West Point Inn — Hotel in Mill Valley

The West Point Inn never ceases to amaze me. I used to visit - and was actually a member - several years ago when I lived in the bay area. Time never allowed me to visit as often as I wished, and it is a place I particularly missed when I moved away. On a recent high-speed trip through the area, I managed to squeeze in a visit. (I was lucky - I got a room mid-week.) This historic inn was built by the railroad in @ 1904. It housed and fed tourists at the dawn of the touring age, when people first had the opportunity to get away from the city at modest cost and enjoy nature and the great outdoors. There were several lodges in Marin County in the early twentieth century but with time, they all vanished. Most lost to fire. Some to disinterest or neglect. The West Point Inn is a treasure that managed to survive. It is still lit with gas lights in the common areas. (The gas also conveniently heats water for washing up!) Bring a flashlight for your room after dark - or they will kindly loan you one. Bring dinner - which you can prepare in the well-equipped kitchen - and have a delightful meal on the porch. The views are unparalleled. Informal sharing at meal time is pervasive so bring extra if your larder allows. If not, your compatriots will undoubtedly take pity on you. When I showed up without wine, someone poured me a generous glass from his own "cellar." Fresh veggies from the garden were being shared; a family offered very authentic Asian dumplings from a San Francisco restaurateur; and at breakfast, a charming young couple encouraged us to sample slices of the sausage far too large for them to eat by themselves. As our host Jeff observed, "this place feels like your family cabin. And the people who end up here manage to seem like the cousins you are meeting for the first time at a family reunion." That just seems to be the sort of people who bother to make their way to the West Point Inn. There are undoubtedly exceptions but it's remarkable how consistently this turns out to be the prevailing atmosphere. It is a uniquely special place. I will be back any time I can...

The West Point Inn never ceases to amaze me. I used to visit - and was actually a member - several years ago when I lived in the bay area. Time never allowed me to visit as often as I wished, and it is a place I particularly missed when I moved away. On a recent high-speed trip through the area, I managed to squeeze in a visit. (I was lucky - I got a room mid-week.) This historic inn was built by the railroad in @ 1904. It housed and fed tourists at the dawn of the touring age, when people first had the opportunity to get away from the city at modest cost and enjoy nature and the great outdoors. There were several lodges in Marin County in the early twentieth century but with time, they all vanished. Most lost to fire. Some to disinterest or neglect. The West Point Inn is a treasure that managed to survive. It is still lit with gas lights in the common areas. (The gas also conveniently heats water for washing up!) Bring a flashlight for your room after dark - or they will kindly loan you one. Bring dinner - which you can prepare in the well-equipped kitchen - and have a delightful meal on the porch. The views are unparalleled. Informal sharing at meal time is pervasive so bring extra if your larder allows. If not, your compatriots will undoubtedly take pity on you. When I showed up without wine, someone poured me a generous glass from his own "cellar." Fresh veggies from the garden were being shared; a family offered very authentic Asian dumplings from a San Francisco restaurateur; and at breakfast, a charming young couple encouraged us to sample slices of the sausage far too large for them to eat by themselves. As our host Jeff observed, "this place feels like your family cabin. And the people who end up here manage to seem like the cousins you are meeting for the first time at a family reunion." That just seems to be the sort of people who bother to make their way to the West Point Inn. There are undoubtedly exceptions but it's remarkable how consistently this turns out to be the prevailing atmosphere. It is a uniquely special place. I will be back any time I can...

Hi: Am bummed that the original review of this from several years ago, plus my strong reinforcing support, have disappeared! ||The West Point Inn is a fabulous site high up on Mt. Tam in Marin County above Mill Valley. Easy walk up the railroad grade from a parking lot (my 3 year old walked the 2-mile walk slowly but with great vigor; my 70-year old parents did so with comfort). If you have serious disabilities, one can drive in the back way. Reservations are hard to get as the Association members have first dibs. But easy to get any mid-week in the summer. ||Look forward to: cooking yourself, 10 pm curfew, great hikes in the immediate vicinity, and knock out views of the Golden Gate, Bay, ocean, San Francisco, all from high above. Likely you'll have mysterious fog in the morning, but nights are stellar. I always bring visiting french students up there, and though they've been to Sausalito, SF, Chinatown, etc., they consistently say that the stay at the WPI (just celebrating it's 100 year anniversary) is the best sight. ||Rooms are about $35/night for adults/less for kids. Cabins are rustic--cold water showers overlooking the San Francisco Bay. There are comfortable rooms inside the lodge (same price) as well. ||Bring food only (they have all the souffle dishes and fish poachers you could want on hand) plus sleeping bags or sheets to go with their blankets in the summer. VERY useful is a baby trailer for a bike--load it up and send someone up the RR grade with it. ||I think they are opening up a bit to the world, so look...