The INN At Calafia Beach

This place is such a hidden gem! Close to the beach, restaurants, and shopping. The owners were so sweet and accommodating. I arrived with my mom and 7 year old son and we had 2 rooms. We got 2 rooms next to each other, and they knew my kiddo and I would be sleeping together so they gave us a king size bed. They also let us borrow a boogie board during our stay. Clean cute rooms with comfortable beds and just what you need for a short stay. We will be back!

Nice location close to OC Tavern and shops. Very nice and hospitable hosts. Clean and tidy rooms with cute beacy themed décor.

This place is nice to stay at of you are on a very tight budget or have no other option like what my boyfriend and I did one night. The room we stayed in was a little tacky but it was cozy. I would like to say to bring your own bed sheets cause the sheets they put on their beds have no breathe to them at all. We woke up in a pool of our own sweat. The service was A+. Their are a few things thay they can work on to make this place better.

Came here for a concert (missing persons)
Stayed with my Brosef. It was clean, the folks in the office were extremely kind and welcoming and the price is right
Will definitely stay here again thank you guys!

I read the reviews, good and bad, but like with most places, I wanted to give this place a try. We stayed here only for one night and were completely satisfied. From the time I spoke with Joyce over the phone when reserving the room, to check-​in, to our departure, she and Dave were very polite.
She mentioned to me that they’ve been renovating the rooms. To my relief, especially with this heat, I noticed all rooms had an a.c. unit. Someone previously posted that there were only ceiling fans. Also, I don’t know if they had carpet before, but she said the rooms have new flooring. Which is actually nice since tile floors are a lot cleaner than smelly, stained (of who knows what) carpet. The manager said, the next few things to be replaced are the mattresses and doors that use the room key to open.
Most travelers do this anyways, but make sure to bring your own toiletries. My hubby forgot his shampoo and had to use theirs. Their items could be upgraded a bit, but that’s no biggy. Our room had a nice, large flat screen, a larger than usual fridge with freezer. No microwave, hair-​dryer, iron or board. I don’t know if you could call request that? We didn’t need it anyways.
Overall, I would definitely stay here again. I hope that our next experience will be this nice :)

Very impressed with this place. They are very nice here. The rooms are nice and clean.

Clean and quiet. A nice and kind woman in the office.
Only — was the very slow internet connexion.

I just stayed a night here on a SoCal surf trip. Cute, clean, and uniquely decorated room with a comfortable bed just 15 minutes driving from San Onofre State beach. It was a Saturday night, and nice and quiet here. My room was under $ 70 and is was able to make a reservation the same day as check in. The owner is polite and friendly. I was able to leave the surf boards on my car roof rack over night without much worry they would be stolen– they weren’t :) over all great experience. I am happy to have found a nice, affordable place that had that mom and pop feel I look for in lodging. I will be sure to stay here next San Clemente surf adventure.

This place is amazing. Dave working the front desk was amazing. He answer all my question. He spoke to me for half an hour about the improvements of the Inn, how is manage and own by a new person, the community and where to go eat. I will defiantly stay in that Inn again. There is no reason to go anywhere else. Thanks for all the help Dave.
cheers!
Abel from Long Beach

There are not enough wonderful things I can say about The Inn.
First, the rooms are great, and inexpensive and imaginative. DH and I have been here several times and it is so close to the beach you can bike. Dana (who no longer works there) really made the place so accommodating. Most rooms have a different theme– find the one that fits the mood :)
And while you are there, walk next door for the best food.

