San Luis Bay Inn At Avila Beach Review (2024)
Want to know what it’s like to stay at San Luis Bay Inn at Avila Beach? We’ve got you covered with everything we experienced during our stay here!
San Luis Bay Inn is a resort just above Avila Beach, along California’s Central Coast.
You can walk down to the beach and all of it’s restaurants and shops and you’re just a short drive away from San Luis Obispo’s local wineries and tasting rooms.
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San Luis Bay Inn Review
San Luis Bay Inn is a timeshare resort, formerly owned and operated by Diamond Resorts.
Recently, Diamond was bought out by Hilton Grand Vacations, so they are now the new owners of the resort.
If you have a timeshare with Diamond Resorts or HGV Max, you can use your timeshare points to stay here.
It can also be booked through timeshare exchange programs like RCI or Interval.
Additionally, you don’t have to be a timeshare owner to stay here!
Like many timeshares in the US, you can book directly or through your preferred booking platform and pay cash for your stay like you would at any other resort.
👉🏼 Click Here To Book Your San Luis Bay Inn Stay Today!
Room Types
When we stayed at San Luis Bay Inn, we booked a one bedroom.
You can see the full walk-through tour on our YouTube Channel.
I pulled some snippets from the video to give you an idea of the room layout.
We love staying in timeshares when we travel because of all of the extra amenities that are in the rooms.
✔️ Kitchen
From having a full kitchen to having a separate bedroom, it gives us all of the comforts of home while traveling.
It makes timeshares perfect for work-cations, which is typically how we travel.
Having a full kitchen allows us to cook meals for lunch while we’re working and cook in the evenings to save money on dining out.
As you can see in the photo below, there is a full sized refrigerator and freezer, stove top, oven, microwave, dishwasher, sink, and appliances.
The kitchen comes fully stocked with dishes, cookware, utensils, and most other things you’d need to cook your typical meal.
✔️ Living Room
The kitchen opens up into the dining room and living room.
You can see in the photo below that there is a dining table that seats 4, which is also perfect for doubling as a work space during the day.
✔️ Bedroom
The bedroom is also a nice size with it’s own tv and a closet.
It connects directly to the bathroom, which you can also access from the kitchen area.
The bedroom also has direct access the balcony as well.
✔️ Bathroom
I don’t particularly care for bathrooms that have multiple doors because it makes it more complicated the more people you have, but it was just the two of us this visit.
This bathroom had a nice sized vanity, which made getting ready very easy.
My favorite part of the bathroom though is definitely the jacuzzi bath tub.
Most of our timeshares have one, but every once in awhile we don’t get a room with a tub, which is always disappointing.
So I was very happy to see we had a nice tub in this room.
Room Pricing
When we stayed here, we used our timeshare points.
It was for 2 week nights in May for 1,200 points in a one bedroom.
Usually if you book within 30 days of travel, the points will drop and I believe this was already a discounted rate.
The studios here can be found on weeknights for 400 points or so for 2 nights, just to compare.
With what we paid into our timeshare and factoring in our maintenance fees, our 1,200 point stay was just under $630, or $315 per night, which is WILD.
It’s definitely not a cost effective use of points to stay in the one bedroom, but the studios can be a steal much of the year.
To compare, spending 400 points for a 2 night stay would be the same as $210 for the total stay, or $105 a night.
Now if you’re not a timeshare owner and you book directly or through your preferred booking platform, I’ve seen rooms mostly starting at $150 a night, which is on par with this area of California.
Depending on the day of the week and the time of year, this number can vastly change.
👉🏼 Click Here To Book Your San Luis Bay Inn Stay Today!
Resort Amenities
San Luis Bay Inn has a pool, hot tub, and fitness center, though I haven’t personally used any of them.
The resort has a huge lawn overlooking the ocean with several lawn chairs and lawn games like corn hole.
You’re in walking distance to the ocean though, so that’s really where we spent our time.
Overall Experience
Overall, the location of the resort can’t be beat.
You’re on the ocean in a quiet beach town and you have all the comforts of home with you.
Having a full kitchen, separate bedroom, balcony overlooking the ocean, and being just a few minutes walk from the beach and boardwalk, is just the perfect getaway.
However, if we were to go again, we would book a studio to better use our points.
👉🏼 Click Here To Book Your San Luis Bay Inn Stay Today!
