any good tips in LA and around: Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Malibu, San Diego?
Thanks!