Shorelight Inn — Hotel in Benicia

In terms of location and overall cleanliness, Shorelight Inn gets 5 stars. I can admit that the view from our Suite was absolutely gorgeous, providing amazing sunset views from the balcony. We picked this location because we fell in love with the vintage aesthetic and thought it would fit perfectly with our wedding theme. Unfortunately our overall experience with the staff on our wedding day is what merits a 1 star review.

We booked this suite in the summer of 2021, letting the Inn know we were in search of a Honeymoon Suite for our Fall 2021 wedding. They seemed very accommodating at the time, excited to have another wedding stay at their location. We advised via phone that the Bride (myself) would also be using the Suite to get ready with her Bridal Party the day of the wedding. There were no objections to this when the reservation was made.

The day of the wedding, my maid of honor was helping guide my bridal party, photographer and videographer to the suite. This went on without incident all morning and really didn't have everyone arrive until about after 9am, close to 10am. Not once did we crash into other guests. But apparently the photographer was talked to by the staff in a way that made them feel uncomfortable, so they decided to just stay in the room to avoid upsetting them further. That made me very upset because 1) we had booked the room MONTHS in advance with the understanding we would be capturing the day at the suite 2) the staff did not come to talk to ME directly. Whatever - the morning continued and we were out of the Inn by 130pm to continue with my wedding day.

My husband and I returned at 11pm to the Inn after picking up some fast food after our wedding. We were dropped off and since my husband stayed elsewhere the night before, he still needed to bring up not only our dinner, but also his luggage and a handful of things we received at the reception. Of course, I was in my full wedding gown so my husband decided it would be best for him to help me get upstairs to the suite so I can sit while he brought up our things. We were not drunk, we were quiet upon entering. My husband had to make maybe 2 or 3 trips downstairs since I could not help him. He was as quiet as possible as to not cause a disturbance.

Once he shut the door behind him, we chatted briefly and quietly (not even a minute or 2) as we were still so elated from JUST getting married. We got a knock on the door and a staff member told us very rudely to please keep it down, that it was VERY late and the guests were sleeping. My husband apologized, making note that we LITERALLY had just returned from our WEDDING reception and we were just trying to get settled in.

That interaction left such a poor impression for us. We stayed in the suite the rest of the weekend and did not bother interacting with the staff after that. Literally all weekend, it felt like a ghost town. We heard no other guests. Even the few times we exited the room for a walk, we didn't crash into anyone - not even staff. The experience made me so sad that even months after the wedding, it was the one thing about my wedding day that was the downside to everything. What sucks even more is that I very much wanted to share the beautiful pictures and video taken of this place in case others wanted to use this as their Wedding Suite - but I do not recommend anyone to use this Inn. We did not feel welcomed and we will not be returning to this...

I had mixed feelings with this one, both good and bad. We stayed in the Benicia Bay Room because it appeared the biggest and I loved the statue/lamp in the photo from their website. But after arriving as a staff member was finishing up our room I was able to see the Sunset Suite, which was my second choice. By the time I was able to take a full look at our room I really wanted to switch but it seemed the staff member had already left. So as far as the good goes, the Inn was clean, had a small deck for our room(Benicia Bay) as well as the room next to us that served as a perfect view of a romantic sunset. As you can see I took several pictures to try and capture the different settings. The owner had a lovely art collection of Thomas Kinkade as well as several others I admired and included. A continental breakfast was included and was available down in the cafe to follow all guidelines. There was several near by restaurants serving take out/pick up all within walking distance. I had the best plum wine from the Japanese restaurant while waiting for sushi. Now as for the bad, it says they can offer flowers and I believe champagne(for an additional fee) to help create a romantic setting for your special stay. But if you continue reading it states rose petals are not allowed which got me thinking what kind of flowers would be available then? So my husband trying to preplan on his own added in the comments section on the reservations that he'd like the romantic add-on. Upon arrival trying to still keep the special add on a surprise he didn't mention it to the staff member in front of me. But when trying to call to make sure this was confirmed before we arrived there was no answer, Therefore it never happened. Now keeping in mind it did state rose petals wouldn't be allowed I kept coming across them all throughout the room. One of them somehow had even came out from one of the jet filters for the tub, which didn't even work! Maybe that's why they asked that they no longer be allowed because it would clog the filters? I still considered the room very clean despite the random rose petals here in there and just decided to laugh off the idea that it was a possible set up? Now as for the statue/lamp it wasn't even in the room anymore. All in all I think I'll give it one more try but in the Sunset Room and hope it convinces me to be a...

Located at the end of the street where a public shoreline path begins is a large three story wood and stone Inn. I was attending a wedding as one of two best men for my best friend and his uncle checked me in so I can't speak to that process. ||||I was impressed at the spaciousness of the sitting room with its Nespresso coffee maker and to go cups with lids as well as the armoire with full length mirror to make sure I had dressed correctly for a day of taking pictures. ||The bedroom starts with an air conditioner before you get to the flatscreen tv over the dresser and then opens out to a large queen sized bed which was a bit less give than I'm used to but comfortable. The I noticed the jacuzzi just three feet from the bed in a nook. That was a nice way to relax and get warm and toasty before slipping under the sheets to sleep. There were a few strange tiny brown flakes that was in the water but I'm not sure where they came from. Possibly from a wooden tank to hold all the hot water that seemed to be available but I forgot to ask about it during the weekend focused on the wedding. ||Finally we get to a good sized restroom with shower and sink which is around the corner from the bedroom so there's no door. The shower has the kind of shower head that simulates rain spread out but I felt they could have been a little more convenient with a small shelf to hold the toiletries that are presented so well by the sink. I noticed later on in the week a line of ants crawling along the shower stall and looking for dry land since it was starting to rain pretty consistently. ||||The continental breakfast with fresh fruits, pastries , cold cuts, yogurt, bagel, coffee and even a quick scrambled egg by christine? Along with some of the inside scoop by the friendly people that hung out downstairs made for an enjoyable morning since I was rooming by myself and everyone else slept in. ||I was glad I took the opportunity to take a walk along the shoreline the first morning since it was pouring rain the day I was checking out. ||||On the walk down to the pier and back, it was nice to exchange greetings with almost everyone out for a walk although the large number of fishermen were a little too focused on their task. Seemed like every place except for two bars were open after 10pm since there are probably still not as many tourists around...