What a find! HI - Point Montara Lighthouse is located in a building on lighthouse grounds. It was the first hostel experience for our mother and young niece. They loved it! We shared a public dorm room. It is cheaper than going private, yet there are only three beds in the room -- perfect!
The managers are super-friendly and helpful. The views of the ocean are breathtaking! There is a path to a small private beach nearby. Don't think you can swim here, though -- the water is too rough.
This hostel does have a lockout period (10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), when tours are offered to the public. Thankfully, you're close to so much, including San Francisco and Santa Cruz, that finding something to do shouldn't be a problem. There is also a curfew of 11 p.m, but the hostel has a nice common room with a selection of books and board games.
There is a kitchen available for your use. However, a car is needed to get to this hostel, so why not take advantage of the delicious restaurants nearby? We highly recommend "That's Italia!" -- it's in a strip mall in Half Moon Bay, which makes it harder to find but well worth the search.
Families are welcome here, even babies, but they need to be in a private room. As for private rooms, you could definitely make it a romantic getaway. All of the private rooms have ocean views.
Really, the only downside we found with this hostel is the lack of bathrooms. There are thirty-five beds but only two single bathrooms. Each has a shower. Of course, when this lighthouse was built, they probably weren't thinking it was going to become a hostel one day. All in all, we enjoyed a very pleasant stay at a fraction of the cost of nearby hotels -- we highly, highly recommend it!
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2005
Location/Contact
4.6 Average from 13 Ratings
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