The Pickford House
- July 12, 2006
- Rated 2 of 5 by
Jypsies32 from Pawleys Island, South Carolina
The Pickford House has a charming theme: all of the rooms are named after early movie stars like Mary Pickford, Norma Talmadge, Rudy Valentino, and Clara Bow. This is an apt theme since the B&B is only 8 miles from The Hearst Castle where many of early Hollywood's stars used to attend W.R. Hearst's & Marion Davies' ostentatious soirees.
The rooms are cute, furnished with antiques and claw-foot tubs, but there is very little ventilation and the room we had backed up to a noisy highway. Also, the owner seemed very stressed out about us ruining her antiques and on occasion would hand us coasters or ask us to be careful which I thought was strange.
Breakfast was served from 8-10 and was solid: sausage, herb salad, eggs, salsa, muffins, jam. The coffee was decent, too. So, I was pleased with that. And apparently this inn was built to be a B&B,so it has an awesome room for dining with a huge, antique bar, a gold-plated tin ceiling, piano, fireplace, all the makings of a cozy scene.
However, I would recommend this B & B to early birds or older people. (I'm forty). I wanted to have cocktail in that lovely aforementioned room and sit by the fire with my friends after ten o'clock and I think it stressed the owner out. We were being very quiet, but I did not feel welcome in that particular communal space. Definitely a place for people who like to stay in their rooms-- I'm more of an explorer myself and like to investigate. This is place for guests who go to bed early. If that matches your preferences, you might really enjoy The Pickford House, but request a room that doesn't back up to the highway.
Also, I would have preferred to stay in Cambria proper and been able to walk everywhere. But again, that is just a personal preference.
From journal Central California
The Pickford House
- April 25, 2002
- Rated 4 of 5 by
KOCO from San Francisco, California
We stayed in the Rudolph Valentino Room. Each room at this inn is named after movie stars of the 20's. Many of whom stayed at Hearst Castle. The room was large it and decorated in rich reds and purple velvets with photos of Valentino on the wall. I'm not sure if Valentino would have decorated it this way but it was nice. Although it had two double beds, they were the older kind that are bigger and longer. My husband is 6'4" and was worried his feet would hang off but they didn't. A charming room with a gas fireplace and view of the hills and TV. The best part was the breakfast. A full breakfast of eggs, sausage, small pancake muffins, fruit and juice. The pancake muffins were served with applesauce, the eggs with some greens avacodo and salsa. It was the perfect start to our day trip to Hearst Castle. At night wine and hors d'ouvres are placed out for the guests as well. The hostess, Patricia, was wonderful as well and very friendly. With rates a bit less than the main street inns it was perfect.
From journal Birthday weekend in Cambria