San Luis Obispo · Hotel shortlist
The best hotels near Pismo Beach
Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya
These are my five favourites in San Luis Obispo, out of the 55 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, all five scoring 4.6.
All five are within 2.1 km of Pismo Beach.
Highest rated of the five
Sea Gypsy Motel
★★★★★4.6 from 549 reviews
Sea Gypsy Motel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.6 from 549 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 4 star property and found under poi.
55 hotels in San Luis Obispo qualified for this list and five made it. SeaVenture Beach Hotel is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Poolsomewhere to cool off between walks
- Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze
- Kitchenettebreakfast on your own schedule
- Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
All five, ranked
-
1
Sea Gypsy Motel
★★★★★4.6 from 549 reviews
200 m from Pismo Beach, about a 2 minute walk
- Pool
- Parking
- Kitchen
- Kid friendly
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2SeaVenture Beach Hotel
★★★★★4.6 from 1,945 reviews
700 m from Pismo Beach, about a 9 minute walk
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
- Kid friendly
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3Inn at the Cove
★★★★★4.7 from 1,137 reviews
2.1 km from Pismo Beach
- Pool
- Spa
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
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4Pacific Point Resort
★★★★★4.6 from 1,092 reviews
1.1 km from Pismo Beach, about a 14 minute walk
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
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5BeachComber Inn
★★★★★4.9 from 95 reviews
400 m from Pismo Beach, about a 5 minute walk
- Parking
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
How this list was put together
55 San Luis Obispo hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to Pismo Beach second, then took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya
Her work season is winter, leaving whole summers free for mountains in the other hemisphere or trekking at altitude in Nepal and Peru. Carries the lightest pack of anyone she travels with.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.