The best resorts, hotels, motels, inns and glamping accommodations for Big Sur no matter what your budget is!

After visiting Big Sur a few times, Ive decided its a must see destination for all. Whether you’re looking for a romantic weekend away with your significant other, a girls trip, guys trip, a spot to elope/get married or a place to honeymoon I truly believe Big Sur has something to offer to everyone. Ill be sharing the BEST stays in Big Sur no matter what your budget is.

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1.Alila Ventana Big Sur –

“With 59 secluded suites featuring expansive balconies, 160 magnificent acres of natural splendor on the rugged Pacific coast, and amenities and activities both private and purposeful, Ventana embodies the notion that space is luxury.This is a place where everyone can find what they seek, from romance and emotional connection to perspective and solitary reflection.” – That quote pulled directly from the Alila Ventana Website- Just really sets the tone of what this place has to offer and screams luxury stay.

You can also host your own wedding, elopement or mirco wedding here but you can expect to pay a pretty penny, with micro wedding packages starting at $20,000 for 30 guests, a private dinner, cake and all guests must be staying on site. You can also host a larger wedding there, pricing was not listed on their site, but the choice of ceremony spaces are truly gorgeous, so if you have some extra wiggle room for your wedding budget, I would not hesitate to check out Alila Ventana because I can assure you, you wont be disappointed. You can look to spend anywhere from 3k-4k per night at this luxury hotel.

On the Flip side, this resort also offers a glamping option which still looks incredible, however seems like it books up super fast, as I was on their site and couldn’t seem to find a quote for a price/availability.

They also have their very own campsite for $80 a night where you bring in your own tent, have access to a picnic table, fire pit and public bath house and shower.

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2. Post Ranch Inn – This stay has honeymoon written all over it, and actual dream worthy stay that I can only hope I get to experience one day. With rooms thoughtfully designed to immerse yourself within nature, whether its cliff side taking in the ocean, mountain side in the forest or in the buttery fly suite designed, as you guessed it, in the shape of butterfly wings. With rooms starting anywhere from $1600-$2600 per night, this is for sure a treat yourself experience. They do offer elopements, micros weddings, vow renewals etc. pricing isn’t listed on the site but they have a coordinator you can email directly for all that info. They also have spa packages for massages but offer a truly unique sleep package for $1200 which includes a dinner at Sierra Mar featuring a special sleep serenity menu, two 60 minute sleep spa treatments,sweet dreams gift bag filled with the perfect goodies to aid in getting a good nights sleep as well as on demand access to Dr.Michael Breus 7 videos for sleep sessions. Honestly sounds like a heavenly experience. https://www.postranchinn.com/

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3. Glen Oaks – This is my personal favorite, and the only stay I have actually had personal experience with so maybe I’m biased, but if its not broken don’t fix it, right?! Honestly its so good that it makes it hard to want to try staying somewhere else, and I truly love staying here. The first time I came here was for a weekend away to celebrate my golden birthday with my boyfriend and it was the perfect romantic getaway! With our own private little cabin in the redwoods, we loved having a fire pit right outside our door with complimentary firewood, smore kits and half bottle of wine, we spent the night by the fire playing cards enjoying the starry night sky above us. With a yummy casual restaurant on site, it made it easy for us to grab breakfast and lunch before we went out exploring for the day. One of the other things I LOVE about this stay is access to private redwood grove trails and private access to the river where you can sit in Adirondack chairs and dangle your feet in the water. It was soooo peaceful and relaxing, the memory of even talking about this is bringing a smile to my face. I almost forgot to mention they have 1-2 cabins with the instagram famous outdoor bath tubs, I haven’t been fortunate enough to book one of these rooms yet, but you know my bubble bath loving self will have to make this happen for one of my stays! Budget wise, its still on the line of treat yourself but wayyyy more affordable and reasonable in my mind compared to Post Ranch or Alila Ventana. With the average rooms costing anywhere between $310-$800 per night and then they also offer full cabins/suites with multiple rooms for anywhere from $1,000-$2600 per night. I have been lucky enough to be able to photograph an elopement here, and let me tell you it was MAGICAL. I would highly recommend this for your own elopement, micro wedding, or special event. I think their pricing is very reasonable especially compared to a lot of other venues in the area. http://glenoaksbigsur.com/

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4. Big Sur River Inn – If you don’t book a stay here, I 100% recommend grabbing lunch or dinner here which I did on both of my trips! They have a huge outdoor patio filled with umbrellas to keep it cool on those hot days, and one of the best things about dining here is you have the option of taking your food in a cooler bringing it down river for a picnic style lunch while sitting in an Adirondack chair with your feet dangling in the river. Its an upscale picnic but instead of soggy pb & js your getting a hot delicious meal prepped for you with the comfy feeling of being on a picnic. Aside from their awesome restaurant, they have some pretty sweet looking motel rooms that I’m tempted to book for my next stay in Big Sur. Their rooms range from $175-$495 per night. https://www.bigsurriverinn.com/

5. Deetjens – Ive heard a lot of good things about Deetjens and know some of my photographer friends absolutely love staying here. It has lots of historic charm, and has feeling of extra comfort like you’re staying at your grandparents house. The Inn rooms were built and designed from 1930-1960’s and still have some unique treasured charms in each of those spaces with how they are decorated. It looks like they are still expanding with new cabins being built this year. They keep it old school here, all reservation bookings must be completed over the phone, no online bookings available. They offer hostel style rooms with shared bathrooms, as well as private rooms with en suite bathrooms and cabins available for booking. Rooms start anywhere from $110-$435 per night. https://www.deetjens.com/index.html

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Lastly, the most affordable way to see Big Sur and being totally immersed in nature is by camping!! Big Sur has plenty of campsites to choose from like Pfeiffer Big Sur Campground, Big Sur Camp Ground and Cabins, as well as the tent camping located at Alila Ventana. Just note most of these places book up to 6 months or so in advanced so best to reserve your campground early!!

Hope you have the BEST time exploring Big Sur!!