Treebones Resort — Hotel in King City

An unforgettable experience! From the moment we pulled off highway 1 to the moment we checked out, everything was first class. We were welcomed upon check in with a nice glass of Rose and a beautiful pool area to decompress and enjoy the spectacular views. We got settled into our Yurt (#12) and set out to scope the immaculate and very well manicured grounds. Make sure you take a walk through the garden, you will be enjoying its goods during your meals! We found a great bench isolated over by the Human Nest to take in a magnificent sunset. First dinner was at Wild Coast Sushi Bar. My wife and I are sushi coinsures and have eaten sushi all over the country, we can say hands down that Yancy and DJ provide an Omakase seating that will leave you speechless, well hydrated (Sake pairing is a must), and belly full of the best quality fish you have ever had. It is very evident that they take great pride in their craft and make sure your experience is an unforgettable one. The Yurt was just perfect. Plenty of room, a nice little sitting area inside and out on the deck, and a bed that was very comfortable and to top it off, the pillows were the best pillows I have ever laid my head on. Before breakfast we enjoyed a nice yoga class that was perfect to get us going before a day of hiking. The breakfast in the lodge with the fireplace going was top notch, with a coffee machine that left my wife speechless. We ordered the box lunch to go the night before to take on our hike up to CruickShank. It was ready in the Lodge at 10am and was deliciously perfect to enjoy on the hike. A wonderful sandwich with a nice salad (almost everything from the garden). CruickShank hike was a perfect for the time we wanted to spend away from Treebones. It was about 3 hours roundtrip, with about 1,200ft of elevation ranging from switchbacks fully exposed to the ocean, to beautiful redwoods in the shade. There is a little picnic bench at the end of the trail to enjoy your lunch and get off your feet for a few minutes. Upon return we checking into the Tree House. Much different experience than the Yurt. Not quite as roomy, however it gave us the experience we were looking for. Small, secluded, and unique. Laying in bed looking through the windows to the ocean and watching the moss lightly wave from the trees was truly magical. The pool was the perfect way to spend the second half of the day relaxing and soaking in the spectacular views. Yancy and DJ set the bar so high the night before we didn't know what to expect for dinner at the Lodge. It did not disappoint! From the Sardine toast, Oysters, and Crudo to the Pizza and Skirt Steak, it was another magical food experience! The whole staff of Treebones treats you almost like family, always making sure you are having a great relaxing experience. We are already looking to book our next trip back, this is a hidden gem that provides an experience you will never...

The place was definitely different from anywhere else we've stayed. They were able to accommodate us even without a reservation. And the staff was always polite and professional.

But... There were a couple of big drawbacks though for us, that was unbeknownst to me when I secured one of their Yurts for a night. And they did not disclose this information to me until hours later when I went to pick up my room keys. Their Yurts do not have a bathroom or toilet of any kind, only a basic sink. If you want to shower or use the toilet you have to go up to the shared restroom by the office. With 2 toilets and 3 showers on the mens side which is shared with at least 32 other guests, on a full night it can get quite busy.

At $400 a night, I would expect to have at least the basic amenities included in my room, like a toilet.

Then there is the fact that the entire area has absolutely no cell service of any kind. So you'd think management would want to make up for this deficiency by providing WiFi throughout the property for their guests to use. Well, unfortunately they only provide Wi-Fi inside the main office/restaurant and just outside the front door. Stray more than 10 feet from the front door and your SOL though. It doesn't even work in the shared restroom, which is right next door in the same building. There are plenty of WiFi networks, even one for a Starlink, some that even had a strong signal throughout the property. But guests are only given access to the weakest network located in the office.

Then there is the restaurant that is more of a fancy mess hall at dinner time. They only have 1 meal for dinner, which is a 4-course meal for $95 per person!! It's one of those more fancy than filling type of meals, with a "mandatory" gratuity. And to be honest, the service was fantastic, so the servers earned they're tip without hesitation. But to make it mandatory that I pay 20%, just rubbed me the wrong way.

Even so, it still didn't make up for the completely overpriced and unpalatable food. It was that bad. So you'd think that's an easy one, just go someplace else to eat other than their restaurant. But there is absolutely no place else to get a hot meal within an hour drive. And of course there is no microwave or any way to heat something up on your own either. Nor do they allow fires at all, so bringing for to cook yourself is not an option either.

They knowingly force you to pay they're one and only $95 meal per person to eat, since you have no other way of getting a reasonably priced meal when you stay here. They don't provide anything in the way of entertainment other than Yoga in the morning and a list of locations you can drive/walk yourself too. But...

I was incredibly excited to stay here, but eh! This place is insanely overpriced. Despite being about as nice and spacious as I suppose a yurt can get - we still paid $475 a night to share a bathroom with the entire campsite and basically reside in a glorified tent. In my opinion, this is a one night stay kind of resort - perfect if you're making your way down Highway 1 and want to stop one more time before you hit San Luis Obispo. Unfortunately, they require two night stays.

The food is also crazy expensive even accounting for California prices and we felt bamboozled by the staff into paying for the $110 per person (with tip and tax) four-course prix fix menu both nights we stayed. The reservation site makes it seem like there are limited spots and you won't get a meal if you don't book. In reality, we were sitting in a practically empty dining room both evenings. The second day we were there I asked if I needed to make a reservation or if we could just show up and sit. I was told "reservations are always recommended". It's just a scam to get you to pay for the prix-fix versus ordering off the readily available ala carte menu. I will say the food itself was decent other than our steaks the second evening that were so tough they were almost inedible. We wanted to try the sushi restaurant which is supposed to be amazing (It better be for $209 per person) but it books up quickly).

Last, and this is out of the resort's control - but the weather at the end of June when we visited was foggy and cold. Despite the beauty of the natural surroundings we weren't able to enjoy any of the beautiful coastal views that come with nicer weather. We were told by staff that this is pretty par for the course in that part of Big Sur outside of late September and October. In addition, Highway 1 was closed just north of the resort. This was communicated to us before our stay - but not being natives we had no idea how long of a detour this was going to require. We were coming from the Carmel area and basically had to drive into the park 30 miles to see the north of Big Sur and then drive back out and loop completely around via Highway 101 South to get to Treebones - which meant a 4 hour drive versus the 39 miles we had planned. All in all just not an ideal time to stay at the place.

I'd recommend you only come here if you can pick up a quick last minute reservation when you know the weather is going to be beautiful, versus...