Sycamore Mineral Springs is one of the most popular hot springs among Japanese living in the U.S.
The hotel is fascinating enough for them to dream of hot springs in Japan.
Avila Beach
It is three hours' drive from Los Angeles to the northwest along the coast.
San Luis Obispo is one of the major production areas of wine grapes.
Photo by Florent Lamoureux - Avila Beach (2017) / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
In the peaceful country, you will see a beautiful beach, named Avila Beach.
It is just three minutes' drive from the beach to the hot spring hotel.
Walk-ins Not Recommended
Sycamore Mineral Springs is a hotel in the sophisticated air, which provides hot spring water as a byproduct of oil drilling.
From my point of view, it looks nonsense if you find the rate for lodging expensive and try the walk-in soak.
Water in tubs for walk-in guests is badly chlorinated and you cannot feel the nature at all.
Sad to say, in the U.S. a public hot tub is considered as same as a swimming pool in the eye of the law, which is the reason for the chlorinated water.
Overnight guests can enjoy the real water at each room, but take extra care when reserving it.
In most cases affluent people in the U.S. do not like the kind of sulfur smell, so that the more luxury rooms provide worse quality of hot spring water, being artificially processed.
In conclusion, only the three buildings (Adventure, Harmony, and Mythical) have the water directly piped from the source of the springs.
As for Mythical, the hot tub is located in the patio next to the bedroom.
Overnight Stay
The plastic tub does not look nice, but the water is awesome.
In addition to the strong sulfur smell, you will notice the characteristic smell of oil, which conjures up image of typical hot springs in Japan.
The temperature is around 117 degrees F at the water outlet, and it looks yellowish at first.
The color changes to milky-white due to oxidation, if you leave it for a night.
The water in the morning will be cold, so you will add fresh hot water for comfortable soaking.
Unfortunately, it is not allowed to dip in the tub between 11pm and 7am, due to the sound noise.
It must be nice if guests can enjoy the great water all night.
Summary
Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Rating:
Tips
I will repeat it; book the cheaper rooms.
- Walk-in: Yes
- Lodging: Yes (Online Bookings)