J. Patrick House
An 1860s log home turned eight-room B&B — fireplaces in every room, sherry hour.
An eight-room B&B in a 1860s log home in Cambria, on the inland side of Highway 1 above Moonstone Beach. Stone fireplaces in every room, a sherry hour by the parlor fire each evening, and the kind of working-B&B aesthetic that has largely disappeared from the central California coast. The J. Patrick House is the small-inn alternative to the oceanfront motels — a quieter, more lived-in option with a real fireplace in your room.
It is one of the older small inns on the Central Coast.
The setting
Cambria sits on Highway 1 about thirty minutes south of Big Sur's southern boundary and twenty minutes south of Hearst Castle. The J. Patrick House is on Burton Drive, in the wooded inland hills just above the village, with Cambria's Main Street five minutes by foot or one minute by car. The Pacific is five minutes west on Moonstone Beach Drive. The drive from San Luis Obispo airport (SBP) is forty-five minutes.
This is the wooded, residential side of Cambria — the East Village neighborhood, with Monterey pines and live oaks giving the property a more inland-mountain feel than the coastal-bluff hotels.
The building
A 1860s log home — hand-hewn timber, stone fireplaces, and the proportions of a working frontier house from the period. Outbuildings have been added over the decades for additional rooms. The interior keeps the log walls visible in places, with stone fireplaces in nearly every room. Public rooms include a fireplaced parlor, the dining room, and a back garden. Materials are stone and timber.
The rooms
Eight rooms across the original log home and a converted carriage house. Each has a stone fireplace, a king or queen bed, and a private bath. Beds are queens or kings; bathrooms are tile, well-kept. From-rates open around $245 including a full hot breakfast and evening sherry hour.
Food & drink
There's no restaurant. A full hot breakfast is served daily in the dining room. An evening sherry-and-hors-d'oeuvres hour runs in the parlor. For dinner, the East Village's restaurants are five minutes by foot or one minute by car: Linn's Restaurant for the olallieberry pie; Madeline's for the wine-list dinner; Robin's Restaurant. The Sea Chest Oyster Bar is on Moonstone Beach Drive five minutes west.
On the property
The fireplaced parlor, a small back garden, and the dining room. There's no pool, no spa, no gym.
- Stone fireplaces in every room
- Full hot breakfast included
- Evening sherry-and-hors-d'oeuvres hour
- Walking distance to Cambria East Village
- Open year-round
Who it's for
- Couples doing the Central Coast who want a fireplace in the room
- Travelers driving Highway 1 between Big Sur and Santa Barbara
- Hearst Castle visitors who'd rather a quiet B&B than an oceanfront motel
- Anyone for whom a sherry hour and a stone fireplace is the appeal
Who it's not for
- Families with young kids — the inn is configured for adults
- Travelers wanting a pool, gym, or oceanfront access
- Pet owners (verify policy with the front desk)
Nearby
Cambria East Village's restaurants are a 5-minute walk. Moonstone Beach and the Moonstone Beach boardwalk are five minutes west by car. Hearst Castle at San Simeon is twenty minutes north — book the tour ahead. The elephant seal viewing area at Piedras Blancas is twenty-five minutes north. Big Sur's southern boundary at Ragged Point is thirty minutes north on Highway 1. For dinner: Madeline's, Linn's, the Sea Chest Oyster Bar.
