Diablo Mountain Inn - Walnut Creek

For a budget stay near downtown Walnut Creek, this motel is an easy recommendation. It’s within walking distance of downtown, and the rooms are large, clean, well equipped, and comfortably updated. The beds are decent, with pillows of different firmness, and there’s a sitting chair, desk and good office chair, fridge, microwave, flat-screen TV with accessible HDMI ports, and Wi-Fi that works well. I bring a Fire TV Stick, so those ports matter to me. There’s also a coffee maker with decent coffee, USB charging ports on the nightstands, hair dryer, toiletries in dispensers, and very good water pressure. Rooms are non-smoking, but there’s a small smoking area in the parking lot, which I appreciate. The staff are friendly, and the building has been around since the ’60s, I believe, though it’s been nicely maintained and updated. The parking spaces are narrow. If everyone parks centered, opening a door can hit the next car unless you squeeze out carefully. Just something to watch. The price is hard to beat, though you could certainly find worse nearby, including the motel with a six in its name and the one just off the N Main St exit from 680.