You can actually find some very cheap/very nice vacation homes. If you book now, you can get a great deal. I can't give you a site (I'm a FL person) but if you google around, you're sure to find a great deal. I would reccomend a vacation home over a hotel; but a condo, if you can find one, is also nice. Sadly, there isn't an abundance of beachfront condos in CA like there are in FL. Good luck!