We had a gathering of our family from 3 areas to celebrate my husband's birthday. Two kids were part of the celebrations.
We stayed at a great hotel, Pismo Beach Lighthouse Suites. Our room, 3201, had a balcony and a great view of the bay and waves breaking. We were even at the height of the pelicans as they flew by. The hotel has a game deck that was nice with kids: badmitton, ping pong, a few golf holes, and a giant chess board. The biggest hits with the kids were the pool and going down to the beach in the morning early (in shorts because you'll wade in the icy water) to find sand dollars.

We ate for the birthday dinner at McClintocks in Pismo (they make reservations Sunday-Thursday but not on Friday and Saturday). They are very kid friendly and family friendly. Very entertaining with the waiters pouring water from up high. They did a big thing with singing waiters for the birthday fellow with an ice cream sundae for him. The kids even elected to have them stand on chairs and pour water blindfolded into a glass on each of their heads. Yes, it's theatrical but the food is good--mainly beef but a good child's menu too and something even for me the vegan: a great corn tamale, veggies, and rice on the Farmer's Market plate...family style beans, potatoes, bread and more.

Lunch the next day we ate at Marita's, a not bad Mexican restaurant in a shopping center. Dinner was at a family favorite for years, Del's Pizzeria...umm, the yeast rolls! Afterwards we all walked next door to the Dinasaur Caves Park--a public park with a dinosaur theme that the children, 7 and 4 years old, really liked.

We booked this after consulting tripadviser and were very pleased with our choice. It is not in the centre of Pismo, but that was fine with us as we had a car. We had two nights on our trip north and wanted to bike the dunes and have time to go to the beach. The hotel was clean and tidy and had the added bonus of Badminton, table tennis and a pool. This went down big with our teenagers. We had a partial ocean view- which was really quite an extensive sea-view from the side of the apartments. We had two bedrooms and two bathrooms which were very comfortable - and quiet. The grounds were well kept and did not suffer from pelican invasions unlike our neighboring hotels. Breakfast was not extensive but adequate, served in a small dining room area. There were outdoor seats and tables - but early morning fog made these a bit cold, so less attractive. The pool was smallish but warm and pleasant. We never found it crowded. Lovely view down to Pismo beach. Plenty of dining opportunities - our teenagers liked F Mclintocks just up the road - very popular. I think we sang happy birthday 4 times!! We would certainly stay here again.

My family stayed at Pismo Lighthouse after a disappointing stay in Yosemite. We just fell in love with this hotel. It is very, very clean. The rooms are decorated in a nautical theme. We stayed in a two bedroom suite which was a wonderful break for my husband and I since our kids had their own separate TV, bathroom and bedroom with a hallway separating us. We had a partial ocean view room with a balcony and the relaxing sounds of the ocean waves. The front door of our room faced the outdoor patio area with a lifesized chess board, ping pong tables and volleyball net. The swimming pool was heated and very clean. An all you can eat European Breakfast is served at the galley which has all the basic requirements for a family to start the day including hard boiled eggs, make your own waffle, bagels and fresh fruit. If you want a fattening Denny's style breakfast, this is not the place for you. Our only concern was that our room was located above the laundry room which cleans the laundry for two hotels so it runs pretty much all day and night until 11:00pm!!!! The machines sound like a plane is taking off from the tarmac at your door. The other rooms away from this laundry room did not have such a problem. I called the front desk and requested for the machines to be turned off by 9:00pm which they did graciously. The next day, the manager gave me a discount on our room rates because of the inconveninece. The service here is awsome and I truly recommend this hotel.

Booked this hotel after reading the reviews on this site. The hotel location is great and convenient and is on the bluff above the beach. We stayed in the 950 sq ft two bedroom suite with two full bathrooms and a small fridge and microwave oven. The rooms were spacious, very clean and nicely decorated. There was a small table with two chairs in one of the rooms but no separate living room with a sofa. There was a tv in one of the rooms but there was no DVD or VCR player.

The hotel's 1st floor is actually the parking garage. The 2nd floor is actually the "ground/main floor" level where the reservation office, game deck, and 2nd floor rooms are located.

We stayed in room 2105 which was a partial ocean view room. We could see the ocean from our deck as well as the pool. The front door and the window of one of the bedrooms faced the game deck where there were ping pong tables, a badminton court, putting green and a giant chess set. The room was right on the main walkway down to the pool, beach access and galley so anyone walking by was able to get a good view into the room when the windows were open. The worst part was that about every 10 minutes we heard what sounded like an loud airplane jet engine turning on. We finally figured out that the noise was coming from the hotel's laundry room that was directly below our room.

Other than the noise we did enjoy our two night stay in this hotel. The complimentary breakfast consisted of make your own waffles, scones, danishes, bagels, toast, cold cereal, oatmeal mix, hard boiled eggs, milk, oj, Seattle's Best coffee and tea.

Our 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter enjoyed playing on the game deck and in the pool. The staff was courteous and helpful.

The best rooms appear to be on the 3rd floor which is just one flight up. We would stay at this hotel again but not in room 2105.