Resources For Planning Your Trip To Avila Beach
If you need help planning your trip to Avila Beach, check out our Tips For Planning A Trip To Anywhere (A Step-By-Step Guide).
We also have a guide to all the best things to do in Avila Beach.
Read our Best Tips For Staying Safe When Traveling During Extreme Weather if you’re traveling during heavy rains, as Avila Beach can be prone to flooding and mudslides, especially if there have been any recent fires.
Also check out our Best Tips For Staying Well While You Travel if you’re prone to getting colds or allergies when you travel or have other ailments.
Lastly, if you’re traveling on a budget, read up on our Best Tips For Traveling On A Budget: Your Guide To Planning An Affordable Trip.
Our Favorite Diamond Timeshare Resorts In The US
We’ve been timeshare owners for several years now and we’re on a mission to stay at every property at least once.
These are our favorites so far.
➡️ Ka’anapali Beach Club (Maui)
Ka’anapali Beach Club is located on Maui and is one of the most coveted of all of Diamond’s properties.
It’s in a great location, just down the road from Lahaina.
Plus, we enjoyed having the full kitchen, jacuzzi tub, and our beautiful ocean view.
➡️ Polo Towers (Las Vegas)
Polo Towers is right on the Las Vegas Strip, across from The Cosmopolitan.
We love the central location of this resort, as well as having a full kitchen because most Vegas hotels today have their fridge full of drinks that have insane mark ups, making them un-useable for yourself.
We’ve stayed in a variety of room types here over the years including a Two Bedroom, Studio Efficiency, and 1 Bedroom Accessible Room.
➡️ Historic Powhatan Resort (Williamsburg)
We absolutely loved staying at this resort in Williamsburg.
It was one of our more affordable timeshare visits and the unit had everything we needed.
We had just a One Bedroom, but it was 3 stories and set up like a townhome.
The first floor was the entrance, the second floor had a kitchen, dining room, full bathroom, bedroom with en-suite bathroom, and laundry.
Then the top floor was like a converted loft or attic with a tv, couch, and coffee table.
➡️ Varsity Clubs of America (Tucson)
This resort is the only place we stay in Tucson and we drive through here A LOT on our frequent road trips.
If you book within 30 days of your visit it’s pretty cheap.
We love the pool and hot tub here because it usually stays warm enough in the evenings to enjoy both.
It’s a quieter, no frills place and it’s right in the middle of town, centrally located to everything in Tucson.
The One Bedroom units are perfect with their full kitchen, jacuzzi tub, and dining table.
➡️ Palm Canyon Resort (Palm Springs, California)
Palm Canyon Resort is the premiere timeshare resort in Palm Springs.
We love staying here for fun stay-cations every so often because it’s always discounted within 30-60 days or less of travel.
They have a great pool with a hot tub and water slides built into the rocks.
➡️ The Suites at Fall Creek (Branson, Missouri)
We love Diamond’s resort in Branson.
It’s set back along a creek, hence the name, so it’s a quite woodsy experience just outside of town.
It’s still close enough to everything too.
What we loved about this room was the counter space in the kitchen, the screened in porch, and the open layout of the room.
The One Bedroom layout here could easily be the equivalent of a real one bedroom apartment.
➡️ Mystic Dunes Resort (Orlando)
Mystic Dunes is one of the Diamond timeshares that really has a resort vibe, but the setting of being in Orlando, Florida probably plays a big part in that.
It’s just south of Disney World, with easy access to the parks.
The rooms are spacious and well kept, with just about every amenity when you stay in a one bedroom.
➡️ Riviera Beach & Shores Resort (Capistrano Beach, CA)
Riviera Beach & Shores Resort is an oceanfront property near the southern tip of Orange County, California.
It’s in a quiet area of the beach with hardly anybody else around.
We like coming down here for a few days at a time to enjoy the views and the peace and quiet.
➡️ Bell Rock Inn (Sedona)
Bell Rock Inn is a timeshare resort just South of the city center of Sedona.
It’s an older, smaller property, but it’s the most effective use of timeshare points.
Our stay was the equivalent of only about $65 a night!
Conclusion: San Luis Bay Inn Review
San Luis Bay Inn is the perfect beach resort if you’re looking for a quiet getaway.
You can walk down into town for shopping, restaurants, wine tasting, and to enjoy the ocean.
It’s the perfect home base for visiting the Central Coast of California.
