My girlfriend and I took a recent vacation to Cali that was unexpectedly extended due to car problems. We stumbled upon this hotel by chance. It was the first hotel we came across when we entered into Lugana Beach and we saw that it was only a block from the beach. The rate for a Monday was only $99 so we decided to stay there. The hotel was very old so we didn't expect much.

When we entered our room Ie saw that it was somewhat smaller than average. The bathroom and shower were very small. The room had a queen bed, small refrigerator, table, and two chairs. The walls had been freshly painted (possibly from a remodel) and everything seemed cleaned. It wasn't until later in the night when I went to turn the heater on that I noticed that there was no ac/heater system installed in the room. There was only a small portable plug-in heater/fan in the room (it actually worked quite well). I then went to call the front desk and saw that the room had no phone, or even phone lines installed. At this point, I was not surprised to see that their was no clock in the room either.

Our room was towards the front of the hotel which borders PCH. The walls looked thick but I woke up in the middle of the night from road noise (didn't bother my girlfriend's sleep). Just outside of the room's entry door was a hallway balcony with two sitting chairs where you could sit and watch traffic. We saw that positioned throughout the hotels courtyard were potted plants. The grounds grass and schrubbery were immaculately maintained. There was a soda machine, ice maker, and coffe maker near the office. The pool was a nice size (up tp 7 feet deep) and also heated. No jacuzzi though.

In the morning we walked down a steep hill from the hotel and numerous stairs as we descended into a cliff to the beach. There was about 200 yards of beach where we were at and it was bordered on both sides by rocks (similar to a reef). The back drop was the cliff itself behind us. There were only about 30 other people on the beach. We saw that there were snorkerlers in the water, a couple of professional photographers taking pictures (one of a couple poising), and a fisherman on the nearby rocks, it had the feel of a private beach. I don't know the name of the beach but it definitely is a best kept secret.

We were aware that there were better rooms available at the hotel with a view, kitchen, or balcony but at much higher rates. Some of the rooms are 3 month rentals and possibly longer. I don't think the hotel quality would have improved if we spent more money on a better room and if we were willing to do so we would probably be staying somewhere else. Although our room had no ac controls, telephone (hence no room service), or clock we found that we did not need these items anyway. The weather was comfortable at about 75 degrees during our stay and at night the heater fan worked quite well. Also, I used my cell phone to make calls and also as an alarm clock.

My girlfriend and I talked in depth about this hotel and we both reached the same conclusion. Despite its many short comings, the distance to such a remarkable beach made up for it. Ordinarily when we are on vacation we don't spend much time in the hotel room anyway. We found this hotel to be clean and we felt safe in it. We would stay here again and recommend it to a friend however, if you want luxury and to be pampered your better off staying elsewhere.