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Sea Otter Inn

3.9 (208 reviews)
ModerateHotels
Open 8:00 am - 9:00 pm

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Spacious patio outside our room was private and very nice
Donna B.

This is my first time staying in Cambria as we usually stay in Cayucos but I wanted to be a little closer to town. I booked this hotel just by looking at pictures and trying to find something that would accommodate my husband and myself with our dog. It's always hard to tell if a hotel is good from its photos but this one far exceeded the photos that I saw. The room is spacious and this one had an adorable patio. There is a pool in a Jacuzzi as well as fire pits that everyone gathers around at night to chat and have a glass of wine. You are literally right across the street from the Moonstone boardwalk and beach. I happen to be a rock collector so I had a great time looking for rocks and seashells especially at night while my husband was watching baseball playoffs. The fireplace is actually a heater as well so it warm the room perfectly. The breakfast that came every morning was amazing and with the little handle and the picnic basket made it even more charming. I told my husband he's going to have to buy one and make me breakfast every day lol. As a matter fact we ended up meeting some people at the castle Inn and I have now talked them into staying at the sea otter Inn because I told him about the rooms and the breakfast. Finally exceptional customer service by Doug and by Wendy (she's the best ) who both listen to my needs and went above and beyond to accommodate me! I had a brutal year last year with an illness that kept me bedridden followed by a shattered wrist that requires surgery so this was a much needed getaway and I was thrilled with my room and the entire staff who go out of their way to make everything so nice, clean and special. I wouldn't stay anywhere else. The only downside to the location which is by far NO fault of the Sea Otter Inn is that T-Mobile is almost impossible to use in Cambria but thanks to Doug he told me where I could stand to get reception to call my mom and also Moonstone Beach is not dog friendly only the boardwalk which kind of stinks but again not the fault of the hotel!

Trail to the beach
K B.

Wonderful stay at the Sea Otter Inn. Right off Hwy 1. The staff was amazing! I enjoyed my stay so much, I stayed an extra day :) The breakfast basket each morning was a very nice touch! The room was nice and cozy and it was nice to go out and sit in the private patio to soak up the sun. The beach was literally in walking distance; a great way to start the day by enjoying a walk along the beach.

Sunset over the ocean
Ally G.

We found room at the inn after leaving nearby terrible motel. We were able to bring our dogs and check-in and out was easy and staff were polite and helpful. The room was comfortable, clean, and surprisingly quiet despite the inn being well booked with families and dogs. Close to the sea and easy to take the dogs on beautiful walks. A complete opposite experience from the motel we'd run from. We were able to continue on our road trip well rested and happy. 10/10 would stay again.

Vincent S.

This is a gem of an inn. The location is fantastic. The staff is friendly and VERY helpful. Our room was immaculate and nicely appointed with a beautifully remodeled bath and a cozy patio. We weren't prepared to take advantage of the spa or pool but will be the next time we visit!

Super thankful we were able to get a last minute room here after a nightmare stay at Azul motel. Dog friendly, across from beach, fireplaces in room, pool and jacuzzi, big tv, parking in front of unit, friendly staff, good wifi, breakfast basket brought to door in morning

Steven C.

Last week was my wife and I's anniversary and we had planned awhile back for a trip to Cambria for some quiet and relaxation. After perusing a few different hotels in the area I came across the Sea Otter Inn and quickly booked us a couple nights. The online booking process was easy but at the completion of it when trying to pay the site timed out and pushed me back and made me resubmit. Upon completion I noticed that the booking went through but had reverted back to the default of 1 room and 1 adult. I quickly texted them my confirmation and informed them of the issue that there should be 2 adult guests and they texted me back that they madea note of the correction and that everything was set. We arrived a bit early to town after a few early stops and waited until closer to our booking to check in and ensure the room was cleaned and ready to go. I had been texting with them earlier in the day and they once again confirmed me for one adult only and I had to keep reminding them of the issue and my past correspondence. As I checked in at the front office this was once again still incorrect and I had to correct the gentleman at the counter. I informed him this was an Anniversary trip and I needed to ensure this was correct so we received the right amount of amenities for our stay (such as out breakfast baskets). Despite the issue with getting this corrected the room itself was beautifully decorated and had everything we needed. The bed was comfortable, the shower was large with good pressure, we had a very small outdoor patio and a dining room area to eat and each morning a breakfast basket was hung from outside with your breakfast selections from the evening prior (a great option that saved us money from eating out for breakfast). We were around 1-2 miles from town which wasn't too far of a drive to where all the shops and majority of restaurants were located but it was the amazing proximity to Moonstone Beach and the accompanying boardwalk that I loved. Overall we had a great two night stay and despite some thin walls where you could hear furniture and doors from next door it was relaxing and made for a great stay. The weather was chilly during our visit so we did not get to use the pool area but it would be great to come back and try it dueing a warmer time of the year Despite a few hiccups with my check-in process and a little bit of noise on night one from a large group of guests who had rooms on both sides of ours I would definitely recommend the property and stay here again.

