In the center of the small coastal town of Half Moon Bay, the Holiday Inn Express is an older, 2 floor, motel-style property facing the main road through town, Route 1 (Cabrillo Highway). The nearest beach is an 0.8 mile walk away, along Kelly Avenue. The hotel has 52 exterior-corridor rooms - clean and comfortable if a little on the small side, and it serves free continental breakfast. For shopping and dining, the main area is 0.5 miles north.

The Spanish-style Best Western Half Moon Bay Lodge has a relaxing location at the edge of Half Moon Bay Golf Course, 0.7 miles from the Pacific Ocean and 2 miles south of the town center. Highway 1 runs by just to the east though the hotel is set back from the road so all rooms are quiet, and have one or more of a fireplace, balcony, garden view or golf course view; all are very clean and nicely furnished. Free continental breakfast is served and there is one restaurant adjacent (Half Moon Bay Joe's), open all day until 9 pm. For leisure, guests can choose from an outdoor pool, steam room, hot tub and fitness room.

Half Moon Bay's Comfort Inn hotel lies on the north edge of town, close to Miramar and El Granada - half a mile from the north end of Half Moon Bay State Beach. Trees and bushes give the inn a peaceful ambience, enhanced by the quiet, residential surroundings. There are 53 rooms, on 2 floors, all equipped with a microwave, coffee maker & refrigerator, and some of them have been recently renovated. The nearest restaurant, a Chinese, is one block south along Highway 1.