Nicer Hotel between i5 and Monterey

Hi

I am traveling to Monterey next week with just my two toddlers and I'm looking for a hotel between exiting off i5 at Jayne Ave exit and Monterey that is fairly nice (3 stars) There is absolutely nothing in or around monterey because of the US Open golf tournament, and we are happy to stay anywhere between the 5 and Monterey, however I'm only seeing 2 star motels. Does anyone know of anything a little bit nicer. Also, which cities are 'safe' around there? King City, Salinas and Soledad are all areas I'm looking at. I could maybe stay at a lower star hotel if I felt we were in a safe neighborhood.

Thank you!!

This forum is really based on personal recommendations - and when it comes right down to it, there are thousands upon thousands of hotels in this country, and only a handful of regular contributing members. As such, its really quite rare when we can offer a good recommendation on something as specific as a particular hotel.

As far as which cities are safe, I would keep in mind this rule, Every city is someones hometown, and every city has its nice areas. Also remember, if you are looking at a higher end hotel, its pretty rare for one to be located in a really bad neighborhood.

This is one of those cases where your best bet really would be to look at the major travel booking websites (like hotels.com, expedia, etc which all have traveler reviews) as well as sites like tripadvisor which specialize in reviews of specific properties. If you are a member of AAA, I would also contact them for their recommendations and guidebooks in the area.

King City, Salinas, Soledad and any other city/town along US101 are primarily agricultural towns (Salinas being the biggest of the three), and generally not hotbeds of criminal activity (although Salinas at least has a crime rate above the national average). 80% of the lettuce grown in this country comes from the Salinas Valley.

There are poor areas (this is an agricultural, not a financial center), but these are not big cities, and do not have serious gang/drug/crime issues.

I would think any motel alongside US101 would be fairly safe, as these cater to travelers. I personally would have no issues staying in any of these towns (but then I'm a 6' + male).

AAA would be a good bet, and perhaps tripadvisor would also be worth a look.

Salinas being the biggest town (John Steinbeck's hometown and home of the famed Salinas Rodeo) and closest to Monterey is probably where you want to look first.