Ashley F.

I was so in love with this gorgeous property! The stay here is a wonderful experience all around. It was very easy to communicate with staff, and Isabella and Zoe were very helpful. We brought our dog and it was so easy to just take him right out the front door, just a few steps to a gorgeous walking path along the ocean and the pines. Breakfast everyday was a huge plus, and very cute delivered right to your door in a basket. We opted for the burritos (you get a few options to choose from!) and they were tasty and filling. There are so many cozy little spots around this property and I couldn't stop snapping pics. It's in a great location, too-- right next to the boardwalk and just a short drive to Main Street. Our room always smelled so clean upon entering it, and towels and bedding were soft and comfortable. Room itself was cute and cozy, plenty of light, very relaxing. Having our own fireplace was also a big plus. The only reason this isn't five stars is because our floor felt dirty-- you couldn't walk on it without shoes, otherwise your feet would turn black. Also, it was a little loud (you could hear neighbors' doors opening and shutting all night). It was still an excellent stay and an absolute gem of a find. We hope to come again!

Hot tub

I came to the Sea Otter Inn for a birthday trip with my friends and this was genuinely the best stay I've ever had for such a good price. The hot tub and pool were gorgeous and clean and there were flowers surrounding us. The ocean was visible while we were swimming and the sunset was clear and beautiful. The rooms themselves were clean and the details made it so special. The patio was perfect for hanging out in the evenings in a private area. On top of all of that, breakfast was brought to our rooms in a picnic basket. It was plentiful and delicious. I can't recommend the stay more. Also within walking distance is a long dock the leads straight to the water!

Marla H.

The communication was good, almost too much, and we loved the keypad room entry. The view, dog friendliness, and Moonstone walkway right across the street was great and why we stayed in that area. We expected the room to be updated with better furnishings for that price. We missed daily housekeeping and were disappointed in the low quality of the bed and sheets (again, for the price of the room), but slept well. The breakfast was good and just enough to start the day. Beautiful location!

The view from our room #125
April E.

The ocean view King room was lovely and very comfortable. Two heat sources, a heat pump and a fireplace warmed the room up right away. Bed was very comfortable. The room faces the ocean and the street but is quiet enough. The view is very nice and there are comfy chairs that you can relax in on a small patio right outside your door. The place is pet friendly and we would bring our dog next time. Also nice little fire pits to relax around and a heated pool. It was chilly this visit so we did not test out the pool. The breakfast is good. Three choices that would satisfy everyone I think Orange juice too! The amenities were not the quality I expected. The hair and bath products were the type that are large containers securely fastened to the wall of the shower, which was very nice and large. The products were of a poor quality in my opinion. If you care about your grooming products bring your own. The shampoo was very runny but the container was empty so I used my cake of shampoo that I bring for just such occasions. The conditioner was so watery I had to use a bunch to get through my hair. Maybe if you are a guy or a gal with short hair this is all stupid stuff to complain about. Me, I am a product princess, but usually find hotel products ok in better hotels. If I stayed here longer I would have gone into town and bought something else for my hair. The hair dryer was not very powerful if you have long hair. The coffee in the room is weird. There is like a hot water pot and you use coffee bags...like a tea bag. The creamer was a thick liquid called 'latte' that had sugar in it. The coffee didn't really taste nasty or anything like that it was just odd. The coffee in the office is available when the office opens at 8am and they have regular half and half. I will bring our keurig next time I think. There is a small microwave and a large sized mini fridge. There are no accessories for warming up meals, like paper plates or napkins but I really didnt expect that anyway. The TV has cable channels but no streaming was available. We like to watch movies at night but there was not much on the cable stations. Again not a deal breaker. Not sure if you could use an HDMI to link with a laptop. All in all a nice visit with very minimal complaints. Would we stay here again? Absolutely...for sure.

Free breakfast for 2. Great burrito!!

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It's right across the street from the ocean. There is a boardwalk for your walks. I would prefer no breakfast basket and a lower rate.

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Ask the Community - Sea Otter Inn

Do all rooms have a patio?

