Luxury Travel Gone Wrong

San Mateo County has a lot to offer people looking for off-the-beaten-track California coastal vacations. As a luxury travel writer, I had to tone down my expectations.

As a luxury travel writer, I get an odd assortment of email offers. We don't need to get graphic with the details, but occasionally a press release catches my eye. It seems that the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau was inviting me on a media tour of "the best of the San Francisco Bay." Alright, I thought, this is an easy "yes!" After all, San Francisco is a simple one-hour flight from Los Angeles, and there's a lot of luxury travel opportunities up there.

Well, I got snookered by a well-written press release, is what happened. The focus was not on San Francisco at all, but rather, its more rustic neighbor to the south. San Mateo County is still a pretty agrarian part of California, with huge pumpkin patches, roadside veggie sales, and unflappable seals sunbathing by the off-limits Pigeon Point Lighthouse. We toured an organic goat farm, and as an organic goat rubbed its head against my slacks, leaving an organic smudge of dirt, I realized - this is not for the upscale market.

San Mateo County has a lot to recommend, however. Half Moon Bay is one of the loveliest low-key beach towns around, and there are several pretty inns and hotels there. The activities in San Mateo County also fall more on the low-key end of the travel scale, but I'd bet kids have a good time.

And don't worry about me: The last night of the tour, we were treated to an evening of fine dining and terrific drinks at the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley. Four Seasons! A luxury travel writer has to think: That's more like it.