San Luis Bay Inn

The hotel is in a nice location that is walkable to the town and beach. The staff was extremely accommodating, especially Eillen who checked us in. Very pleasant and friendly. We checked in late Friday night and were treated to a great breakfast the following morning. The hotel was quiet with no kids running up/​down halls or loud and obnoxious adults partying too long. The property has a large pool as well as a smaller pool for younger children, a Jacuzzi, a gym, a game room with a pool table, air hockey and arcade games. There is also a public area with a TV, plenty of board games and DVDs. Additionally, there are plenty of laundry rooms and a bike rack out front. The property was very clean and well maintained but could use some livelier colors instead of the bland cream. Had a nice view of the ocean with a private lanai too.

The hotel is somewhat old and the décor is out-​dated. The gym is extremely tiny, and the pool/​hot tub area is nothing to brag about. They will try to sell you on a timeshare multiple times during your stay. None of this is a big deal though. My main complaint was this: at 3:00 in the morning, we woke up and we were sweating profusely, as it was 87 degrees in our room. We had it set to air conditioning, so we called the front desk to see if we could get it fixed. We were informed that there was no maintenance staff working until 7AM. They told us we would have to switch rooms, so we had to pack up all of our stuff (3AM!!) and move (into a room that was not as good as the first). The next morning, I went to speak with the assistant manager. He had to make a couple calls and found out that the A/​C only works if it is above a certain temperature outside, otherwise the system will only heat, even if set to cool. Apparently, none of the staff (management included) are aware of this or they would have told us that rather than making us switch rooms. Further, when we said we felt like we should be compensated for this major inconvenience, they offered us a $ 25 gift certificate to a restaurant (which the hotel gets for free), and said that we the best they could do. This amounts to little over 2% of the cost of our 3 day stay. This felt to us to be an extremely inadequate response to the issue.

Great location for a quiet stay at Avila. It’s a nice 5 minute walk to the beach. Great views and a lot of quiet spots to enjoy. Pretty big contrast to the hustle and bustle of the crowds at the beach. The inn itself is clean. Service has been good. Amenities are fine, but nothing outstanding. Just a good clean place to stay with the family. Probably not ideal for a romantic getaway.

OK, read some prior reviews which were mixed. Needed my family and I to get away for a weekend, settled on this hotel through Expedia. Well, we checked in, the front staff was accommodating and pleasant, and assigned us to a room. Probably the worst room in the entire complex! 4^th floor, the end of a long, long hall. Took a look inside, the balcony opened up to, not kidding, a wall.
So, I hobbled back to the front desk and explained to them I was a disabled veteran (as we had when I first checked in, guess they weren’t listening) with a hip replacement and if they could kindly provide a room closer to the elevator.
Which they did.
And, we had a bit of a view as well.
So far, so good. The kitchen had a small kitchen with stove etc and was equipped with cooking and eating utensils. The town of Avila is the typical small touristy beach community with swarms of visitors, motorcyclists and all the rest of the sort of touristy folks that you would expect (including us). Some surprisingly pretty good eats, tho.
Now, the dark cloud attached to the silver lining. The provided free Wi-​Fi was tough to connect to, constantly dropping off. And, the free breakfast was simply there for a sales pitch from local yoga teachers, entrepreneurs and business owners. Also, circling like vultures, were the guys trying to interest you in timeshares, discounted trips, etc etc. They were not too tenacious, and after while give up on us and we could walk through the lobby with relative impunity.
Overall, not too bad. The bed was comfortable, pillows nice, and TV worked. Did I mention the Internet?
Would we come back? Took a vote from my family, 2 yes and 1 no, so, guess we’ll be back.

