(Photoannotating the original review and the follow-up post now that I’ve gotten the photos scaled, named and uploaded)

Location: Just off the 101 at the Five Cities Drive exit – the photo below shows the 101 to the left of the western parking lot which overlooks the freeway. Good for those driving up from the LA area since it is just a bit closer. Bad because half the rooms do have a constant noise source from the freeway.



Check-In/Front Desk: Sorry – no photos…

Room(s): Had reserved a two bedroom, 1 king/2 queen suite for two nights. Hilton.com offered me either 203 or 249 when possibly checking in on-line. If you have the choice and want one of these 2 room suites with a back patio - or any room with a back patio that overlooks the pool, select an odd numbered second floor room in the 203 thru 225(?) sequence. Other rooms have back patios but they don't all have a direct access/view of the pool area. The North Wing has rooms on the 2nd thru 4th floors (x01 thru x25 where x is the floor number) while the South Wing has rooms on the 1st thru 3rd floors (x27 thru x51). All of the common areas (Fitness Room, Laundry Room, Grill/Restaurant, Mission Room, Library/Bar) are between the two wings but on different floors.

The following shots show the signs in the middle section of the property on the second floor: the 201 thru 225 north wing units are to the left and the 227 thru 252 south wing units are to the right.





These shots show the odd numbered (203 thru 225) rooms on the second floor that have patios from which you can walk out and then down the path to the pool area:





The following shots show the south wing rooms on the _first_ floor that have their own patios; note that these are, by and large, below the slope of the hill that straddles the V between the two wings of the hotel:





Room 249: Yes, it is a very decent sized 2 bedroom suite. The main bedroom has the two queens with the king in a smaller, quite a bit more cosy room parallel to the windows of the room.

Here’s the main bedroom and its view:









King bedroom and its view:





The king room has a separate toilet and sink - but a pedestal sink and no counter. The main room has the bathtub/shower and also its own pedestal sink and toilet - and an outer sink with much counter space. Both rooms have a fair amount of closet space with the main room's closet hosting a small in-room safe. From the unfinished/unpainted plywood board attached to the inside wall, the king room's closet probably was slated to get a safe as well but there isn't one and the hangar bar is only on the right side of that closet.

Main bedroom’s bath and outer sink:







If you like granite - vanity counter, counter top under the main room's LCD TV, bathtub walls, window sills - you'll have plenty here. Room decor is mission in style and color. You get your own small refrigerator and microwave under the main room's TV granite counter.



All three beds have the adjustable Garden Sleep System so you can dial in your bed's firmness. However, performing said adjustment on each of the beds really didn't seem to change how firm they were - at least to all of us who tried to modify the firmness with the dials. White duvets and duvet covers are atop each bed.

Each bedroom has windows that either face west or south and all overlook the 101. Currently, all windows slide open fully to provide both access to any on-shore breezes but also the constant noise of the 101. A lockable door separates the two bedrooms - but that also shows impact wear/handle rub area with the right closet door handle from the king bedroom. Also to note, the x49 rooms are also the closest suites to the 101. On the other side of the 101, the Arco station, Pismo's Motel 6 and Oxford Suites are your view - no direct line of sight to the Pacific from this room.

Cost wise, each night in this suite was booked at $199 per. Note that this was a Sunday thru Tuesday stay so the rates currently go up to $239/night on the weekends. The rate for this class of suite room is showing a little bit cheaper in early September but I've not tried pricing much past then at this point. So, yes, the property is definitely more expensive as a HGI than when it was the Mission Inn.

Breakfast: No breakfast/dining area shots…

Pool: Pool towels available/provided just inside the entrance gate. Pool is heated - but not terribly deep (3.5 ft. to 5.5 ft.). Spa/whirlpool is hot but its jets are not super strong. If the on-shore wind blows, things can get a bit cold outside of the pool. Bathrooms for the pool are external to the pool fence, each require room key for access and are probably located for sharing with the Fitness Room.

Fitness Room: The guts of the room are brand new - I suspect that it is probably in the same location and size as the old Mission Inn - but I don't know. Two treadmills, one elliptical and one bike - all Precor machines. A full rack of dumb bells and a (curling?) bench. There's a number of weight exercise balls as well as an inflated exercise ball. Towels, water, a medical weight scale + a flat panel TV are all available.

The 4 machines look outward from the Fitness Room toward the second floor central entrance - which looks out toward the garden and pool. One way to think of it is that this property is shaped like a wide V - sort of like the angled parts of the letter "K" - with the mid point of the V as where the slope of the hill provides an entrance at the second floor.

The sign on the Fitness Center room indicates 24 hour access/use but the in-room guide said something like 7 am to 10 pm. Your fitness hours may vary







Property Access: One primary driveway downramp off of James. Parking/driving access is on all sides of the property. Multiple external access points that require room keys to get into the room corridors of both wings - and on multiple floors. Pool area is directly accessible from the parking area - which may not be so good since my wife observed a couple, accessed the pool area and then went in the spa/whirlpool, dried themselves off and then exited the pool gate and went directly to their car. Not clear if they were guests or simply people who figured out how to get in from the local area.

David