california accommodation advice

[applegate79]

We are heading to california for 3 weeks in October, following lots of reading and advice from you all on here we are set in an itinerary.
So I have booked accommodation for san Francisco and yosemite and we are staying with family in la but still need accommodation for
st simeon or st Louis opismo
monterey or carmel
mammoth
las vegas
I have spent hours trailing through trip advisor and can't decide. ...its made slightly more awkward by the fact that we have 3dc-although we are happy to use existing beds/take air bed as suggested on here.
So any recommendations for lovely places you have stayed in?? Flexible on budget but san Francisco was ++expensive so keen not to spend too much!

Consider hiring an RV? Good fun! RV parks outside of big cities can be really great, and give everyone some time for relaxing and exploring.

We did think about it but were put off by the thought of negotiating around cities!

We just did the same trip. The Madonna Inn at SLO was a huge hit. We only stayed one night but it's an experience. The rooms were very large and the swimming pool lovely. We swam at 10 pm after a surreal dinner in the ball room one evening, my boys still talk about it as one of the highlights.

I wouldn't recommend the Porta hotel in Monterey. Overpriced and rude staff.

Caeses palace in Vegas is good value and will also impress the children. Good location center of the strip too.

It's a minefield, but so worth it.

Las Vegas - we stayed in the Signature at MGM Grand. No casino or bars in the Signature towers, all rooms are huge, we had one bed suites so had separate room and bathroom from the kids. Kitchen if you want to make anything. The towers have their own quieter pools. So all good if you want some time away from madness of the Strip. BUT they are connected to the MGM Grand so you can use the 5 pools and lazy river complex there which is fab and you have all of their restaurants, monorail up the strip, lots on the doorstep etc. Would def stay there again.

Do you mean the Portola in Monterey Puffle? We actually loved it - good location and nice things for the kids. We did get a very good deal including an amazing breakfast.

Thanks for that.dh did a similar trip 20 years ago and stayed at the Madonna inn ( only place he can remember)and I hadn't even considered it still being there so it would be good to try. Thanks also for las vegas recommendations the choice there is vast and it helps to narrow it down

Yes Tess it was the Portola. I agree the location was great and the room was very large, it was just let down by the poor service. Reception staff were rude and we walked out of the restaurant after being ignored for ages after we arrived. Also the pool was really small and crowded with nowhere to sit.

I do think Monterey is better than Carmel for a stay with children though and highly recommend hiring cycles and cycling up the coast path, taking a picnic and stopping along the beach to play in the enormous waves. When we did this the seals/ seal lions came to play with the boys as they were clearly not used to seeing people actually in the beautiful sea!

I would second staying at the MGM Signature as their apartments are spacious. Also it is both a non gaming and non smoking facility throughout. (They would likely put you in either Tower 2 or 3 as Tower 1s pool area is for adults only). They also have a little known laundry facility!.

Be careful of doing the coast with an RV because they can be huge and once on a site, they don't do the sightseeing daily trips. My friends were totally marooned on some sites and were lost without a car. I prefer Carmel to Monterey. It's just a nicer place. There are some great inns and guest houses in the Carmel area and if you have a car, day trips to other places are possible, eg Big Sur.

airbnb

Just in case you see this and haven't left already! We did a similar trip last year, stayed in Pismo Lighthouse suites for 2 nights and 2 in The Clement Monterey. Both very good. Didn't eat at the clement as so many places to eat out. We booked by recommendations from trip advisor etc mainly and we were relieved at our choices!! Used HomeAway for other 4 night stays. Hope you have an amazing time like we did!

We recently stayed at Svensgaards Inn in Carmel and were really happy with it. The breakfasts were really lovely, they leave a cool at at your door juice, fruit, croissants/muffins, cereal and papers. Tbh, from the outside all the hotel/inns look very similar.

We really liked Monterey as well though, it had a more normal feel to it and much more down to earth. Carmel is lovely but a bit strange and very contrived quirky. The beach is lovely though.

Cool box!