Not one of the best resort properties we have stayed in, but it was nice enough for the area. This place does not have much for curb appeal and it is not on the beach (it is across the street). Since it is on a hill, there are nice views of the beach and the (very small) town from most of the balconies. Walls are floors kind of thin, so if anyone is yelling, cheering, partying, stomping or slamming anything, you are going to hear it.
The staff was very friendly and helpful and the studio we had was spacious and clean. Bathroom was really huge for a studio, but the soaker tub was a little big to be climbing in and out of for taking a shower.
If you can score a place across the street, much closer to the beach, then stay there. If you are just staying in the area as part of using resort points, and are not beach people, then staying here would suit your needs.

My SO and I stayed at this hotel for a long weekend during the summer. Having been very busy the few weeks prior, we looked forward to spending a good amount of the time just relaxing at the hotel.
This hotel looked nice from the outside, but was an outdated and cheesy retirement home inside. At our arrival, we walked in to hear another gentleman complaining about his experience as he was checking out and we thought, «oh that happens» and didn’t let it affect our opinion of the place at first. After our stay, we thought back and realized, that must happen a lot.
Having booked through
and having seen pictures of what to expect, we were expecting at least a slight ocean view from our room and ended up with what must have been the worst room in the hotel. It was very dark, crowded, seemed to have been furnished with all of the leftover furniture, and our dark, enclosed balcony looked out at a wall. The room also had walls so thin that we could hear someone in the room next us, snoring. Yuck.
We tried to be ok with our room, laugh it off, and make the most out of our trip by visiting the lovely town of Avila, but finally decided these horrible accommodations were too much to overlook and brought it up to the hotel staff. The staff pretty much told us, «tough luck, you booked through
and you didn’t have a chance of getting a better room from the beginning». So they know every time someone comes in that has booked through
that they are giving them a broom closet to stay in and that it’s nothing like what the guest is expecting? And they’re ok with that?! They weren’t willing to take any of the responsibility for our horrible experience at THEIR hotel. (By the way, I have not had this bad of an experience with any other
hotel yet, and I have used the site a lot.)
In the end, we felt we had paid way too much for the room we had, and were upset that our unsatisfactory stay was completely brushed off by the hotel staff (even after asking to talk to a manager). We were very upset to have wasted our valuable vacation time (and not to mention much too much money) at this dump of a place. We felt we had been treated as second class guests because we had booked their hotel through
and our experience at San Luis Bay Inn will forever taint what would have been great memories of Avila Beach.
By the way, we also took this up with
(as they should be made aware that the rooms they are filling are not what they are advertising on their site). They were able to give us some sort of compensation with NO help from this hotel after several attempts to talk with them.

Can I do less than one star I would. This place should warn guests that they allow pets in the rooms. Pet dander is not safe for anyone with allergies or asthma. I was not told that my room was used by a guest who brought a pet. The air conditioning did not work and there was no offer to exchange my room for another. Thank goodness I’m not a time share owner here. Like that’s ever a good idea!!!

I spent a week-​end here to celebrate an anniversary with my partner. Avila beach is a great place so we had a lovely time. However, the Inn itself was disappointing to say the least.
As far as first impressions go, mine was that of the cleaning ladies in the hallways loudly cussing in Spanish about the previous tenants whose room they were cleaning… ok then.
To start off, the premises are SO dated and tacky. There is a foul odor that reminds me of my grandparents’ retirement home. Think old carpeting, cheap furniture, and less than great customer service. For the amount spent, I was expecting a bit more.
One of the things I was looking forward to was relaxing poolside. However, the pool is small and the lounging furniture is old and uncomfortable. My friends’ apartment complexes have seriously superior stuff. Add the fact that there are a TON of people and there is no chance for a relaxing time.
The studio room itself was fine but the bed was really uncomfortable; so much so that we checked out early to spend the last night back in our bed. The kitchen has everything you need to cook a meal — great if you are staying a whole week. The bathroom is fairly nice as well. However, the furniture is pretty dated. The view of the balcony faced a wall. A bummer since there is a great view of Avila beach from another side of the building.
Overall, I am grateful to have spent a nice weekend in Avila but I would not come back to this location.

