We arrived here late at night and was met by a very friendly check in man who made us feel welcome instantly. He even directed us to the lodge across the road for late night food and drinks. We had a great night over there too! The room was huge! The bathroom was big too and had a good strong shower with nice complimentary products.
We stayed in a five star hotel in San Fran before this and sands by the sea was by far the better of the two. Everything was comfortable and we got a sound nights sleep.
Oh, and they have us a coupon for breakfast the next morning! Fantastic!

We stayed at this motel when traveling from LA to San Francisco. We received fantastic service and the room was comfortable and spacious. We where also happy pleasantly surprised to receive a gov/military discount. Fantastic breakfast at the Cavilier restaraunt is a must.

We had a good night sleep and breakfast was next door at the Best Western, but it was very average. Great Mexican down the road!!

We just needed a stop over place and other towns were too far away at that time of night. Plus we were headed up towards Hearst although not to visit it specifically. We had just came over the mountain from around the mudslide and needed somewhere overnight to stay so we could go back up the other side and view the rest and also see the Elephant Seals. The sister hotel the Best Western was very high priced $175-$250. We refused and he referred us over the the Sands. THe gentlemen up front was very accomodating and really nice. The room was $70 total! It was extremely basic, Definitely a 2 star but it WAS clean. No hair dryer or ironing board. He did give a a room with a slight view of ocean after seeing what he had available. So that was nice of him to be considerate. We attempted the pool, but it was too cold in early June, However the attendant saw us in there and came and asked if we needed towels. Again, very nice of him. THe room came w a voucher for free continental breakfast at BW and you had full access to their facilities. We had to do laundry and they left the room open an extra hour at our request. One nice feature is that they light firepits on the beach. We sat by one for a bit and it was very relaxing. I would recommend but I will say that there is NOTHING in San Simeon for entertainment, not much for eating either. All in all a good experience. An ironing board would be nice for sure. Also the room used actual keys which you never see anymore.....No thermostat control in room. I think they regulate it from the office, but it was fine. Ask about that in advance if you think it may be an issue on a warmer day. It was cool outside but the window opens if you need to cool it down any. And it was plenty cold enough at night to do so.