You have to "steal" your requests first, before earlier arrivals get the chance.

Always follow up your reservation "request" with a letter, oh two weeks to 10 days out, addressed to the front desk or the reservations dept. Tell them how much you've been looking forward to your stay at their fine establishment, and how feature "A" will add to your enjoyment.

It has worked for me every time. I really don't think too many bother with such a thing nowadays, and I believe it trumps day-of requests made at the point of check-in that might otherwise have "stolen" your original time-of-reservation request.



* * * * *

ok, we now return to the Sac Clan thread, already in progress.


Have you told the kids there's a new submarine ride????

I have forgotten about those letters, I have written them before...Dah!

Well, we usually are early check ins ourselves. Maybe I'll put in a call...oh yeah, I will as they called me about a bbq they are having...Thanks for the reminder!!!

iSm, I love your persistence!! :snap:

Well, Crystal and STC, we all just arrived home tonight from our trip.

Won't go in to all of the details but I will tell what I saw around the Asilomar Conference Center~ Did you get the address? LOL We didn't. I just figured we would know right where it was at...we didn't.

It is a big place. Really big. Spread all over a heck of a lot of acres. They say there are mountain lions but we didn't hear anything about them. There are deer all over {not just on the grounds, all over that part of Pacific Grove, it would seem, especially around the graveyard across from the lighthouse}.

So, back to its' size. Big. While I was checking in a woman was telling me her keycard had demagnetized for the 3rd time that day. Not a big deal, she said, but it was a long walk to the check in. This is because you really can't park anywhere around the place. We had to park along the street outside of our building. Okay, the building, they all have names, ours was 'Ember'. Downstairs there is a 'living room' type place with a fireplace and seating. I supposed this is for when it is rented by a group? Actually, pretty cool. There are elevators, and, from our area, if you parked underground {our SUV with Yakima did not fit} the elevators go right up to your building, pretty cool}.

There is a pool, this we could drive to, don't know if we were supposed to, though. Bikes are a great idea but there are a lot of hills. Walking is probably best. Lovely walks all over the property. Not a good walk into Monterey, Cannery Row, though. We did drive up and that wasn't a problem. If you park at an all day lot,and you want to ride up towards the Wharf from Cannery Row, you can leave your car there and take the free shuttle trolley.

The kids will love the deer at Asilomar. Oh, so cool. From our balcony {which is what the upstairs room has, the downstairs a little patio with table and two chairs} we saw a doe and two fawn. This is their element, and, they are beautiful to watch.

The room wasn't too big, but, it wasn't bad either. Ours had a double bed and a double Murphy bed. That saved space during the day. The fireplace comes stocked {ours wouldn't stay lit very long} and over by the elevator is a box of more wood.

Breakfast was cool. They give you a little ticket/slip upon checking in {make sure you get one for everyone for every morning of your stay, they almost forgot ours}. We walked over for ours {helps to burn it off, too}. They greet you at the door {the place is west of the check in building}, ask if you are leisure or with a convention/group. You will be seated {or allowed to choose} at a table where others will also be joining you. The table has the coffee, hot water, and other things. The buffet for breakfast is simple, you walk up and they hand you a plate with a cover. As you walk out, there is a table with pastries which are good. :0) The little ones that look like cookies are not, they are like the tops of muffins. Yummy. Anywho, they also should offer you oatmeal, just in case they forget.

The building where you check in has billiards and ping pong. The gift shop sells coffee and hot cocoa.

The guest service is great. Everyone is quite attentive and helpful. There is one housekeeper per building, I think, as well as someone who comes to clean the fireplace and clean it daily.

Did we like it? The Hubster and I did. There is no phone or television which really was a let down for the Boy. We did get him out to the wharf to see the fireworks and he even went for a run. Oh, and in Yosemite they were showing Tom Hanks' movies and we saw 'Forrest Gump' a few times and so we ate at Bubba Gumps. We enjoyed that, too. Just remember to put your name on the waiting list. These poor guys were standing there a while and when I got in line behind them I asked if they were in line, yes, they were. Had they put their name down yet? And they were like 'What?' and I bet just a little perturbed that our name was called first as the Hubster went right up and gave them our name. :D

We would love to go back. The people there are really nice, it was nice to sit at a table and meet other people. Of course, this can be hit or miss. {oh, also, for breakfast if someone doesn't make it you can take a plate/box back for them, including a coffee, etc.}

Well, that is all I can think of. I am wondering if you guys are already on your way there...it is cool. Oh, and, while I don't think it is butterfly season, I was surprised to see a lot of them fluttering about the trees outside of our room. I thought they might be moths but they weren't.

You all have a great time, wear your walking shoes, and take a jacket!!

We stumbled across the Conference Grounds about ten years ago while staying in Pacifc Grove and trying to find a shortcut to the beach.

Our room was in 'The Hearth' and we were able to park in the garage and take the elevator to within 30 feet of our room. Very convenient.


Walk to Cannery Row? What, are you high?


We've already made reservations to stay there for Thanksgiving. We love the place.

We wuz robbed! 70 degrees and sunny the whole time. No fog, no chilly. We still used the fireplace both morning and night but we didn't really need it.

LOL Oh man, when I realized just how far we were from Cannery Row, I said no freakin' way. {that was our plan, my plan actually, to say how we would get from the room to the fireworks....}

Wow, that warm? We were so happy to be there at that time. We had just come from very hot weather and this was a blessing.

Aw, you guys are going back for Thanksgiving? Like, the actual holiday? How long does it take you to get there? It takes us quite a while so we don't go as often as we'd like. We actually broke up the trip home with a night in San Simeon. {another cool place}

I think your building was in the set of ours {Embers, Hearth, that theme}. The parking garage was cool...if you could fit. :(

Next time....

Yes, the actual Thanksgiving holiday. It's a tradition we started just last year. We found that it's more fun to go to the coast for Thanksgiving than to spend time with our families. Monterey/Pacific Grove is only a three hour drive from home. Last Thanksgiving we stayed at Ragged Point (not far from San Simeon), and that was a bit of a drive for us.


Now to find a Thanksgiving feast somewhere in Monterey and reserve a table.

We also have found spending time away from family for the holidays is best. Glad we aren't the only ones.

Ragged Point, I know I've seen that on the map...

I would imagine the Conference Center will have a dinner. They had a bbq meal on the fourth {not an actual bbq, just the food} that was about $18 per adult. It was really good, I'd imagine they'd do Thanksgiving up right, too.

Other than that, I guess it would depend upon what you are willing to spend.

If you do go back to San Simeon, here is something I've found. The Best Western Cavalier hotel is quite nice, but, can be pricey. Right next door, the Sands by the Sea is way less. This last time, our room was $79+ while the BW was $150.+. They are right next door to one another and the SBTC is all newly refurbished.