We ended up booking a room here through Living Social. The pictures on the site did not match what the inn actually looked like at all. I was not expecting anything of high caliber because of the price, but I did expect what the pictures portrayed. The reality was that the room smelled probably due to a plumbing issue, the comforter was ripped and had reddish burgundy paint stains on it (I hope it was paint), my girlfriend and I got a rash from only laying on the bed for 15 minutes, the TV remote didn’t work and the TV looked like it was about to collapse any minute, there wasn’t a rod or hangers in the closet to hang up clothes, the bathroom window would not lock, and there were people at the hotel that were 2 rooms down, doing drugs and staring us down when we got into the hotel. Needless to say, we left within a half hour.
Later, I spoke to the manager and she agreed to give us a refund but the owner did not approved it. I called Living Social and they also declined the refund since the owner of the inn did not approved of it. How can they expect me to pay for something that was wrongfully advertised and that was never used?! I called my bank to put a stop on the transaction and I am waiting on their response.
Stay away from this place, its cheap for a reason. I have learned my lesson.

Welcome to little crack town by the beach!
Place really is a shit hole. Living Social recommended this place and we were so grossed out didn’t even stay five minutes. People live there that look very unsanitary not to mention the rooms. Walked into our room we were to stay at. Door wide open no sheets on the bed and someone’s big gulp on the night stand. Front desk was really nice though.

SERIOUSLY???
Our daughter bought us a Living Social weekend and that is the best thing I can say about this deal. That she bought us a gift because she is wonderful.
We arrived and the parking lot was filled with what appeared to be crack heads — keep in mind this IS NOT a destination for families, people past the age of 30 or senior citizens.
NORMAL PEOPLE NEED NOT APPLY
I will say 2 kind things about The Inn at Calafia Beach — the room was clean and great water pressure. Most of «the guests» resided there and apparently you can buy drugs of any kind — but I think the next door neighbor was selling something. There was constant in and out traffic to the room next door. People would show up, stay for a couple of minutes, then leave. Skin head little children were running around in the parking lot… kid you not… my husband came in and told me a 4 year old had a tatted back piece and I almost believed him. We had a 2 day deal and only stayed 1. The room had no closet or place to hang your clothes, a bathroom window, comes with screw driver marks of people trying to break in-that’s comforting, huh or break out. No a/​c — however they do have ceiling fan but make sure it’s working properly. We had to ask for a remote control for the TV and had to program it ourselves. Tip: STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE, WE DID NOT FEEL SAFE HERE AND NEVER WILL RETURN. ABSOLUTELY THE WORST PLACE I’VE EVER STAYED.

This place is the shithole of all shitholes. The management is just as scary as the the people that live there, yes live there. There was some kind of drug dealing going on in the room next to us with constant in and out traffic. Very sketchy folks hanging around all day and night, pitbulls in the parking lot. Every time we left to hit the beach we took all our valuables with us. Any positive reviews are from people who bought their crack there before writing them. We left after one night as we couldn’t stand to be there for the second night. The room had no where to hang clothes except the shower rod, there was not a trash can in the room, and the bathroom window frame was all marked up with screwdriver marks from being pried open. Definitely not a place for kids or hell, for anybody in their right mind. I hope to hell they get taken off Living Social because they will give them a bad name. DO NOT BELIEVE THE POSITIVE REVIEWS, THEY ARE STRAIGHT UP BULLSHIT.
P. S. If you ended up here through Living Social and were just as horrified as we were, call Living Social as they will refund your money with no hassles. I see the offer has been removed from their website and it’s no wonder with all the latest poor reviews.

