Is there a hotel on the beach somewhere between san francisco and stanford--or near the beach?

there are all sorts of places along highway one... when you do an orbits or travelocity search, if it doesn't say proximity to beach (which it should), check to see proximity to highway one (PCH 1).

Try Santa Cruz beach or Half Moon Bay. Those are the two big beaches between Stanford and San Fran. I'm sure there are lots of hotels around there

I'd search for hotels in Pacifica or Half Moon Bay - descriptions of the hotels should say if they have beach views and whether they are east or west of PCH. Pacifica is about 15 minutes from SF and about 45 from Stanford - HMB about 30 minutes from SF and 30 from Stanford. Santa Cruz is great and beautiful with lots of hotels, but would be about 45 minutes from Stanford and over an hour from SF (its a ways south.) Best of luck :)

The Costanoa Resort is a personal favorite of mine.