We stayed at a friend’s timeshare for the weekend. Location is great– beautiful views, close bike ride to kayak rental, dog beach, downtown Avila beach, bike trails. The check in process on a Friday afternoon was a nightmare. What was most concerning is that upon checking in, we were told they did not know when our room would be ready. We were told they were short staffed and they were fully booked all the time as the reason our room was delayed almost 3 hours. Due to the influx of people, it was just very crowded, long lines everywhere, with lack of resources and for these reasons they only receive 3 stars. It would have been 2 stars if they had not given us a gift card to Ventana Grill as an I’m sorry. Not sure if we will return if check in is as bad as it was for us.

First night, Friday was great, Saturday and Sunday was a different story.
We have the studio in the 3^rd floor. The room with the view of the stucco wall. The room above us about 2:30 in the afternoon rearranged the furniture, ran across the room about 20 times and SLAMED the slider about 21 times. I think they wore bricks as shoes too. I ended up being «that» person that called the front desk.
Sunday the fire alarm went off. We hustled to get shoes and a jacket, our personnel items and left the rest. As we walk out into the hallway we see other guest. Soon we see one of the maintenance crews. «false alarm.»
Okay. Back to the room. Just as I put our stuff away… another alarm. Did I mention these alarms are so ear piercing that after they stop you still hear them. 4 more times this fire alarm went off.
Now come Sunday morning at 12:30. In the AM!!! Another one. Wait… I stand corrected. 2 more alarms!!!
We will not be coming back to this place. I hope they get this problem figured out.

A gorgeous, luxurious location!
At the San Luis Bay Inn, I was greeted warmly by the staff, who were happy to suggest plenty to keep me busy during my stay. Wine tastings (one of which was complimentary), karaōke, kayak rentals, aquariums — they’ve got just about everything! And the hotel is happy to hook you up with discounts, too.
The pillows and bed are incredibly comfy, the wi-​fi was complementary, and the view from my room was fantastic! My only complaint was the silverfish in my bathtub. Yuck!

love this place. will return soon!!!

We traded a friend a week at our timeshare in Key West for his week at the San Luis Bay inn. I think we both made out pretty well.
The Inn is situated on a hill overlooking the Pacific and the small town of Avila beach.
The town is a five minute walk form the Inn and is kinda cool. Not nearly as junky as many California beach towns. They have a small selection of shops and restaurants. Be sure to try the Pier Front wine bar.
There is a 2 .5 mile bike/​walking trail adjacent to the Inn which is a nice way to stat your day. Watch the dogs play in the water and get some great views of the adjoining golf course.
We had a one bedroom, two bath unit. The views of the ocean were amazing. It was nicely appointed and spotlessly clean. The living room had two full size couches, a dining table and TV. The bathrooms were large and had plenty of towels. Their was plenty of room in the bedroom even with the king bed. The linens were of decent quality and the bed was comfortable. The kitchen was small but adequate with a full sized fridge.
The common areas were nice. They have a decant sized pool, hot tub, gym and game room.
The staff was friendly and helpful. Beware of the concierge who is really only there to sell you a timeshare unit.
All in all, we had a great stay and would highly recommend this property.

The San Luis Bay Inn is a time share facility. I stayed three nights using my «points.» I was warned that it was extremely popular and hard to get into. I didn’t seem to have much trouble booking the short number of days through the resort website. Maybe because I am an «owner» and not someone looking for a hotel for a few days.
I booked a studio room since it was just me for the weekend. It was very nice! Exactly what I have experienced at other time share resorts. The studio had a typical fully-​equipped kitchen if you want to cook for yourself; a large bathroom (with a very small tub!); a dining table to accommodate up to four people; flat screen TV, small patio that overlooked the pier; a sofa bed; and a king size bed.
It is a quick walk to downtown Avila Beach where there are a few shops of trinkets, beach clothing and restaurants. The beach is very nice and there are plenty of places to just sit and watch the waves and people on the beach.
There is a golf course on the property, but I don’t golf so I can’t review that. It looked like the golf course was part of an Irish festival fund raiser while I was there, but I didn’t attend.
The weather and views were beautiful from the Inn, but I found myself driving to San Luis Obispo twice, and once to Morro Bay looking for something to do. Don’t go to the concierge looking for suggestions — they are there to hook you into an hour long presentation on buying into the time share life. Just sayin…

