More on the Map | Fully Arranged Short Escapes
Upstairs in the Castle
WEST
Cambria, Calif. | July 18- 19, 2026
A 19th century inn, dinner in an old Victorian, and a secret-feeling peek into the private suites of America’s most famous castle.
William Randolph Hearst’s guests — to his house that cannot be described as anything other than a castle — were movie stars, politicians , writers and countless other luminaries, who slept in suites that nearly defy description.
This weekend, move beyond Hearst Castle’s grand public rooms and into the library, Hearst’s Gothic Study, the suite he shared with Marion Davies and the guest rooms built into the bell towers.
As always, your stay, meal and local experience are booked for you in a tap.
Olallieberry Inn was built in 1865, making it one of Cambria’s earliest homes. It sits beside Santa Rosa Creek at the edge of the East Village, behind gardens and a redwood tree that has been growing here for well over a century.
The house predates the berry in its name by 84 years. The olallieberr (it’s a dark, tart cross between a loganberry and a youngberry) was developed in 1949 and found a particularly happy home along the California coast, where it became a local fixture in pies and preserves.
The rooms have fireplaces, and deliberately no televisions or telephones. Fresh-baked cookies materializerin the afternoon, followed by wine and hors d’oeuvres; a four-course breakfast is served the following morning.
You have reservations for Saurday, July 18. Just arrive.
Photo via Olallieberry Inn
This place is the result of William Randolph Hearst asking his architect Julia Morgan to build “something a little more comfortable” form him and his family.
By 1947, Hearst Castle featured 165 rooms, along with gardens, terraces, pools, walkways and comprehensive collection of art and design from across ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, Renaissance Europe, China and the Near East.
On Saturday, ascend up past the large public rooms, and snoop your way into the private and guest quarters.. The route passes through the Doge’s Suite; an 80-foot library lined with more than 4,000 books and 150 ancient Greek vases; bedrooms and sitting rooms,; and Hearst’s vaulting Gothic Study.
Higher still are the guest rooms, built with loft bedrooms beneath painted ceilings, and the Celestial Suite inside the bases of the bell towers.
Tickets for upstairs, Saturday afternoon.
Dinner is back in Cambria at Brydge, inside a Victorian house on Bridge Street with an herb garden out front.
The kitchen works closely with the farms of the Central Coast, building the menu around what’s being harvested nearby. Smaller plates can be alchemized into a full dinner, while the restaurant’s House Suppers are made for two: a roasted half chicken, prime ribeye or vegetable cassoulet arriving with leaf lettuces and grilled bread.
Dinner is at 7pm. We’re including a $185 food and drink credit (inclusive of tax and tip) for two travelers; $100 for one traveler.
Photo via Brydge/Instagram
All arranged, no planning anxiety. Just go.
So how does this work?
No payment is needed just yet. Send us your request, and we’ll make sure the weekend is ready on our end. Then we’ll email you a secure payment link. Once you’re booked, we’ll send the key details: check-in, addresses, timing and reservation notes.
For now, just let us know you’d like us to get going.
Images in our stories may be sourced from publicly available materials, and are used to represent places as they exist. All rights remain with their respective owners.
Additional photo credits:
Indoor pool, Hearst Castle, by Mike McBey | Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
"File:Doge's Suite - Hearst Castle - DSC06723.JPG" by Daderot is marked with CC0 1.0.