I purchased a Living Social deal to stay at this Inn /​Motel. I purchased a 2-​night stay for $ 78.00 which is a deal that cannot be beat. With my room purchase came a bottle of wine that I told the staff to give to someone else who might drink it.
I love San Clemente and it’s accessibility to local surfing spots (i.e. Trestles, T-​Street, Cottons, San Clemente Pier & of course San-​O). The Inn at Calafia Beach is conveniently located to all the above mentioned surfing spots and I did my best to hit several, several times!!!
I arrived and checked in with no problems. The staff on site is friendly, knowledgeable about the local community, restaurants and of course surfing spots. As for the Inn itself I found it to be nice. The Inn is wrapped around a little parking lot with a gazebo located in the middle which contains a BBQ for guests. In front of the gazebo is a little lounge chair area where guests can relax and take in some sun while you people watch.
I was given the keys to room #9 which had an interesting vibe. Each room has its own little vibe and décor which I found quite nice. I walked into my room and found the only source of air circulation to be a ceiling fan. Lucky for me I read the reviews for this place prior to arriving and discovered none of the rooms had A/​C. I am a meticulous planner and brought a tower fan that turns any room into one that feels like the A/​C is working and boy is I glad that I did. The day of my arrival was the start of the massive heat wave & San Diego wildfire’s and I needed that fan in my room. Even with the Wildfire’s in the area I opened my front window & the rear bathroom window and I was fine=)
I found the room to be nice. I found the room to be clean. I found the bed to comfortable.
This place is no way shape or form is the Ritz but for $ 78.00 for 2-​nights I wasn’t expecting that either. I had everything I needed, a place to store my surfboard, a place to shower w/​hot water, a place to sleep, a cold refrigerator, free Wi-​Fi, an alarm clock for dawn patrol wakeup hours and a flat screen TV that had ESPN & HBO=)
During my visit I ventured out of my room several times just to mingle and talk with the other guests staying at the Inn and everyone had the same chilled beach vibe. Everyone seemed to have a story about surfing in the area for years and some gave me some tips on spots only locals know about.
The Inn at Calafia Beach is located within walking distance of several restaurants, a Ralph’s supermarket, several surf shops, several coffee house and of course the World Famous Pedro’s Taco’s (if you surf the area you know Pedro’s).
This Inn is easily accessible to the 5 freeway and only a short distance away from San Diego. I found my time here to be relaxing, peaceful & quiet and so glad that I purchased this deal. If and when I see another deal for this Inn I would without a doubt stay here again, I think this time around I would plan my visit around it being a little cooler outside though=)

We bought this deal on living social a week ago thinking it would be a nice, quaint place to go. Unfortunately, the room we got (room 4) was beyond horrible
* no a/​c
* broken walls
* the most disgusting bathroom I’ve ever seen
* stains and bed bugs on the bed
* The shower didn’t work either.
My girlfriend and I couldn’t even stay one night! We left. I called living social the next morning, told them how horrible the room was and got a full refund. Anyone that bought it from living social beware of this place.

Hands down worst hotel stay ever… Had high hopes that it would be a cute beach-​low key vibe. Definetly was low-​key and ghetto. Lots of sketchy people running around. Bathrooms in the hotel room were disgusting… Only thing worse than the stay here was the customer service.

WTF. Seriously?! I am completely baffled by the 4 and 5 star reviews this place got. Let me start out by saying I wasn’t expecting the Ritz, I knew perfectly well that it was going to be a funky budget hotel for surfers to crash. I mean, that was the reason we were there. But I wasn’t totally prepared for this experience. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, just skip to the bottom and know it only got one star because I couldn’t give it less than that.
When we arrived at 2:30pm to check in, the room wasn’t ready even though I called about an hour prior to confirm our reservation. When we got there were told to come back in an hour or so and it would be ready. We spent some time hanging out at the pier and having dinner and came back later in the evening. It was all downhill from there.
We booked the room through zozi but the woman wasn’t sure how much to charge us, because other social living deals still require you to pay tax. She told us «we can figure that out later» and pointed us to room 12. She couldn’t find the key to the room, but said it was open and she would bring it over as soon as she found it.
Considering what the room looked (and smelled) like when we went in, I’m glad they «got it ready» for us because I can’t imagine what it would have looked like before that. The room we got was far from «amazing» as other people have left in their reviews. There were only two lights in the whole room, which I suppose was a good thing because it made the other problems less noticeable.
What sort of problems you ask? Well, the old school wall heater had a thermostat beside it that was missing the cover so you couldn’t really set it for a specific temperature, you just had to guess and tip the plastic switch one way or the other. The other wall in the mystery nook/​closet space had some holes and odd black marks on the wall, we couldn’t figure out what from. There was no trash can and no remote for the TV (although the TV was pretty new) which sat beside a dented half sized fridge. There was a table and two wicker (?) chairs that had seen much better days. The bathroom window was broken, with a big hole in the glass.
Despite all that, we decided to make the best of it since it was getting late and we were all pretty tired. We started to settle in and someone knocked on the door. The person at the door was surprised it wasn’t who they expected, apologized, and left. About 30 mins later, another person came by and was equally confused that the previous resident wasn’t there. I think you can see where this is going… The last visitor came by around 10:30pm. A little after 9am the following morning, we were woken up by yet another person knocking on the door. Since we were now up, might as well get going.
The toilet had a difficult time flushing (took a few times) and we noticed was leaking water on the floor. I figured I’d take a shower and try to wash off the grime from the last 12 hours. Just as I was about to step into the shower, I noticed there was about 3 inches of water in it clearly backed up from the toilet. That was it, I couldn’t take any more. We packed up and left, even though we already paid for two nights.
Unilocal has never led us astray like this before. Maybe they have some secret rooms for people that pay more, or they had people padding their reviews. Maybe they just recently changed buildings with another hotel that was the one that got the good reviews. All I know is I won’t be staying here again.