This is my second time in this resort. Location is spectacular, studios are not bad for 2 people, the décor is very outdated, and almost the style of an apartment building. The night staff is much more friendly than the day staff except the guys at the concierge they are always delightful and helpful. It is amazing how much the staff ignores the residents here, you almost feel like a stranger and outsider here. I spent a week in another time share in San Diego and the staff greated us warmly and were interactive with us every time we left or came into the building, that made our stay much more pleasant. We had a welcome breakfast which was a big disappointment, quite a dull event. Nothing was said about the surrounding area, or even a general orientation, most of the time was spent on a guy selling yoga classes. The WiFi here is a joke, don’t count on it. Nice pool, keep in mind this is not Vegas. They have a lovely deck facing the ocean, but it is quite windy and hardly used. They should install wood and glass fencing to block the wind then it would be a lovely place to read the paper or lay in the lounge chairs. We used the BBQ area and had a great time.
Avila beach is one of the lovliest places around the central coast so enjoy!

Avoid at all costs. I’d heard about the shabby accommodations they put you in if you book as if it’s a hotel (they put you in the least desirable units — so bad they’re a joke) so I had hoped to avoid this by renting from a timeshare owner. The owners book 13 months in advance and have nice accommodations.
I rented from a timeshare owner and paid top dollar for «his» week. He always books 13 months in advance, always gets an ocean view, and all but promised me an ocean view.
Hey if we hadn’t gotten an ocean view, it would have been slightly disappointing but fine. No. We got stuck in what has to be one of the worst units in the place. I guarantee they would not have put the owner in this hell hole, and I bought and paid for «his» week — in full and up front, so this dungeon they stuck us in was «take it or leave it.» I can’t advise you strongly enough DON’T STAY HERE.
Our view was not of ocean, or golf course, or pool or even parking lot. No. Our view was of wall. In our face. A wall. Right in front of the balcony which would be pointless to sit on. Unless you like staring at a wall. To the right was another wall, which has a hallway and window, so passersby can peek in and see what we’re doing. Yes, so nice.
Because of these walls, it was fricking stifling. At the coast, you ask? Yes. You can open a window a bit, but the walls prevent any sort of breeze. The walls do provide excellent echoing and sound amplification though, so you can hear all the shrieks from the pool and women screaming at their kids. Look at a wall, listen to the pool noises, and sit on your stifling balcony where there is no movement of air. Yeah.
The mattress on the bed is mushy, broken down, and to say it’s uncomfortable is an understatement. The hall on the third floor stinks like fish and that smell seeped into the unit somewhat. The mattress on the sofa bed is the unmitigated nightmare that sofa bed mattresses are.
The unit is extremely small. I’ve stayed in these type of condo units before and know what to expect. Something like an apartment. This is more like a slightly larger than normal hotel «suite» with woefully inadequate kitchenette. The table has only three chairs. There’s no laundry in the rooms. The fridge is tiny, bigger than a dorm size fridge but smaller than an apartment fridge. We brought our food for the week and there’s nowhere to keep it. There is no cabinet space for food either. There are a few small cabinets, but they have stuff in them. No room for your food. In terms of cookware, the room was very feebly stocked.
Check-​in was a drag, nominally at 430 but this horrible room wasn’t ready till after five, and while we were standing around in the lobby with our luggage and food on a cart, waiting for this unpleasant, inadequate room to be cleaned, we got a very pushy and sneaky hard sell to buy a timeshare. On purpose? I don’t know. Other people seemed to be getting their rooms promptly. Maybe it was only special people like us who get the hard sell and shoved into the worst room they offer.
When I asked politely why we’d gotten such a crappy room, I was given a made up excuse that the owner must have made his reservation“late.” No I saw the original reservation. It was made 13 months in advance, and although we «bought» his week, I guarantee you they would not have put him in this dungeon.
By the way, if they think this shoddy treatment and the fourth-​class accommodations make me MORE likely to buy their time share, they’d better think again. We’d thought, going in, maybe we’d buy. Now we are sure we won’t.
When we approached the room, there were literally piles of trash outside the door, which housekeeping hadn’t removed yet. The room was passably clean.
The room was so horrible all we wanted to do was get out of it again, even after traveling many hours to get there. Our daughter went to the pool for a few minutes, only to be told at 6 pm she needed to get out so they could clean it and put in chemicals. How about doing that before the pool opens or after it closes? I’ve never stayed at a place that kicked you out in the middle of the day. So we went in the «game room» — a ping pong table, an air hockey table (out of order), and a couple of old overpriced video games. Ping pong was fun I guess.
Elevators are ridiculously small and slow. At least one doesn’t seem to work quite right.
Internet is indeed the speed of dial-​up. It’s faster to use your cell phone as a mobile hot spot than to attempt loading 2014’s webpages on a 1996 connection.
What else? Various lights in the unit don’t work. Décor is hideous.
I can’t emphasize strongly enough: don’t stay here. Don’t think that renting one of the nicer units from an owner will earn you a decent room. They’ll put you «wherever“and since you’ve paid cash months ago, there’s not a thing you can do about it, except take all this unhappy energy and put it to a positive use by warning others not to make the same mistake.

