You'll find a selection of California beach hotels here that meet rigorous standards: good guest reviews, good value for money. If you search for California beach hotels on your own, you'll find a lot of hotels with the words "sea" or "beach" in their names, but that doesn't guarantee that they're close to the ocean. If we call it a California beach hotel, we mean it. The most you'll find between these hotels and the beach is a road or parking lot, and in many cases, there's nothing at all.
California Beach Hotels in the Major Cities
In California, you'll find most of the beach hotels in and around its major cities, with lots of nice properties in all price ranges. However, there are no beach hotels in San Francisco. In fact, the city has few beaches of any description and those do not have hotels on or near them.Los Angeles, California beach hotels sit along the edge of the Santa Monica Bay from Redondo Beach to Santa Monica.
Orange County, California beach hotels are along the south-facing beaches, with nice views and lots of activities nearby.
San Diego, California beach hotels are harder to find than you might think with much of the city facing the bay and not the ocean, but with this list you'll be on your way to reservations in moments.
More California Beach Hotels
California has over 1,300 miles of coastline and while some of it is rocky and isolated, there are plenty more places where you'll find some nice California beach hotels. These are the best California beach hotels in other areas, arranged from north to south:The links below will take you to our review if we've stayed there or to Tripadvisor, where you can read reviews, see guest photos and compare prices from several sources at one time.
California Beach Hotels North of San Francisco
- Trinidad: Turtle Rocks Oceanfront Inn, Trinidad Bay B&B
- Mendocino: Sea Rock Inn
- Gualala: Breakers Inn and Seacliff on the Bluff (on the cliff above the beach)
- Pacifica: Best Western Lighthouse
- Half Moon Bay: Beach House, Ritz Carlton
- Santa Cruz: Dream Inn
- Monterey: Monterey Beach Resort, Marina Dunes Resort
- Cayucos: Shoreline Inn, On the Beach
- Inn at Avila Beach
- Sandcastle Inn
- Pismo Lighthouse Suites
- Cottage Inn by the Sea
- SeaVenture Hotel
- Sea Gypsy Hotel
- Dolphin Bay Read our review
- Kon Tiki Inn
- Santa Barbara: Four Seasons
- Oxnard: Embassy Suites
- Ventura: Inn on the Beach
