Cavalier Oceanfront Resort — Hotel in Cambria

From Cavalier's bluff, the view of the majestic, blue-green Pacific Ocean offers an ever changing vista. Depending on the season, you may spot a whale or a school of dolphins, glide across the white caps. Often surfers, wrapped in wetsuits, cut through the waves, balancing on kite-powered surfboards. Free telescopes are provided for close-up views.

For half a century, guests at the family owned,CAVALIER OCEANFRONT RESORT have been welcomed with friendly greetings and warm drinks.

Edging the ocean on Cavalier's expansive grounds is a private park, which includes a giant chess board with pizza sized checkers and fire hydrant sized chess pieces. You will also find the required badminton court. It's a good place to toss a ball, flip beanbags, or relax with a pleasant lunch and a properly chilled wine, while viewing the Pacific.

Our family and friends have loved the Cavalier for over 25 years. We always book a year in advance to guarantee the same oceanfront rooms.

The guest rooms are large and comfortable. Many with wood burning fireplace. (Firestarter and matches make lighting easy.) The oceanfront rooms have either a patio or balcony. If you choose a first floor room, you step off the patio onto an amazingly thick, rich green carpet of grass. (I enjoy a few barefoot steps.) Pets are welcome.

Thick, supplied bathrobes offer comfort from the ocean's breeze. It's always a bit chilly in the morning. So, when your sitting on your patio sipping coffee, or enjoying a dip in the nearby hot tub and/or heated pool, the morning chill fades away. The pool area is protected by a glass partition from the Pacific's breeze. You'll need your room key to enter.

The bathroom's 70 gallon soaking tub could be mistaken for a swimming pool. If you have forgotten any personal items, the front desk will supply them at no charge. And leave your windows open, the sound of the ocean's surf is intoxicating.

Near your room are two pools, a hot tub, an exercise room, and the wonderful, Diva Day Spa. RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST. (I enjoy the one-hour massage.) All are wheelchair accessible. The hot tub and heated pool have chair lifts.

A wood stairway brings you to a long stretch of a natural, rugged but walkable beach, lining the west edge of the property. Above the beach are benches that offers an unobstructed view of the shoreline.

A brisk walk, lite by the sunset's glow is just the beginning of the activities. After sundown multiple lights highlight the surf's white caps.

When darkness finely settlers on the cliff at the ocean's edge, a few steps from your room, three wood burning fireplaces are lit. Guests, from around the world, bask in the fire's warmth, exchanging stories and adventures. There's plenty of wood so don't forget to bring marshmallows. Chairs are supplied; jackets are suggested. Zephyrs are chilling.

THE FRIENDS OF THE ELEPHANT SEALS, a non-profit gift shop, on the property, offers lots of local information, a collection of stuffed animals and silkscreened wardrobe at moderate prices.

THE CAVALIER RESTAURANT, with views of the ocean, serves a moderately priced, American menu. The restaurant can pack a lunch for a day's outing, to enjoy in Cavalier's park, or provide room service. Room service is delivered by electric cart, in this large resort.

Of course, parking is free. First floor accomodations and amenities, as well as the pools and hot tub are wheelchair accessible. Be sure to let Cavalier know if you need special help when making reservations. A 120 volt outlet, for your electric car, is available. You must supply the cable.

A couple of miles North, on CA-1, is the magnificent William Randolph Hearst Castle, bit farther, elephant seals sleep under the sun's wamth. The habitat is on your left if you're driving from the Cavalier. There are several several signs, but be careful, at highway speeds the entrance to the parking area comes up quickly.

Cambria, a lovely California town with a remarkable selection of restaurants and shops, is a couple of miles...

