Paso Robles hotels adapt as crowds flock to Mid-State Fair. ‘Unlike any other stay’
It’s safe to say that tourism usually reaches its peak in San Luis Obispo County during the summer months, whether it be for a beach getaway or world-class vineyard tour.
But it’s even safer to narrow Paso Robles’ busiest time of year down to ten specific days — the Mid-State Fair.
The popular Mid-State Fair has run for 80 years now at the Paso Robles Event Center located at 2198 Riverside Ave., bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area — 366,216 last year to be exact, with those annual numbers still growing.
Tourism at this scale is easily detectable in Paso Robles’ Transient Occupancy Tax (or TOT) records that historically have shown July to bring in the most revenue out of all other months since the early 2000s.
For example, in the 2025 fiscal year, July racked up about $1,119,500 in TOT revenue, as opposed to $961,000 the month before or $787,000 in September, the records said.
But in a city of about 32,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, how can it and its businesses accommodate an amount of visitors ten times its size?
Luckily Paso Robles knows a thing or two about tourism and many of its businesses prepare and brace for the July crowd every year — specifically the hotels just across the street from the fairgrounds on 24th Street.
What’s Fair time like at nextdoor Paso Robles hotel?
Angela McKee is the general manager at Best Western Plus Black Oak, located near the northwest entrance of the Mid-State Fair at 1135 24th Street.
McKee said the ten days of the Fair are unlike any others days during the year.
“I had a guest call yesterday, and he wanted to come on (July 25) but it was not Fair related,” she said. “I asked him if he’d stayed with us before, and he said, ‘Yeah,’ and I said, ‘Your experience on that particular Saturday will be unlike any other stay at this hotel.’”
McKee said the streets are constantly lined with car and sidewalks are filled with excited people roaming around.
What’s the parking situation?
One of the many perks of staying at the Best Western so close to the grounds though, she said, is parking — but parking that’s limited to one car per room during Fair times.
“We follow a strict one-car-per-room policy, and they’re given a permit when they check in. Then we have security on site to make sure that first, all the guests are behaving, and secondly, that the people that are parked here are supposed to be parked here,” McKee said.
In the past, non-hotel guests have parked in the lots. McKee said the hotel puts notes on the windows asking them not to park there. They usually moved, she said.
“It’s so nice to park your car and not have to worry about finding a place to park,” she said. “You walk across the street, the kids go do what they need to do, and the parents can come back here and take a rest.”
How many rooms are available?
Of its 110 rooms, vacancy typically depends on the event going on, the hotel often hitting maximum capacity when there’s a big headliner at the Chumash Grandstand Arena, or a 4-H and FFA event.
For example, Tuesday night was fully booked for the Chris Stapleton concert. Rooms are close, if not at capacity for Lainey Wilson, Eric Church and Treaty Oak Revival.
When it comes to noise levels, McKee said the hotel does its best to remind guests that everyone is staying for a different reason.
“We still do have some of our corporate clients here, and when the 4-H and FFA kids are here, they’re up at 4 or 5 a.m., getting ready to head over to do what they need to do with their exhibits for the day, and so we try,” she said. “But yeah, you always have people, especially being an exterior corridor hotel. It’s easy for people to mill around in the parking lot. But that’s why we have the security to try to keep everybody quiet and be respectful.”
Rooms still available at Best Western Plus Black Oak from July 15-25 vary in price per night, but start at $417.
What’s it like at the Adelaide Inn?
The Adelaide Inn neighbors the Best Western just down the road at 1215 Ysabel St. and has 100 rooms.
General manager Shaina Knightshead told The Tribune via email that the Fair is also the busiest time for the hotel — often reaching 80 to 100 percent capacity during its ten-day run.
“The area sees a significant increase in both vehicle and pedestrian traffic as guests, exhibitors, vendors and fair goers travel to and from the fairgrounds throughout the day and evening,” she said.
Similar to the Best Western, the hotel has extra security posted at its parking lots to ensure guest safety.
“The second week of the Fair is especially meaningful to us, as it brings many 4-H and FFA families from across the region. We have welcomed many of these families for generations, and it has become a tradition for them to stay with us each year while participating in the fair,” Knightshead said. “Their continued loyalty creates a warm, community-focused atmosphere that has become a special part of the Adelaide Inn’s fair week experience.”
According to its website, Adelaide Inn is currently booked out July 15-25.
