Inns that are "In" Part II

San Francisco is home to some of the greatest hotels in the world.  The Fairmont Hotel, where Tony Bennett first performed, I Left my Heart in San Francisco.  The Palace Hotel, whose skylight Micheal Douglas fell through in the movie the Game,  and whose lobby was driven through by Herbie the Love Bug.  However, San Francisco (and the greater bay area in general) is home to some of the quirkiest and quaintest lodging you will find, and range the gamut from private islands to youth hostels.

I've been a hotel concierge in San Francisco for many years and worked in some of the finest properties in the city.  I know this may sound surprising but when I travel I preferrer more modest accommodations.  I have worked in hotels that will place a pillow mint on your bed at turndown (if you know what that is). 

Nothing wrong with pillow mints, but if you live in Disneyland, amusement parks are not really high on the To-Do list while on vacation.  When I travel, I prefer to stay in the family-owned motel with the letter O burnt out in the Motel sign.  Or the kind of motel you show up at, and interrupt the Innkeeper's dinner to check in.

One of the great best-known secrets in the San Francisco Bay Area is the Mountain Home Inn in Mill Valley, just half an hour over the Golden Gate Bridge.  Opened in 1912 by Swiss immigrants inspired by the similar topography of their homeland, the Mountain Home Inn's ten comfortable rooms retain its Alpine trappings.  Each room has either a deck overlooking old-growth Redwood trees, a fireplace, or both if you're lucky.  Looking for the latest amenities like docks for an iPhone or access to Roku?  You will have to go somewhere else as the Mountain Home Inn's rooms have no TV, telephones, or even clocks.

The View From One Of The Rooms At The Mountain Home Inn

What's really special about this little jewel is that it was grandfathered in when the area became part of the National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  And at a time when there was little development there.  As the Innkeepers shared with me, it is the only commercial license for ten miles in any direction.  You literally only have to walk across the street to enter the Muir Woods. 

The little lobby opens onto a rustic deck where food is served throughout the day.  I used to use it as a midway point to take a break from hiking the many trails connected to the Muir Woods, eat some lunch, and continue on my journey.  It wasn't until years later, though a happy accident, did I stay there.  Now I'm hooked and take a respite from the big city every chance I get.  And it's only 30 minutes from the skyscrapers of downtown San Francisco!

I know of only one Bed & Breakfast which covers an entire island.  Technically it is not even called an island, but a light station.  The East Brother Light Station straddles the line between San Francisco and San Pablo Bays.  A lighthouse was built on a tiny island in 1873, and at 0.7 acres it is the smallest habitable island in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Since 1979, and with only half a dozen rooms, East Brother Light Station has become an exclusive Bed & Breakfast and accessible only by boat.

Santa Rosa is about an hour's drive north of San Francisco.  It is where Peanuts creator Charles Shultz lived for 50 years, and is home the Charles Shultz Museum.  It is where the famous Hollywood film director Alfred Hitchcock shot his 1943 thriller Shadow of a Doubt, starring Joseph Cotton, and it is where you will find the Hotel La Rose in the city's historic Railroad Square.  Opened in 1907, its rustic charm is complimented by their modern accoutrements and event facilities.  Railroad Square has become a destination with little cafes and Bed & Breakfasts.  It is right next to the Santa Rosa Downtown Station along the SMART train.  Sonoma and Marin County’s first street car in decades.

I can think of no other lodging as basic as the West Point Inn.  Even youth hostels and YMCAs have more amenities than this literal cabin in the sky.  Opened in 1904 as a transfer point to the long ago-dismantled, Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railway, the West Point Inn cabins have no electricity or beds, just a platform to lay a sleeping bag on. 

You bring and cook your own food in a community kitchen, as there are no cafes or meals provided.  To get there you either have to hike in or take a dusty unpaved road with over 250 turns, whose address is literally Fire Road, 100 Old Railroad Grade.  You can't really get any more rustic than that.  

The Main Lodge At The West Point Inn

With all of these challenges getting and staying there, why is it booked for most of the year? Two words: Nature and View.   Next to camping, it is the closest you can get to nature with a roof over your head.  As only the main lodge (if you can call it that) has electricity, the only light you see is generated by the moon and stars. 

The View From The West Point Inn

At 1,781 feet (543 meters) above sea level, the view is stunning.  It is so high up that I have been there when the fog rolled in to the bay, but the West Point Inn seemed to float on top of it.  Looking like a mountain resting on an ocean of cotton balls.