Moonstone Landing Cambria
Next halt on the Pacific Coast Highway Road trip at Moonstone Landing, a small 29 room boutique hotel overlooking Moonstone Beach in Cambria. Chose this place because its centrally located for a day tour of all the major attractions in the area, including Heart Castle and the thousands of slippery, bumbling elephant seals at the Piedras Blancas rookery, among other things.
I've seen a lot many beautiful lanscapes, both along the Pacific Coast and in the Sierra Nevada and even on the Eastern seaboard, but Moonstone beach really beats everything else by a mile. And then some. The entire area is blanketed by mist and the salty ocean tang mixing with the mournful cries of the sea otters, the net effect is that of being dropped into a completely different time wrap - One unemcumbered by malls and high rise apartments and resort hotels. This is nature in all its pristine glory, with whales sputing and dolphins zipping by just off the coast. Plus there's also many landmarks such s Heart Castle, the Piedras Blancas lighthouse and the surf is great up and down the coast.
And the best way you can get an eyeful of all this is by putting up at Moonstone Landing, located beachside at Moonstone Beach and minutes away from Hearst Castle. There's not much to say about the rooms and amenities here, except that they offer a free continental breakfast with plenty of cereal and coffee and fruits, and a late afternoon snack of cheese and crackers. The rooms are pretty spacious, well lit, and equipped with all the usual stuff, including a fireplace, internet access, a marble bathroom, refrigerator, microwave, DVD player, coffee maker and hair dryer. Rooms with an ocean view also include a private patio and a spa tub. Room rates start at $140 and upwards onto $295, depending on your choice of room and seasonal changes. All said and done, Moonstone Landing offers pretty much everything that most Cambria hotels offer. But the Moonstone Landing does it cheaper, and nothing to beat the view and the central location.
Info: 6240 Moonstone Beach Dr Cambria CA; (805) 927-0012; www.moonstonelanding.com
