My wife and I left this resort in disgust after three nights of a seven night timeshare exchange. Its only possible "gold crown" attribute is the admitedly spectacular location. We traded our own gold crown one bedroom and received a "studio" (hotel) unit, with a tiny balcony and a bed so small (a double, not even a queen), that one of us had to sleep on the dirty hide-a-bed. The hide-a-bed had uncomfortable springs and no matress pad -- the staff told us that they used to have pads but "they took up too much room." The telephone keys were sticky, the paint worn, and the door keys had to be inserted many times before working. Because the weather was cold, windy, and cloudy, the hot tub would have been inviting if it had been working, which it wasn't. Although two different desk clerks told us every day for four days that one bed room units were available, that we were first on the "list" to be changed to one, that we could probably do so the following morning, but that only a manager could arrange it -- each morning when we checked back somehow no such rooms were unavailable. The fourth time we were told this we left in disgust, even though we had paid for four more days. We will not return.

Used 600 points with Sunterra for a 3 night mid-week stay
No problems checking in - front desk was friendly enough.
The studio room was pretty good size! Balcony with a view of the ocean was a bonus :) Came with a full size fridge, and mini kitchen. Not 5 star by any means - but the view and location is!
Great for 2 people - had a couch and a good size bathroom. Enjoyed my stay here - they even have wine tours that pick you up if there is a minimum number of people going. Avila beach has a great wine tasting room - "alapay" a must if you are there!
They have a exercise room - if you can call it that! A few bikes, treadmile and some weights - pretty small though. No bar or restaurant on site.

In December we booked and paid for a two night stay at the San Luis Bay Inn. A confirmation call was made to us the day before we were to arrive. When we did arrive there was no record of our reservation and we were told that we should be at the Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo. Although when they checked there there was no reservation there either. After spending a little over an hour with them and still not resolving the problem we told them that we wanted a credit for the two nights that we had paid for and that we would find other accommodations. We were then offered two complementary nights if we would listen to a 90 minute time share sales presentation during our stay. We told them we were not interested. We thought it amazing that all of a sudden they had accommodations and it made us even distrust them even more. To date we still have not had our money refunded and have since contacted our credit card company to dispute the charges.

Please be aware that the San Luis Bay Inn is a time share property and reservations that you make through the internet that are listed as specials may turn out to be not what you thought they are. You may be staying at the Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo far from the ocean views and accommodations that were promised and listening to a time share pitch when you do get to see the San Luis Bay Inn.

We are Sunterra (now Diamond Resorts) owners, and this was our second visit to the San Luis Bay Inn. We stayed four nights, and our experience was completely different from the recent negative reviews. With the exception of the need for new bed linens, everything was first-rate. The employees at the reception and activities desks were friendly, efficient, and helpful. We stayed in a top floor one-bedroom with a lovely view of the bay (room 531), and it was beautiful. All of the kitchen appliences looked new, and the carpet and furnishings were in very clean and unworn condition. The room was spacious and comfortable, with a DVD player in the sitting room, and a VHS in the bedroom. This didn't bother us as we'd brought both DVDs and VHS tapes to watch. The blackout curtains in both rooms made it easy to sleep late. We didn't see any mold in the bathroom, as mentioned in other reviews, just a little discoloration in the grout. The bath towels seemed new and were thicker and fluffier than in many hotels. The only problem with the room was the bed linens, as noted by others. There was a small hole in one top sheet, and the (perfectly clean) sheets just seemed old. With the excellent condition of the rest of the room, this didn't bother us very much. There was daily housekeeping service, which we actually thought was too frequent - we would've been happy with every other day. Maybe some of the rooms haven't yet been refurbished, but we wouldn't hesitate to stay here again in a room such as the one we had.