Chanslor Ranch — Hotel in Guerneville

We had spent two days camping up at Russian Gulch State Park with our horses and needed a place to overnight with the horses on the long drive back to the South Bay. There are limited options for places in the area where you can overnight your horse, so this was it.||||The horses got a large arena-sized paddock to share. They were extremely happy. ||||We booked the Rocky Hillop tent, glamping style. The queensize bed in the tent was comfy, cozy, with wonderfully soft bedding. ||||The tent site includes a campfire ring where you can burn wood and toast marshmallows and a picnic table. There was a small deck with camp chairs, so you could sit and enjoy the ocean view.||||We were already set for camping, so it wasn't too big a hardship, but it would be worse if you weren't. There is no running water at the campsite. They do provide a large jug of water, but we used our own water to wash our dishes and for cooking. I cooked our meals on our campstove on the picnic table.||||The bathrooms are limited and you aren't supposed to flush toilet paper down the toilet - which meant the trash can was filled to the brim with toilet paper covered with *. Yuch!||||You pretty much have to drive to the bathrooms, so we relied on our camp toilet, which we had with us.||||There are showers, but we decided to wait to shower until we got home. We did have a camp shower with us we could have used, but that would have taken the last of our water.||||There is no electricity at the campsites, but they provide you will a portable battery for lighting and you probably could plug in a laptop or tablet if you wanted to surf the internet or stream a movie. We did have internet for our phones from the campsite.||||We rode the trail up and over the hills and down to the Miwok Village meadow. The trails were a little steeper than I would have liked and we got off and walked next to our horses for one of the steeper hills. The ride was pretty short. It took us about an hour to do the entire trail on our Tennessee Walkers. Quarter horses would probably take twice as long. The portion of the ride along the creek to the village was very pretty with lots of wildflowers and shade. The site of the Miwok Village is just a large meadow area, no ruins or pounding rocks.||||There is a ride down the beach right across from the ranch, but you have to cross Hwy 1. We were told to trailer our horses across the highway and then ride. It was tempting, but we decided to pass and just go home because we still had a long drive ahead.||||The staff was friendly and helpful. I was a little concerned because we didn't get to the ranch until after 5 pm and I wasn't sure if anybody would be there to show us where to put the horses, etc. Thanks to Marie who helped us settle the horses in.||||This ranch has great possibilities. It is in a great location, close to the beach. If they installed decent showers and bathrooms and added a snack bar/small market, they would be in really good shape. They are a little too rustic to be charging the prices they are. We paid $156 for the tent and $60 for the two horses for one night. For what we got, we should have paid about $80 for the tent. We have stayed in small cabins with private bath and shower for that price.||||We may come back, but if the accommodations haven't improved, we might just do a tent site as it is all the same to us in terms of what we used of our...

We had an awesome time at the ranch with the horses and riding. The people who work at the ranch are super nice; Jesus, Sarah, and Gina. Our guide was very helpful and answered all of our questions. We chose to stay for two nights in the Ocean View room for the full bathroom and refrigerator. This room is attached to the main house with an entry via a rear sliding door. Getting to the entry isn't accessible to everyone b/c you have to park in front and walk around the side of the house, which means tromping through weeds and uneven ground. If you are not able-bodied, don't stay in this room. The room was very clean. However, there wasn't a comfortable place to sit. There were two VERY low outdoor-style chairs with a basic table. There was a coffee maker with ground coffee in small, airtight containers. I made some, but I must have mismeasured b/c it was awful. Thankfully, Roadhouse Coffee is only a short drive! Outside there were two wood chairs (again very uncomfortable) and a small fire pit, which made for a nice spot to enjoy the gorgeous view. Since we were in a room shared with the main house, it was difficult to sleep as it was loud! Dishes clanking, water running, and heavy footsteps. The second night, I was woken at 1:49 am by LOUD voices and stomping. Being woken up from a deep sleep, it was difficult to decipher the noises. I wasn't immediately sure if it was something I needed to be concerned about or not. Having no wifi or way to communicate, and it being just my young daughter and myself (female), this event was unsettling. After several minutes of loud banging and voices, and being in a more wakeful state, I realized we weren't in the middle of a home invasion, and got a few more hours of sleep before more noise begun. So, if you're a deep sleeper and you don't mind renting a room in somebody's house, this will suit you fine. If you're like me, and prefer privacy and quiet nights, this place probably isn't for you. |I will definitely return to the ranch, but not for...

Glamour camping or “Glamping” at Chanslor Ranch in Bodega Bay was such an incredible experience, It is a challenge to narrow down all the wonderful things we enjoyed. Our camp site was nestled up in the hills of the Ranch with breathtaking views of Bodega Bay and the ocean. You could tell the tent had been thoughtfully decorated with the comforts of home in mind such as soft sheets on the queen sized bed, the fancy French press, tea kettle, mugs, and a fresh supply of coffee and tea. Inside the tent was spacious with a wood stove that kept us warm all night and also cooked our food;-) We appreciated that the tent fee included firewood, hot showers and drinking water. All we needed to do was enjoy and we did! My husband and I decided to take our 3 year old and black lab to spend our thanksgiving vacation here fully aware that Nov/Dec weather is wet and cold. However this was a welcomed reprieve for us coming from another record hot/dry summer in Sacramento, CA. That being said, the experience we enjoyed the most was hearing the rain outside. For three nights in a row we played board games on the rug in front of the fire while sipping on hot cocoa listening to the rain. Waking up in the morning was always a treat because you could hear the horses snorting as they were grazing around the hill. I guess there are also alpaca’s and llama’s who free roam the property, but we never encountered them in our travels (the property is over 400 acres). We did see a fox which our son talks about all the time! During our days we beach hopped around the many interesting beaches in Bodega Bay and enjoyed some horseback riding at Chanslor Ranch too! When it came time for our 3 year old son’s horseback ride he was smiling from ear to ear! Okay, so were we Thanks Chanslor Ranch, we are officially your...