Laguna Seca: where, as we have long said, the road leading to the track is better than most of the tracks the US series races on. image by dell adams

With just over a week before the Red Bull USGP at Laguna Seca it appears that the lodging situation has improved slightly in and around Monterey.

Never an inexpensive place to stay, room rates in recent years topped $400-$600 a night during previous USGPs.

Several on-line hotel search services currently indicate that rooms can be had in and around Monterey for $200 a night and about half that in Salinas. There appear to be rooms available in Carmel Valley also, which is just one fantastic ride—Laureles Grade—over the hill from Laguna Seca.

Monterey is one of the most unique and beautiful spots in the US, if not the world, and expecting a cheap room (Soup cheap is sub $50) in town, in July, might not be realistic.

Factors for prices now at the somewhat sane level include a weakening economy, and the fact that the Salinas Rodeo isn't being held on the same weekend as the GP.

It will be difficult for the frugal searching for a cheap room in Monterey to beat the cost of accommodations for the Miller WSBK event this year. While we heard of rooms at the Hilton downtown only costing $70, Soup scored a suite—about twenty minutes from the track—for a whopping $64 a night.