Having stayed at the Colton Inn 17 years ago, we decided to give it another try this year as we remembered that it seemed to be in a quieter area than most hotels and our earlier experience was positive. Unfortunately we can't say that it has improved over time. Not that it is bad, but if you are looking for modern, elegant and convenient, this will not be your cup of tea. It's pretty basic. We thought since it is surrounded by municipal buildings that it would be quiet, but someone was starting up some sort of trucks at 5 AM in the parking lot behind us (we were on the back side of the hotel - away from the street). One night we did hear neighbors' footsteps and bumping and thumping around - possibly a late check-in, so it's not as quiet as we hoped. We had very good weather; otherwise the tiny ancient space heater probably would not have been adequate as when we tried to get it to work, we couldn't. Since we had read about this problem in a review before booking, I had brought along a space heater, which I then decided to use one morning in the bathroom. But when I turned it OFF, the breaker tripped and the TV went off along with a couple of lights! The reset button fixed the problem, but what does that say about the wiring? My husband found two different types of bugs in his bed on two different nights. One of them appeared harmless so we flushed it and the other one was scurrying away, so he didn't get a good look at it. Since neither of us ended up with any kind of bites, we can't report any type of infestation, but some people might find this unacceptable. The breakfast was okay - nothing to write home about. The staff, however, was very pleasant and accommodating when we decided for personal reasons to cut our trip short and leave a day early. We did give 24 hours notice of this and they did not charge us for the last night. The beds were comfortable and they gave us plenty of pillows and towels, although the towels were looking a tiny bit worn. But they were clean. The rooms could do with some updating, but if you don't mind a more rustic atmosphere, then you might very well be perfectly satisfied with a stay at the Colton Inn.

The "friendship room" at the Colton Inn was perfect for our trip! It was very clean, three comfortable queen beds, a small dining area, refridgerator and microwave...plenty of room for 3 ladies traveling together. The front desk workers were very pleasant and helpful. The breakfast was basic, but nice to have. If you book the "friendship room" be prepared to carry your bags down the steps to the room. There is no elevator, which was no big deal to us but could be to others.

We did a 16 night road trip in California and had 1 night in Monterey at the Colton Inn. Unfortunately this hotel ranks as the worst one we stayed at (our stays at Holiday Inn/Best Westerns were better).
We thought the service at the front desk was really good but the rooms were basic and needed renovating. Location was fine, we walked to Fisherman's Wharf in about 15mins and Cannery Row was probably about half hour walk.

We checked in on October 4th. It was myself, my husband and our 11 month old baby. I was the last one up around 11:00 when I noticed a bug on a pillow. I went to smush it and there was blood everywhere. I was so grossed out I woke my husband up and told him about it. He turned on the lights and told me not to move. There were bugs on the bed around me. He took pictures and we looked it up. Bedbugs. Disgusting. As fast as we could we packed everything up, got the baby up and got out of there. The office closed at 11, so we started calling other hotels looking for a place to stay. We just stayed in the car while calling around since we were so grossed out and got a new hotel at 230 in the morning. The next morning when we spoke to the Colton inn about the situation, we had the misfortune of speaking with Dave. He was rude. Within an hour of speaking to us he told us an expert came, looked at the room and advised there weren't any bedbugs. He also said there hadn't been any there in 35 years. Made me wonder why he had an expert on call then, but I digress. He refused to compensate us at all for the headaches to move with a baby in the middle of the night, basically called us liars and did not seem to care one bit about the inconvenience we suffered. He did not want to see any pictures and said he would call us back. We never heard from him again. Dave, if you read this we still have the pictures of the bedbugs from your inn. One comparison of our pics to a google search will tell you all you need to know. All in all, it was a horrible experience.