My wife and I have stayed at the Cavalier well over 10 nights. Our experience the last two stays has been very saddening. We obviously found something that we liked about the place that kept bringing us back and the first thing was the people. Most of their staff had been there before we could probably afford to think of paying for such a luxury. They were friendly outgoing and now I feel bad because I don't remember all of their names. On the first planned night the "premium" ocean front room had multiple runs in the carpet, discoloration, and the room we were provided was very disappointing overall after years of very satisfying stays. Acoustic in the ceiling was peeling (not the end of the world but it was an indicator). The food we ordered, which was normally very good, is now basically what you would expect from a nursing home... I spent plenty of time with my grandmother who passed recently so I consider myself an expert in nursing home food. Its not something I would go out of my way to pay for but for family I might deal with it for them. The part that really bothered me was after being comped a significant amount of money because I called after I shared that the carpet in my room was so heavily soiled that my socks which were new and white were now a very dark brown on the bottoms... New socks and new shoes so this was a cleanliness issue (had I not waited for 3 hours for the room to be ready and to be told multiple times it would take longer after being quoted an earlier time this would have been less of an issue). The person who comped us was a staff member who had been there for years and seemed to be proud to be a local and we had actually chatted a few times in passing about how we wish we could live in the area. Well this was the trip out to start shopping for our home and we had plans to do many more and stay at the Cavalier while we found the right place. Thats not happening any more because when we tried to re check in for our second night because we booked another room, we were greeted at 12 noon and advised that the room is not ready. BTW we checked out of the dirty room that morning at 7am and their parking lot was empty so this was a staffing issue. They do not hire enough staff to turn over rooms to a level that we have come to expect and I would say most would. Since we have been many times we have seen the decline and its sad to see good people who have been working for a place for a very long time basically feel embarrassed with their capabilities to serve their customers. They have certainly hired some new people that cant remember your face even after you have shown up 3 times in 3 hours to check in for the room they said would be ready. So I think its clear they are working in a direction I dont want to support. They will likely do ok because of the location and the fact that they are ok priced but if you are looking for a clean room, good food, and thoughtful staff you are flipping a coin on the staff situation and I can assure you the others are not gonna meet your standards. We did not stay the second night as we only live 2 hours away and after being told by the same employee to wait 3 hours and coming back with the room not ready that "employee of the month" told me that regular check in is 4pm... I wish I had given a good review when they were killing it and doing well. I really dont like giving a review like this especially in a place I plan to move that has a population of under 7k but this was ridiculous. Message to new management. Before you start letting a place go down the tubes and expect staff to front the brunt of your burden... all your exciting improvements mean nothing to them or your current customers who are paying a fair price for dirty rooms. You may have bought out the management. With that you get nearly 300 great google reviews in the bank, watch that wane while you make excuses. I will not remove my review because its very clear to me what is going on, dont waste your time with...

My wife and I went to Cavalier Oceanfront Resort to get away and celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary for 3 days. We have stayed there 3 times in the past and loved the tranquility of being in San Simeon, which is not a busy tourist destination. We love the proximity to the ocean and the beach, and we usually sleep with our slider open at night to hear the surf. Our first night was wonderful, peaceful. The second night was not so much. The hotel rented the room above us, which is no big deal; I can handle someone walking around above me as long as they aren't making a bunch of noise. The rooms have decks attached, accessed by a slider. Cool, no problem. The problems started when the tenant above us started smoking Marijuana from their deck. With our room facing west, the prevailing wind carried the smoke into our room! It was terrible! It being later in the day, I didn't call the front desk to complain, which I should have, I guess. So we had to close our slider to the sound of the surf, but the smoke still found its way into the room. It was a long night... | The next day, I went into the office where I so wanted to express my frustration, but was greeted by a nice young woman. She took down the complaint and said someone would contact the party to tell them smoking on the property is prohibited. We resumed our day, staying out until past 4pm. When we got back we were assaulted by Marijuana smoke in our room. The thing about this smoke is that it permeates everything and stays in the air forever! Again, I called the front desk and again I complained about the party above us. That night we were spared the smell of pot but had to deal with them smoking cigarettes on their deck. The next morning, we checked out. All in all, it was a good trip, just the hotel that we were used to staying at was a disappointment, especially considering the amount of money we spent to stay there. I was frustrated over it! | Several days passed, and I just had to call the hotel and express how frustrated we were. The desk manager answered the phone, so I explained that I wanted to speak to the General Manager. "He's on the phone," he connected me to his voicemail, where I explained the situation and wanted to talk directly to him. A few hours go by, no phone call. (I've been in several situations in the past trying to speak to GMs of hotels with no luck, so I didn't expect him to speak to me.) I called the hotel again, and the front desk connected me to the GM's office, and he answered! I couldn't believe it! He was sympathetic toward us and our experience. He mentioned he should have been informed of the situation from the start and apologized to me. Wow! I didn't expect that! He even refunded us for 2 of the 3 nights we stayed! It blew my mind! Here's a GM who is willing to fix a bad situation and make it right! Needless to say, he restored my faith in this hotel and will be staying there in the future. Perhaps on our 45th anniversary or sooner! | Knowing now that the management of this hotel is willing to go the extra mile to satisfy their customers, I am eager to recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to get away and enjoy the sound of the surf from their room! We will be back! | In the future, I won't be so slow to report problems...