I am heading up to visit both Firestone locations(Buellton and Paso) and I have the option of staying in either Paso Robles or Santa Maria. The drive between the two is not really a concern but this will be an anniversary trip with the wife so I'd like to stay in the nice of the two. Does one offer more to do than the other? Any suggestions of other things to do in either area?
I would say stay in Paso Robles. Paso Robles is also pretty well known for their wine, if you or your wife are into that. La Bellasera is a very nice hotel and worthy of an anniversary stay. Also, Hearst Castle is ~45 mins away, through some nice driving scenery, and definitely worth the visit at least once in your life.
I would recommend staying in Paso over Santa Maria as well. As far as the Buellton area, Barrelworks is only open on the weekend, if you wanted to try Firestones wild ales and strong ales. Figueroa Mountain Brewing is worth a visit if you're already in Buellton. Just a short 5 min drive from Barrelworks/Taproom. Solvang (if you've never been) is not too far. If interested in wines, you'll also be near Los Olivos which you can find Fess Parker.
I would also stay in Paso, you could also hit up Barrel house brewing which is right around the corner from Firestone and has a pretty cool setup. The Taproom at Firestone will probably have a couple of the barrelworks beers on tap.
The wife and I love staying at the Paso Robles Inn when we go there. also, make sure you eat at succulents if you goto solvang, hands down the best food in that town.
I'll also throw out San Luis Obispo as a place to stay that's centrally located between both destinations. I may be biased since I grew up there, but it definitely has the most going on in the area when it comes to food, scenery and nightlife. Paso is fine too, definitely great for the wine as well. Just don't stay in Santa Maria, it's ghetto and unsafe. Seriously.
I know you already got the correct advice, but let me put it more bluntly. Santa Maria fucking sucks. It is a city of people waiting to die and every chain restaurant on Earth. However, FW Barrelworks is one of the best breweries in the states. Worth a brief trip if you both want sick ass barrel beers. Do you have a particular taste in wine? Pinot? French? Italian? Happy to help. Paso is great wine country. Romance? Anniversary? Stay on the coast, preferably Cambria. Cambria and Morro Bay have some of the best restaurants on the coast. Black Cat (THIS! MAKE RESERVATIONS), Madeline's, The Galley, Moonstone (recently got way better) for fine dining and Tognazzini's for lunch/happy hour and seafood. Dig the patio one man band! Go whale watching if in season. Beer -->Amazing beer selection at Libertine's in Morro, best craft house in the area, almost 50 taps. Nice small town craft brew at Cambria Brewing, decent craft selection at Cambria Brewhouse or whatever they call it, and hit and miss but upcoming brew at Barrelhouse. Do not to to the Sea Chest unless you are over the age of 65. Quote my post if you want feedback, I'm super busy in the next two weeks or send me a PM.
I'll echo a few of the above comments. Avoid Santa Maria. Keep SLO as an option. There's even quite a bit of small breweries in SLO. The food in options are great. Mama's Meatball, Pizza Solo, Gus's Grocery (deli), Hi Street Deli, Yanagi Sushi, Tri-Tip Sandwich from Firestone Grill, etc. There's more, but it's been a few years since I lived in SLO and those are the places I miss the most. Remember that there's a few other drinking establishments near FW Barrelworks. Figueroa Mountain Brewery is right down the way, and next to Fig is Ascendant Spirits, and the newly opened Industrial Eats (restaurant).
Geesh! Santa Maria isnt that bad. Some of the best Pinot Noir in the world comes from Santa Maria, as well as the best Strawberries you'll ever have. Not to mention Santa Maria Style BBQ. With that said..... I live in SM/Orcutt, and I recommend staying in Pismo. Contact the Sea Venture, as they have jacuzzi rooms overlooking the ocean. The restaurant there is very good as well. From Pismo, you can be in Buellton in 40 minutes, or Paso in 45 minutes. If you stay in Pismo, there's a billiards called HotShots, that has a surprisingly incredible tap list these days. About 30 taps of craft. Around the corner from Sea Venture is the Boardroom, with great taps as well, including a pretty decent bottle list. If you head up to San Luis Obispo, I recommend Eureka Burger, as they have about 30 taps of awesome stuff, and great food. I do recommend checking out some wineries in SM, but time will be of importance, so check out Costa de Oro winery, it's right on/off the 101 at the Stowell exit. A pretty decent representation of SM wines, and you'll likely be able to grab some strawberries here. As others have mentioned, check out Figueroa Mt. Brewing, and Ascendant Spirits, in Buellton. On your way back North from Buellton, stop in Los Olivos, as you will find some great food and wineries/tasting rooms. Also in Los Olivos is BIN 2860, a great little bottle shop that oddly enough gets some great stuff, located in Fess Parkers Hotel in Los Olivos. Another great bottle shop is in Orcutt, Old Town Market, has a killer selection. Where in Santa Maria were you looking to stay? Feel free to contact me if you need any suggestions or have any questions.
Wow, more great responses! Thanks! Okay, we won't be staying in Santa Maria. but I've added another option.... Santa Barbara/Goleta area. We are in the middle of buying a house so this is a quick and easy anniversary trip and I happen to have plenty of Marriott reward points from work travel so we are taking advantage of Marriott stays, hence my limited locations. We may end up skipping the Main Firestone brewery in Paso and just hitting Buellton. So we are adding Santa Barbara as an option. The wife and I are both into beer and wine, but I can't make the entire weekend a beer trip either so SB may give us a few more wifey options. We will be going up on the 7th of march so i'm sure we will see some of you in line for Feral One. I am considering filling a few local growlers here in San Diego to bring up in case anyone is interested in anything specific. Love to meet and share or even trade.
If you are looking to use Marriot points, then why not stay next door to FW in Buellton??? They've got some pretty cool suites there, and a full masseuse joint in there. There are ton of great wineries in the Santa Ynez area, which is basically Buellton's back yard. Check out Solvang, which is up the road from Buellton, and has a ton of wifey shit with little boutique shops. Hell, you could even hit the casino if thats your thing. I recommend doing a day trip to SB, as you can only hit State Street for so long until you wanna kill all the annoying teenagers. Santa Barbara is nice and all, but it can be a little annoying. But, thats coming from a local. I will definitely be at FW for Feral. Wineries in the Buellton area that are very good: http://www.rideauvineyard.com/index.php http://www.bridlewoodwinery.com/ http://www.byronwines.com/ highly recommend Byron http://buttonwoodwinery.com/ http://www.lincourtwines.com/ Figueroa Brewing: http://www.figmtnbrew.com/ Ascendant: http://www.ascendantspirits.com/home Solvang: http://www.solvangusa.com/explore-solvang/what-to-do/shopping/
Stay in Paso area. If budget isn't a big concern I can suggest a lovely B&B on a vineyard. You'll want to do a lot of wine things. I can suggest some vineyards as well if needed. We just came back from there.
If you end up doing the SB/Goleta option check out Hollister brewing in Goleta, good food and really good beers
You're right, Orcutts not bad at all, and Santa Maria BBQ is one of the greatest things on earth. When it comes to wine in the Santa Maria Valley though, I have to mention CORE in Old Town Orcutt. They are pricey but top notch.
Island Brewing company in Carpinteria is a nice little stop along the way. I'm planning on being at the Feral One release with the wife and some friends as well. See ya there!
do yourself and stay in paso, great restaurants in downtown paso. Over 200 wineries in paso and immediate area, better march weather and you dont have to worry about getting stabbed or robbed. i live in paso and will gladly answer any further questions you might have.
