Archive for the 'California's Central Coast' Category
A nifty hotel deal for 50-and-over crowd in Central California
November 4, 2009 5:57am
OK, so you’re still 12 years away from drawing Social Security and 15 years from getting Medicare. Aren’t there any perks for turning 50? Well yes, and we’re not talking about getting an invite in the mail to join AARP or receiving snarky birthday cards with over-the-hill jokes. The over-50 set can score reduced room rates and more this winter at five inns in San Luis Obispo County in Central California.
Deal: If you or someone in your party is 50 or older, you’re eligible for the “Nifty Fifty” special at five inns run by Boutique Hotel Collection: Apple Farm Inn in San Luis Obispo, the Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach, Inn at Morro Bay in Morro Bay, Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort in Avila Beach and SeaVenture Resort in Pismo Beach.
The details of the deal differ from inn to inn. But generally, you’ll get discounts on your room, food and items from the gift shop. Room rates vary by location, and not all rooms may be included in the deal, which is subject to availability and other restrictions.
Pacifica Hotels: 25% off, plus bring a toy for a bigger discount
October 29, 2009 5:51am
For a getaway up or down the coast, or in popular destinations inland, you might look into a stay with Pacifica Hotels. The company, largely rooted in California but with locations in Florida and Hawaii as well, has a great promotion going for late fall and early winter. See below for the scoop.
Deal: Under its current online winter promotion, receive 25% off regular rates at Pacifica Hotels properties over the next couple of months. Plus, if you bring along a new, unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more, you get an additional $10 per night off your bill at checkout. The hotel participates in the Toys for Tots program, so your gift will go to children in need.
The deal is good only in California, where Pacifica runs hotels in in Sonoma, San Francisco, Cambria, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Marina del Rey, Redondo Beach, Laguna Beach and San Diego, among other locations. [Corrected at 10:15 a.m. Oct. 29: An earlier version of this post did not make it clear that this deal is good only at Pacifica hotels in California, not in Florida or Hawaii.] Read the rest of this entry »
Get a third night for free at 35 California hotels
October 21, 2009 5:59am
Buy two, get one free. That’s the idea behind the Third Night Free offer at 35 California hotels run by Joie de Vivre, a boutique chain based in San Francisco. Launched to promote the company’s new “Joie of Life” micro-site that focuses on social networking, the deal isn’t being advertised on the chain’s main website. But you can book it there anyway — if you know the code.
The deal is worth hunting up because Joie de Vivre runs a lot of fun and well-located hotels in a range of prices, such as San Francisco’s Hotel Rex and Hotel Vitale, Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles and Hotel Erwin at Venice Beach. The 411:
Deal: Pretty straightforward. You book a room for three nights in a row, and the third night is free. There are two ways to get the deal: You can book it through the Third Night Free section of the Joie of Life micro-site or go to the regular Joie de Vivre website and enter the code “JOIE” in the “Promo Code” window when making a reservation. The micro-site lists the participating hotels, with nightly rates that start at $79 to $459, depending on the hotel.
Napa Valley wine travel: Use Twitter and Facebook to nab a deal during ‘Crush’ season
October 1, 2009 5:56am
TripAdvisor recently named Napa Valley the “undisputed American capital of wine” in its list of Top 10 North American Wine Destinations. Second place went to Sonoma and third place went to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. To celebrate, Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa put up a sale on rooms through Twitter and Facebook for their fans during the 2009 “Crush” grape harvest season. It’s a 72-hour sale that started Sept. 30, so book your rooms by Friday if you want to take advantage of a good deal during this annual event.
Deal: Rooms start at $99 (Sunday through Thursday) and $199 (Friday and Saturday) for stays through Nov. 14. That’s a significant markdown, considering that rates typically range from $209 to $259 weekdays and start at $279 on weekends. The lowest weekday rate I found (on sale) at Hotels.com was $159 per night. This deal is only good on Twitter and Facebook. It’s also worth following the Marriott on Twitter (@napamarriott) because it sometimes gives out free tasting passes to its local winery partners to tweeps who visit. Note that the offer is only good through .
Golden Ticket awards honor top amusement park rides of 2009
September 10, 2009 5:43pm
Amusement Today magazine awarded the Golden Ticket today to the Prowler wooden coaster at Worlds of Fun in Missouri as the best new amusement park ride of 2009 in the United States.
The Voyage at Holiday World in Indiana remained the all-time favorite wooden coaster, with Prowler claiming the eighth spot in the Top 10 wooden coaster list.
Diamondback at Kings Island in Ohio was named the best new steel coaster for 2009, moving into the seventh spot on Amusement Today’s all-time Top 10 steel coasters list. Bizarro (formerly Superman – Ride of Steel) at Six Flags New England in Massachusetts maintained the all-time top spot in the steel coaster category.
Schlitterbahn water park in Texas snagged best new water ride of 2009 honors for Congo River Expedition.
