#16 in Top 20 Big Sur for A Solo Retreat · ★★★★
Glen Oaks Big Sur
An updated 1950s adobe motor lodge with cottages and redwood-grove cabins on the Big Sur River, the Roadhouse on site.
An updated 1950s adobe motor lodge with cottages and redwood-grove cabins on the Big Sur River, the Roadhouse on site.
"An updated 1950s adobe motor lodge with cottages and redwood-grove cabins on the Big Sur River: the design-minded, mid-range pick for a quiet solo stay."
Glen Oaks Big Sur is the design-minded, mid-range pick for a quiet solo stay: a family-run property that began as a 1957 adobe motor lodge and has been reworked into a stylish, rustic-modern retreat. It spreads across both sides of Highway 1, with updated Adobe motor-lodge rooms and cottages on one side and secluded cabins in a redwood grove along the Big Sur River on the other. For a solo retreat the appeal is the room itself. Each one has a gas fireplace and heated floors, and the redwood-grove cabins come with their own fire pit and the sound of the river, which makes for an easy, unplugged few days. The Big Sur Roadhouse on site handles coffee and a casual bite, including the complimentary morning donuts, so you can ease into the day before driving the coast. The honest trade-off: this is a small lodge, not a resort. There is no pool or spa, the cabins are an upscale-rustic price rather than a budget one, and the two sides of the property are split by Highway 1. For a solo traveller who wants a well-designed cabin, a fireplace, and the river instead of room service, Glen Oaks is a fair-value choice.
Ask for one of the redwood-grove cabins by the river for the most seclusion and your own fire pit. The Adobe motor-lodge rooms are the lower-priced option and still have a fireplace and heated floors.
Request a redwood-grove cabin and use the in-room fireplace and your fire pit at night. Start mornings with the complimentary donuts and coffee at the Big Sur Roadhouse, then head out early to Pfeiffer Beach or the Highway 1 viewpoints before the day crowds.
Glen Oaks Big Sur sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in Big Sur for a Solo Retreat list. It scored an aggregate 9.2/10 across the three editorial criteria, competitive against the field but, on a solo retreat-specific factors, the angle above is what earned its rank. For the alternatives in the same Big Sur neighbourhood, see Big Sur (Big Sur Village) and adjacent. For a different city entirely, see the related lists below.
With dates settled, the booking window that works is about twelve weeks ahead. The redwood-grove river cabins are claimed first, while popular-month availability runs out months in advance. The riverside cabins, the reason this hotel ranks here, are routinely the first gone.
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