I had booked in advance at a number of locations whilst touring California and Arizona, all of which had proved to be good choices. This was our last stay and how I came to chose it I will never know! On arrival the place looked poor and the room was musty and not at all inviting. Beds clean and comfortable, but carpeting dirty and stained. Shower OK in corner of very small washroom in which sink drained very slowly. This motel looks as if it was constructed in the 1950s or earlier and since then little, if anything, has been spent on updating it. Breakfast which was included, consisted of one sticky pain au raisin (or at least thats what it looked lke!!) in a sealed bag and a coffee which we had to fetch from the small reception room where there was no eating area. Needless to say, we found nothing to recommend this place.

not as advertised: first room had no refrigerator. no ice machine available. bathroom sink was clogged.

management lied about giving me a reduction in fees when I complained about the conditions of this hotel. Billed me the hole amount. Free breakfast was Cheerios. I will never stay here again.

Cayucos, Calif. is definitely one of the "best kept secrets" in beach towns you will ever find. However most of the hotel choices are from motels from the 50's & 60"s & the Dolphin Inn is one of these 50 year old properties. It lacks any beach view and is a fairly long walk to downtown where all the dining and activities are located. It is clean, neat & safe just VERY basic. I was offered my choice of rooms and Room #1 was nicer than most with nice furniture & a very nice flat-panel TV with a very cute (but small) bathroom. All these little beach motels fill-up on the the weekends - so plan accordingly. The Continental brkfst was just barely acceptable but it was FREE! Go down the street to Hoppe's for a real breakfast. No pool.

We stayed here for 1 night whilst on a road trip up highway 1. I used trip advisor before coming into town and quickly found the motel. It didn't look great from the outside so we looked elsewhere but as it's peak season, absolutely everywhere else was showing 'No Vacancy'...so we decided yo stay at The Dolphin as planned. We thought the $129 was pretty hood until we saw the room. It looks like it was last decorated in the 1950's, the carpet was truly filthy and it smelled musty and damp. There was a kitchen that was barely suitable to house our suitcases, let alone cook in! The curtains barely give you any privacy. The shower was horrific, like showering in a dark wardrobe, it made me and my wife shudder the thought of using it (would make a great place to commit suicide). The front door didn't feel remotely secure as it looked like an old bedroom door. The bedshhets were clean, and we could park right outside, they are the only positives! We would highly recommend eating and drinking at the excellent Schooners down on the front. The food is excellent and the staff are ultra friendly, as are the locals.
Avoid The Dolphin like the plague!! The only way I'd stay here again is if they pulled the place down and let me pitch a tent where it once stood!