Not all rooms have patios, you can view all room types here: https://www.seaotterinn.com/rooms

Does the tv in the room have an HDMI cable option?

Not the room I stayed in. I tried to connect my Roku and I was not able to do so.

View All 3 Questions

Review Highlights - Sea Otter Inn

The location is amazing, just cross the street and you are on this great trail on Moonstone Beach.

Mentioned in 45 reviews

Read more highlights

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Cambria Shores Inn - A view from the hotel front yard towards the ocean across the street

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(268 reviews)

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Location, location, location I love that they bring a basket…read moreof goodies that they call breakfast in the morning. Both days it was a piece of fruit or two and two slices of warm bread one with banana bread and one was maybe a pumpkin bread. You can also get a warm brownie or a warm cookie at night and the first night they gave us a voucher for two free glasses of wine The rooms are very clean. We had a lovely view in room 15.

1. They might overhaul their card key system. We stayed here for 3 nights ( unfortunately) and we…read morehad to have our card keys replaced 4 times to get into our room. What a waste of our precious time. That we were being charged for. 2. Nice big wall mounted tv. Spectrum system. It worked but once You found the guide, You could not select a show to watch. You had to go channel by channel and hope to find it out of many channels. By the way, the remote they gave You wasn't a Spectrum remote? We even went to the office for help. They couldn't make it work. I wasn't here to watch TV of course but When it's dark, breezy and in the 50ies outside a nice sitcom before bed is sometimes nice. 3. This morning we went to get a cup of coffee at 8:05am. Coffee is supposed to be available @ 7am. Not open. 5 other guests were waiting patiently. Could we ask the office? No it wasn't open either. It finally opened at 8:10am. 4. Oh by the way, bring your sunglasses for Your room. The only lighting is spot lights in the ceiling. Nothing you can control from bed side. Were there any dimmers to adjust the lighting down from solar flare to reasonable. Nope. Just the palm of my hand or sunglasses. Again By the way, the Cambria area is awesome with some great wholesome dining experiences. Linn's and Robin's. Wow! We've stayed along Moonstone over the years. Just never @ the Cambria Shores Inn. Guess what? Never again because there are lots of choices along Moonstone. I'd like to rate it a 1 star. But, Mother Nature helped take the feeling of total disappointment away. Every time We strolled down the Moonstone board walk across the street it melted Our disappointment away. For a while. What a beautiful Ocean front.

Moonstone Landing - Nice clean comfortable room

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It's been quite awhile since I've stayed at Moonstone Landing. I was excited to come back and see…read moreif anything has changed. The staff were super friendly and accommodating, just as I remembered. The rooms themselves looked like they had been renovated. The bed was comfy. There was a huge wall in shower and jacuzzi tub. The old school fridge was super cute! Of course, you can't beat the views from the oceanfront balcony room!

Fantastic clean hotel on moonstone beach. We stayed in a king partial view room upstairs, #216. The…read moreroom got fairly hot in January. Rooms on the Sea Chest Oyster Bar restaurant side (which this one was) seem to get more sun, so they are warmer. It cooled down at night, but not enough to use the gas fireplace. We didn't notice any restaurant noise, and we were able to hear the ocean all night, which was lovely. In the morning they serve pastries and muffins and coffee which were all delicious. The bed was very comfortable, and we got a good nights sleep. It's just so wonderful to be directly on moonstone beach where you can walk on the path and see the stunning ocean. There are also stairs taking you down to the beach. The Sea Chest Oyster bar is super popular with people lining up to get in long before it opens. We were able to get in about an hour after we put our name down and the food was delicious. Cash only. There are other restaurants within walking distance and one night we ate in town at the Sow's Ear, which was also delicious. Would happily return to Moonstone Landing!

White Water - King Bed + Hospitality Basket

White Water

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What a neat place to stay in Cambria. My only regret is booking only one night…read more The room had a retro vibe but was very well maintained and clean. Loved the little pour over coffee pods. Never seen anything like this. In the mornings they bring you a picnic basket with a thermos full of coffee, some pastries and a do it yourself mimosa. The hotel has easy access to the moonstone boardwalk that runs along the bluffs. Easy walk to the boardwalk and to the beach to enjoy the sunset. Need to come back to stay at this place.

