Affordable Cambria Hotel Templeton Joins Paso Robles, California Wine Country
Story, photos and video by Cassie Hepler
The Cambria Hotel Templeton – Paso Robles makes an excellent, affordable home base to explore California wine country! Owned by Choice Hotels International, the brand positions itself in the upper midscale to upscale market, comparable to brands like Courtyard by Marriott or Hilton Garden Inn. The Cambria is about a year old with boutique vibes and modern interior design styling without being too casual, funky or fancy. With price points lingering around $100 a night, it is super close to Highway 101 and all the wineries winding up the mountain. There are 132 rooms stretching across 3 floors and we were in the deluxe suite which was broken into three parts Room 302 with no signage, a secret we suppose on the corner pocket. You enter a hallway that leads to two doors, one a regular suite and the other an extended kitchen and living room with memory foam pull out couch. We slept well here and also enjoyed the F&B and live music! I just wish we had more time to hang and vibe. Maybe next time, thanks for hosting us for a quick overnight!
We arrived early that Friday morning before the many wine tastings we had scheduled to carpool as my California photographer friend was driving all day so I could easily indulge which was a blessing especially by nighttime! And it was a great place to wine down after a very busy day during sunset and enjoy a delicious dinner. You know I was too pooped to party when I could barely finish my Old Fashioned with dinner (which was delicious by the way). In fact, Ironhorse Restaurant & Bar is a buzzing space all my itself and we found that all the locals came to enjoy the drinks, food and live music on a weekend. They asked if we had the master suite for two nights and I wish! But real life awaited after the weekend and I had to drive back to Apple Valley, CA for an overnight before even thinking about the long haul drive to Phoenix, AZ.
The semi-hidden room was freshly styled with modern decor and mostly quiet until the morning when a child was running up and down the hallways at the crack of dawn. Parents, for the love of God, don’t do that! We cranked down the AC in each room so when we returned after dinner it was cool – and it was. There were a lot of charging ports, many lighting options, a desk, side chair, mini fridge, TV, safe, dreseer, coffee maker with pods, tea bags, cups, sugar and creamer. In the extended room, a wine cooler, full fridge, kitchen, dining room and couch with pull out bed. The shower water temperature and pressure was great with Pur (plant based ingredients) brand soap, shampoo and conditioner. Things we saw but didn’t really have time to enjoy included the many amenities: an outdoor heated swimming pool, an outdoor lawn (no dogs allowed on the lawn), various sized fire pits, a large fitness center, huge meeting/banquet room and 12 EV charging stations which were free to use by hotel guests.