Big Sur: Watch for endangered California condors Sept. 13 on coastal tour
September 10, 2009 1:21pm
Among the 130 threatened or endangered wild-animal species in our state is the California condor. The largest flying bird in North America, it can be found in areas from Big Sur on down to Southern California’s Sespe Wilderness, as well as in the Grand Canyon, according to the Ventana Wildlife Society.
This nonprofit group, which works to conserve various native animals and their habitats, conducts viewing tours of the birds in Big Sur on the second Sunday of every month, and the next one is this Sunday, Sept.. 13. On these tours, you have a very good chance of seeing one or more condors, organizers say, and are virtually guaranteed to learn at least a little something along the way.
Starting at the organization’s “bird-banding lab” in Andrew Molera State Park, the two-hour tour is by caravan, in participants’ own vehicles. Driving along the coast, tour-goers stop at pullouts in areas frequented by condors, while the guide presents information regarding condor biology, the Big Sur birds individually and as a whole, and the organization’s condor restoration program. Read the rest of this entry »
Central Calif.: $100 credit or fourth night free at Dolphin Bay Resort
September 6, 2009 5:58am
The Central California coast, between Los Angeles and San Francisco, offers a wonderful array of rugged beaches, laid-back towns and eyefuls of beauty, whether you’re on the road, the trail or the waves.
If you’re looking for spacious, upscale and well-equipped accommodations, then Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa, just a couple miles up the coast from Pismo Beach, is the place to find them, according to many happy TripAdvisor travelers. And the resort is offering a couple of appealing deals this fall.
Deals: The oceanfront resort, off of Highway 1 in Shell Beach, is —among its various promotions—offering guests these options: $100 resort credit per night for certain rooms, or a fourth night free for any room type. You can’t do both in one go, unfortunately.
The resort credit is applicable for bookings of ocean-view or oceanfront rooms. You can use your credit at Lido Restaurant or at La Bonne Vie Spa, both on-site.
But if you’re staying at least four nights, you don’t need an ocean-view unit and you aren’t likely to partake of the aforementioned spa and restaurant every day, you’ll save more by taking advantage of the “Fourth Night Free” special. Read the rest of this entry »
Last-minute Labor Day campsites at California state parks
September 3, 2009 1:04pm
Time is running out if you want to reserve a campsite for Labor Day weekend at California state parks. And don’t expect to get a prime spot. Fortunately, about two dozen parks offer camping on a first-come, first-served basis. You just have to get there early; most of these campgrounds will fill up by early tomorrow ( Friday), park officials say. Here are your options:
Reserve a campsite: You need to book at least 48 hours in advance of arrival with the ReserveAmerica service. So the earliest night you can book today is for Saturday, and you need to book by 5 p.m. PDT. More than 30 parks still had weekend campsites available as of Wednesday. Typically, these are primitive sites, and you often must walk a ways to get to them. Or they are inland, in warmer areas. Among the parks with space were Orange County’s Crystal Cove (campsites, not the cottages, which were booked) and Cuyamaca Rancho in San Diego County.
Take your chances: A total of 26 California state parks and recreation areas accept at least some campers on a first-come, first-served basis, usually at sites with few services. Among them are Andrew Molera State Park (pictured) in the Big Sur area, and Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Fall for a $99 stay at ‘rustic’ Big Sur River Inn
August 20, 2009 11:17am
After summer road-trippers are gone but before winter delivers its consistent coats of cold air and rain, fall is a beautiful time to visit California’s Big Sur area. Lush and leafy, coastal and cozy, Big Sur is one of those magical places that draws its fans back again and again to hike and adventure, watch for warblers or simply skip rocks riverside.
If you’re staying in the region, you’ve got a wide range of lodgings to choose from, like camping, staying in a yurt or cabin, or luxuriating at the romantic Post Ranch Inn. If you’re on a budget, though, and want to sleep indoors, one of the best deals I’m seeing in fall is at Big Sur River Inn. But there’s a caveat. See below.
Deal: At Big Sur River Inn, you can take advantage of a “$99 Fall Back Special,” which gives you, for that appealing pre-tax rate, a queen-bed room for two with a full breakfast off the menu thrown in for both members of the party (note that tip is not included). Read the rest of this entry »
Higher fees at California state parks start today: Where to find details
August 17, 2009 5:34pm
Starting today, Aug. 17, it will cost you more to visit and camp at many California state parks. In some cases, the cost has doubled.
The increases stem from California’s budget crises, which has put the state billions of dollars in debt. “In these dire economic times, we can longer afford to keep our fees at their current levels,” State Parks Director Ruth Coleman said last week in announcing the fee hikes.
Officials waited until today to release a park-by-park rundown of the new fees for day use and camping. Among Southern California parks affected, with sample fees:
> Anza-Borrego Desert State Park: Parking went from $6 per day year-round to $5 to $8, depending on the season. Borrego Palm Canyon developed campsites with hookups were $24 to $29 per night, depending on season; now $35 year-round.
