This is one of my favourite areas, in fact we're going again in two weeks.
We usually start with a day of business in San Fran, then a day of shopping, then we rent a convertible and drive down and stay at the Spindrift Inn in Monterey, one of my all time favourite romantic hotels. Then in the next day or two we drive down through Pebble Beach (dinner at the 19th Hole restaurant is good) and shop in Carmel. Then we do the Big Sur drive, which is fabulous. I love visiting Hearst Castle. We have stayed at the Inn at Morro Bay to break up the trip a bit. Then our last night is usually in Santa Barbara, and then we fly home from LAX. It makes a really beautiful and romantic trip.