I lived in SLO in the 1970's and frequent it now in the 2000's as a nice, calm, casual place to take a break from the bustle (and summertime heat) of Los Angeles.
San Luis Obispo (SLO) is about 200 miles north of the Santa Clarita Valley, just north of Los Angeles. If you take the old State Route 126 west from Castaic in Santa
Clarita, out to Ventura...and then veer north on Highway 1 and Highway 101 which intertwine and overlap on parts this trip...you will eventually end up in SLO. It is a 3-4 hour
drive from Casraic to SLO. If you continue on up
Highway 101, it will meet Highway 1 again, and in 15 miles from SLO, you will see Morro Rock in Morro Bay, which is affiliated with the same system that made the large volcano peaks visible in SLO...
If you are looking for somewhere to stay in San Luis Obispo, I can give you some suggestions based on my experience, not my affiliations with any hotel chains...
The SLO Hostel is located a block from the Amtrak station (Photo: K. Anderberg, Sept. 2008)
If you are looking for very low priced accomodations, the San Luis Obispo hostel, "Hostel Obispo," is actually very nice and only 2 blocks
from the train station! Hostel Obispo
is a nice, big old house on the southern part of SLO, within a short walk from downtown SLO. You could take a train and walk to the hostel and walk all over town
from there and never need a car the whole trip! The beds and bedrooms at the SLO Hostel are comfortable and clean...and the prices cannot be beat at $25 per bed per night in the shared dorm rooms. The
Hostel Obispo is at 1617 Santa Rosa, and their phone number is 805-544-4678.
SLO Travelodge on Monterey St. (Photo: K. Anderberg, Sept 2008)
If you would like a bit more privacy, but cannot afford much higher prices, I recommend the
Travelodge on Monterey St. The last time I stayed there in
Sept. 2008, the rooms were clean, the
bathrooms were nice, the air conditioning worked, the beds were not saggy, there was ample parking, the pool was sparkling clean and a perfect temperature. The managers were helpful and
accessible. It also had small ammenities like free shampoo and coffee maker in room, as well as blow dryer on bathroom wall, and free continental breakfast in the lobby. There is a nice
hillside right behind the hotel for a nice view, and the hotel is literally at the eastern end of the main street in town. If you follow Monterey St. from the hotel east, you
will run into the heart of SLO. (Also, if you take Monterey St. east, in two blocks you will run into a nice restaurant, the Apple Farm Inn Restaurant.) The prices at this
Travelodge vary, but I paid $62 a night in Sept 2008. This Travelodge is located at 1825 Monterey St. and their phone number is 805-543-5110.
SLO's Apple Farm Inn (Photo: K. Anderberg, Sept 2008)
For something a little more upscale than the Travelodge, I would suggest the Apple Farm Inn. This inn has a lovely ambiance of an old farm to it,
with a working waterwheel on premises, and a lovely garden area with a running brook. The hotel rooms face the beautiful hills behind...this is a place that it seems would be nice to
put relatives up at when they are visiting in town...Their room prices start at around $80. The Apple Farm Inn is located at 2015 Monterey St. and their phone number is 800-255-2040.
If you really want to go all out, you can stay at the Madonna Inn. The craziest room I have seen at the Madonna Inn is
the Caveman Room. At $270 a night, this room boasts rock walls, leopard prints, in-room waterfalls, a cavern bathroom, etc. The Madonna
Inn also has a Jungle Room, with a similar theme of rock walls, jungle prints, etc. also at around $260 a night. The Madonna Inn also has
an old west themed room called the Yahoo Room, and the Country Gentleman
room has a living room with a fireplace, as well as a master bedroom and upstairs bedroom. There are rooms for every taste at the Madonna Inn, especially if you like floral prints! LOL!
There are many floral themed rooms, as Mrs. Madonna loved flowers and pink!
SLO has many great motels, etc. These are only the ones I have had intimate contact with and would recommend and stay at again. As I explore more in the region, I will add to this page.
Kirsten Anderberg. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint/publish, please contact Kirsten at kirstena@resist.ca.