Tripadvisor always has horror stories about places. I don't trust those posters at all there. I sometimes think there are lots of pranksters on that forum.

I read horrid reviews about a property in Monterey, The Spindrift Inn from guy with OCD that said the doorknobs were dirty.

We've stayed at the Spindrift in a king-corner room and it was very nice. There are a lot of strange reviews there. This forum is much more reliable, IMO.

San Simeon has a pier, but other than it's uneventful. Bobludlow, I hope your BW stay is at the Fireside Inn, across the street from Moonstone Beach.

Try the Moonstone Bar & Grill for some good food and beautiful views of the ocean. We like to eat outside at "the rail" but they have recently remodeled the inside and it's really pretty.

We also enjoy having tea at the Tea Cozy in Cambria, a quaint tea house where you can have sandwiches and scones with your tea. ***kim***

www.teacozy.com is the website for those interested in the tea house in Cambria. Enjoy! ***kim***

We were at Hearst Castle last week & took Tour 1 & 2, which we enjoyed very much. I think most of the tour guides are volunteers -- they tell you that they don't have a "script" -- that they will answer any questions and they'll talk about whatever guests are interested in. The two tour guides we had were very competent. We stayed at the Moonstone Inn on Moonstone Beach and liked it very much. A small breakfast is brought in the morning (on a silver tray) and in the afternoon there is a carafe of wine with cheese & crackers or grapes. For dinner we went to Robin's and The Sow's Ear. Both were excellent and not expensive for the quality of food and service.

There have been very mixed reviews of the Moonstone Inn here. I'm almost wondering if they have some newer rooms and some outdated, yet to be remodeled rooms. I'm glad you enjoyed your stay there, tho! ***kim***

The Moonstone Inn...my wife and I honeymooned there twenty years ago, when it was the only hotel on Moonstone Beach. We also ate at the Sea Chest back then, and there was a line to get in back then. We were considering returning there for our twentieth, but have been concerned with some of the reviews, although the post by KathyM describes the hotel just as we remember it. Is there still a spa out front where you can sip wine and hear the ocean? We had thought about staying at one of the newer hotels, but the Moonstone does have special memories. But, if it has become rundown, we'd just as soon not tarnish those memories. Anyone else have some recent first hand knowledge? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for all of the help. The Hearst evening tour was the highlight of our trip south. The setting sun and costumed actors made it fun, but the real advantage over the daytime tours were its added length and the fact that they split our busload into three different groups instead of keeping us all together. It made for a much more intimate experience. I also really enjoyed the well-made IMAX film about the history of Hearst and his castle.

We used our discount at the Best Western Cavalier and were impressed by the great location and amenities (warm thick robes, complimentary binoculars for wildlife viewing, and a fireplace in the room). As for Cambria, it was a bit too touristy for us but we really enjoyed the Farmers' Market that is held every Friday afternoon. Kudos to Best Western for telling us about it.

Other highlights: Bonny Doon does an amazing wine tasting in Paso Robles and I had some of the best Mexican food of my life in a tiny restaurant called Las Fuentes in Soledad.

Did you visit any other wineries in Paso? We really like Meridian, Peachy Canyon, EOS and Martin & Weyrich.

We need to get over to EOS to pick up a wine club order, we'll have to pay Bonny Doon a visit. ***kim***