Where to stay in Inverness, CA for a weekend?

August 14, 2010 1:52 PM

Where to stay in Inverness, CA for a weekend?

We'd like a short get away to Inverness (or nearby). We'd like a view of the water, something quiet but walkable to dinner if possible though if something was really perfect we wouldn't mind being in the middle of nowhere.

A phone or cell phone service would be needed as we may need to be reached.

We are fairly low stress / un-fussy folks, like nice things but if the view was nice and it wasn't freezing inside we'd be happy.

posted by bottlebrushtree to travel & transportation around Inverness, CA (4 answers total)

We just spent a weekend here. It's right on the water, between Sr Francis Drake Blvd and the bay. If you get rooms #10-14, or #31-34, you'll get a great bay view. particularly with rooms 12-14 and 31-34 which are just feet from the water. Very quiet place, while there's a pool, it's barely heated which sorta discourages much noisy kid swimming. Lots of outdoor seating in quiet nooks, free wifi (the connection is on the slow side, lowest tier DSL-type speed) and we got good cell signals on both AT&T and Verizon. There might have been a landline in the room but I didn't notice. Our room had a dorm sized fridge, microwave and coffee pot, apparently other rooms have kitchenettes. We had a giant wheelchair accessible shower in lieu of a bathtub, it would be worth asking if any of the rooms have tubs if that's important to you. Rooms were clean and very very quiet. Heat is via baseboard heaters, we didn't turn them on as the room was plenty well insulated.

The front office can set you up with kayak rentals, the kayaks are delivered to a little private beach between rooms 34 and 35 which was really cool.

There's a Thai restaurant on the grounds; I didn't think it was the most awesome Thai food ever (it was more hippie thai than authentic Thai) but it wasn't bad. "Downtown" Inverness is less than 2 minutes by car; we didn't attempt to walk there because the road doesn't have much shoulder + what shoulder there is tends to have cars parked on it + I was herding a child but more adventurous adults would probably find the walk acceptable. In the other direction, there's a large sandy beach a very short walk past the hotel. The hotel appears to be one of the last commercial buildings before you enter Point Reyes National Seashore. Also, there's an oyster farm nearby (biking but not walking distance).
posted by jamaro at 3:28 PM on August 14, 2010

I can tell you where not to stay: Bayshore Cottage. It was recommended to me by a cow orker as a cozy and funky little place, and I wasn't expecting anything super-fancy when my boyfriend and I stayed there a couple years ago, but it was a pretty big disappointment. It's super-tiny, and when I stayed there it wasn't very well-kept at all--the grass outside was over ankle-high, the furniture was dirty and broken, and there was dust and cobwebs everywhere. The bed was a lumpy, creaky contraption that folded down from the wall, and it wasn't comfortable for sleeping or for the other sorts of things couples sometimes do during a coastal getaway. The "fully-stocked kitchen" they advertised consisted of leftovers from previous renters, and the "private hot tub" was a glorified bathtub. Additionally, there were no locks on the door (we were told to put up a little IN/OUT sign to let the owners, who also lived on the property, know when we wanted privacy) and there was no working phone in the room, which made me a little nervous because there was also no cell signal (at least not on our Verizon phones).
posted by rhiannonstone at 4:19 PM on August 14, 2010

I've heard Manka's is awesome but I've never stayed there. I know they had a fire a few years ago and last I heard they had reopened and it was still really great. The restaurant is supposed to be really good too.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 6:47 PM on August 14, 2010

We ended up staying in a no-name cottage about a mile south of town. It was perfect, thanks for all the advice we used it to make our decision.

Cell phone service was very spotty, AT&T actually worked better than Verizon. The cottage had wifi and a wire phone.

Thanks everyone.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 2:04 PM on September 14, 2010