Just cancelled a hotel stay for a few days going into the holiday, due to the oil spill….any alternate locations within a few hour drive from Phoenix?

It looks like the problems are Huntington Beach/Seal Beach and south.  Which holiday period are you planning around?  My guess is it will be resolved before the year end holidays but who knows.  They'll be in hysterics for much longer.  I'd consider the Santa Barbara area.  It's farther away. (I'm not a beachy person but we like Santa Barbara and the area north, Santa Ynez Valley areas, etc. in general - for weekends.) San Diego county beaches, I think, might not be impacted.   I have no idea how pre-booked any of the areas are so not sure if maybe it might be a question of booking what's open.

It was this coming weekend…don’t think I’m going to find much available

Redondo Beach, Hermosa to Manhattan Beach is nice. There are a bunch of hotels near the water. Not sure of the availability. I like the "Riviera village" area for hanging out. Lots to see and eat but the crowds aren't that bad. Lots of sun bathers, bikers and dog walkers. They never really shut down like other places. The cops don't really enforce Grewsome's edicts there.