I am really not sure how this place has so many stars. I bought a Living Social deal, but not before I looked at Unilocal and other sites. Methinks they pad the reviews by having friends or others review.
We stayed in a really grungy room – I think the shag room. The carpet was not clean, evident by the fact I wouldn’t let my kids take their socks off and they were BLACK by the end of the night. The furniture (bed and chair) were broken. There was hair in the towels. The trash was never taken out. The owner and his friends partied the two nights we were there in the little seating area in the parking lot. Don’t get me wrong, Collin (the owner/​manager) and Rose (the cleaning lady) were WAY nice (hence the two, instead of one star), but I wouldn’t stay here again.
It was probably really nice a couple years ago when it was redone, but it hasn’t been maintained well.

We were going to Orange County to visit with a friend and watch a show at the OC Tavern. To alleviate costs of a taxi or risk drinking/​driving to and from Laguna, we opted to get a hotel room in walking distance. The reviews on Unilocal made me choose this one, though the husband was leaning towards the Travelodge. At first, my husband thought it looked sketchy. In the end, it was a pretty cool experience.
ROOMS: We made a reservation for a room to accommodate 3 people and were upgraded upon arrival to a cute room that had a Japanese vibe to it; I guess its called the Zen Room. The room was actually two part, with a little room in the back with a bad and the front room including a bed, a couch, a mini fridge, and the TV. There was a bathroom as well, which was little and sufficient. I’ll upload pics eventually.
THE GROUNDS: There is a fire pit in the center of the grounds (with the cars and then the rooms surrounding it) and we enjoyed sitting outside of it. There is also a microwave and bbq available. It’s a little messy in there and I did throw some food in the microwave at the end of the evening.
SERVICE: The guy at the front desk was pretty cool, though he had this snake that threw the husband and me off a bit. Later, we got to chatting with him and he was really nice and even gave us tickets for free admission to the show we were well prepared to pay for at the tavern that night.
Bottom Line — Yes, it is a surf shack style motel and not the Ritz. For the price we paid, it was well worth it and I am glad we didn’t end up at the Travelodge. I’d return here for convenience on another occasion.

If you don’t want to stay in a typical hotel… too boring and stuffy? If you are looking for a funky kind of beach hotel — look no further!
Let me start by saying that there is nothing good about perfection. If you live your life expecting to find a perfect car, perfect job or perfect significant other — you’re in for a VERY rough time.
Having said that — this place is funky and cool and I love it. It’s anything but your typical hotel. It’s definitely rough around the edges — our second «room» is roughly the size of the bed that it contains, there is a mystery «nook» next to our table, the fridge is up in the armoire, the door hits the toilet when you open the door…
There are a few shortcomings — there is no hairdrier for the wife, just a couple lights, you can reach a brick wall from the bathroom window…
However — I still like this place enough to give it 4 stars.