We Are Back from the USA
J C & L. California Coast Road Trip. August 2005
(note from Shellseekers: these comments have been condensed slightly but the info is terrifically helpful to us because it is so comprehensive)
San Francisco
The Handlery Hotel in San Francisco was the perfect location, with clean, decent rooms and very helpful staff. Food at the "Daily Grill" was also really good. We were too late to get on an Alcatraz tour, but did the wine country tour which was worth it. Visited some beautiful wineries, especially "Viansa" - lovely deli and gift shop. City tour of San Francisco was good but the fog was so bad we could hardly see the sights!
Monterey
The Monterey Beach resort was right on the ocean with lovely views - although chilly. Rooms basic but fine. Hotel has complimentary snacks early evening - yum! We had a great night out in Monterey; the town was buzzing because of a car show in Carmel. We could easily have had an extra (3rd) night in the area.
San Simeon
The Courtesy Inn was not very nice; we would recommend staying in Cambria - 4 miles south. We ate at the "Sow's Ear" in Cambria which was delicious and very busy. Also great for sweet treats is "Linn's" which is famous for pies. We did not visit Hearst Castle.
Santa Barbara
The Pepper Tree Inn was lovely, with a great pool area and Jacuzzi. The only bad part was that our towels were stolen from our patio area. There are plenty of restaurants and bars to entertain at night and the shops were impressive. Lovely beaches. I loved Santa Monica, but the other two rated Monterey better. Luckily were in town at the same time as the US Navy was in port, so the evenings were buzzing!
Santa Monica
We loved Loews Hotel from the minute we drove in. The staff were excellent. The concierge took a shine to us and organised our evenings - recommending and booking restaurants and taxis. And left chocolate dipped strawberries in our room!! We would definitely go back to this hotel - but for a longer stay. We booked an LA tour from the hotel - which was not great, although we did get to see the Hollywood sign (a 5 hour tour was more than enough!).
Laguna Beach
The Laguna Reef Inn was fine, although the pool area was not very big and was always in the shade - so we hit the beaches. We ate at Ruby's Diner one evening - a short walk from the hotel. This was a fabulous American diner - delicious burgers, shakes and pies. The staff are all dressed in '50s style uniforms. We felt like we were in Grease!
Travel: Our car (4x4) was perfect for us and we did not experience any problems driving. We flew on BA and had no real drama, despite departing during the industrial dispute.
General: We were very impressed with the info given by Shellseekers, and the service. Our itinerary was spot on for what we wanted to achieve on this trip. The only thing we would have changed was the night in San Simeon.
We are very happy to recommend Shellseekers to our friends and have already done this!
Kay - thank you so much for your help with organising the holiday. We had no problems at all during our fortnight. We will definitely use Shellseekers again. It is perfect for me as I am always travelling with work and have no patience/time to trudge through brochures and internet looking for the perfect holiday! Obviously, your knowledge of California helped a great deal. Personally, I was really impressed with your service - I felt it was tailored to our tastes, while still leaving a little adventure. I look forward to my next holiday.