Have been coming here for over 15 years with my family, parents are long time owners of timeshare. «Resort» is always clean and people are friendly, but I hate the super late check in at 4:30, no food or restaurant or bar at this place, and the mattresses are probably the worst I have ever slept on. The rooms are always being upgraded and most all the rooms have a spectacular view.

Horrible. Currently waiting 50 minutes for them to figure out our reservation. No answers, and continually being told «I don’t know what’s going on». Seriously disappointed. They pre charge you for your entire stay and they have a 30 day cancellation time period… this place is out of date, they don’t know what they are doing and I will never stay here again. Disorganized, and horrible customer service.

We stayed one night and would like to try a week as we enjoyed the Inn and the surrounding area. Our friends have been visiting this place for years. If you want a place to chill, its perfect. We stayed in a 2 bedroom. Kitchen had full size frig, stove & oven, microwave, coffee maker and kitchen table could seat 6. Very usable. Bathroom was large with Jacuzzi. Main bedroom had a lot of room. 2^nd connecting room had a kitchenette & its own bathroom.
What I really liked was its location. The golf course is next door. Walk down a bit & the town of Avila is there with lots of eating options and shops. Fri has a Farmer’s Mkt with live band. The beach is so close with a pier to walk. You can walk to the right to a small wharf area. To just chill, there’s enough to just hang there, but if you want to get in your car there’s lots of wineries, SLO isn’t far as well as Pismo Beach.
It was extremely convenient & very clean. No complaints. We’d like to return.

Here is what makes this Timeshare property (started out as a glen ivy resort) managed by Wyndham, rented to Diamond Intl for marketing, and owned by about 75 000 owners, a week or points at a time, a 5 STAR place:
1. Location
2. Location
3. General Manager Ben Banks, his staff and a Board of Directors who really cares on behalf of the diverse owners.
4. THe fact that the California Coastal Commission discourages more Timeshare development in this area.
5. The salmon-​colored Mediterranean Architecture that created wings and angles and corners, most facing the water in one of the 3 South facing beaches on the Central Coast. The small rebuilt town of Avila has room for about 900 souls year round. it justly boasts 350 days of sun a year. There is one canyon road out from the highway to the ocean for the last mile.
Ordinarily it would be 3 and a half stars in a 5 star location, but it has been upgraded and the land around it gets more and more valuable…
During the summer you can’t get in but sometimes in random months there is a studio you can rent at the property as if it was a hotel.
You can also rent from owners at Red Week. This is the spiritual home of the Chumash India