booked a fri + wknd getaway to cambria to honor my furbaby's first heavenly anniversary. i just…read moreneeded to unplug and wanted to reminisce all the memories we shared in a peaceful place. cambria was perfect. it was overwhelming picking an inn to stay at, but white water just kept calling my name. booked a deluxe king room online with the inn directly vs third party site. love that they are pet friendly ($100/stay) . white water is gorgeous. the lobby is so chic. love the greenery. check in was smooth. i was assigned to room 21. i believe in signs and this, all this was meant to be. the room was clean and had everything in it, minus food, def stayed in majority of the time. the boardwalk was directly across the way, just had to cross the street and you're there. the ocean views were perfect. loved the breakfast picnic baskets each morning. made our breakfast and we got to enjoy it on our bench outside our room. parking is not a covered lot, it's open spaces and kinda smaller spots, so if you have a truck or larger suv, def will be going over the line. a few ev charging spots. there are plenty of spots to park along moonstone drive. they also do have mini fridges in the room and no microwave. LOVE the Aesop products in the room!!! a few downside during my stay were: the few times i went to the front desk, the "out of office" sign was up each time. i wanted to rent a bike to bike around the town, no one was around to assist. i waited about 10-15m each time. they have a fire pit that was on the entire time. i heard they provide s'more kits, but we were not provided with any. there isnt really any pet relief area on site. also, all units do not have AC, only fans. i had no service while i was there. i literally was on SOS. i actually loved it. don't worry, there is wifi avail! i would def book white water again!

Fogcatcher Inn

Fogcatcher Inn

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This property is located on Moonstone Beach, and therefore, has an exceptional location. However,…read morethat is shared with a number of other, similar properties. This property is owned by a company that owns at least four other properties on Moonstone Beach, and shares with them poor customer service. Examples from a recent stay include Wi-Fi that was frequently nonfunctional, and when complaints were made, we were told either that the problem couldn't be fixed, or couldn't be fixed until the next day because no maintenance staff were available. The rooms, lack decor and character, although the bed was very comfortable. When we asked that the waste baskets be emptied at the beginning of the day, we were told that since we did not make that request the night before, it could not be accommodated because of insufficient custodial staff. When I made this request to the manager on duty, she gave me a look as though I had asked her to donate a kidney. We emptied the baskets ourselves. The property has two fire pits, both of which were essentially nonfunctional. Also, the pool was closed. When they ran our credit card on check-in, they actually immediately charged the entire fee for the stay at once. This is an unusual practice, since most similar properties assess the actual charges for the room at checkout. If you were looking for a place to sleep, steps away from the boardwalk on Moonstone Beach, this will fit the bill, but there are a number of better options steps away from this property.

It's a ocean front Inn on the edge of moonstone beach . Has a nice fire pit right out front to…read morewatch the sunset . The rooms it self are older but token care of . Still a cozy feeling .

Cambria Pines Lodge - Waiting at the bar for our room to be ready to go in.

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(1k reviews)

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I've been going to Cambria for decades and never knew about this place. It's wonderful! And you can…read morebring your dogs!! The grounds are great and the team there is very responsive & attentive! Lots of great walking paths. It was wonderful to have the room and trails and great lodge, restaurant and bar. Everyone was friendly and provided great service. We'd definitely go back! Only one down side was that we were on a ground level unit and there were 10 people upstairs of us -- 8 were children under 5 y/o -- and it was horrible!

This property was a place my family visited about 10 years ago, and we enjoyed it so much that…read morewe've always hoped to return. Unfortunately, our recent stay was a very different experience. Major mold problem in room 815 Stay: May 1st-3rd, 2026. On the final morning of our stay, we discovered what appeared to be black mold above the shower. Because my parents are immunocompromised, we immediately packed up and left. We reported the issue to the front desk at checkout, and the staff member said he would inform management. As of Monday at 1:26 p.m., we have not received any follow-up. Overall, the property has significantly declined and is in need of major updates. The handrails leading to the building were broken and unstable. The furniture is very outdated, and the beds were extremely firm and uncomfortable compared to what we remembered. Several features required maintenance fireplaces were difficult to operate, our front door would not close properly, and our key cards stopped working after the first day, leaving us with only one functioning key despite following all handling instructions. The restaurant experience was inconsistent. Friday night was excellent, but on Saturday there appeared to be a change in chef and bartender, and the food preparation differed noticeably from the menu (for example, the mushrooms). Service, however, was good on both nights. Due to the serious health concern of discovering mold in our room, the lack of follow-up from management after reporting it, and the overall decline in the property's condition and maintenance, we do not feel comfortable returning. Issues with safety, such as broken handrails and a door that would not properly close, along with inconsistent amenities and service, made this stay far below our expectations. What was once a place we loved and looked forward to revisiting no longer meets a standard we can trust, especially when traveling with vulnerable family members.

Sea Otter Inn - hotels - Updated May 2026

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