The Inn at the Tides — Hotel in Sebastopol

We thought the our room and the place needed some attention, upkeep. Know in advance that the continental breakfast is cheap and unhealthy. You'll get an orange (pithy, out of season), a Kellogg's yogurt with granola attached at the top (low fat; 170 cals; sugar 23 grams), a muffin (box mix, for sure), and croissant (pillsbury-like). Oh, and this tiny boxed OJ. One picks up this breakfast box at the desk. I'll just bet that the breakfast costs the hotel no more than $1.00 each. Know that the restaurant is closed, but may have outdoor dining--better check! During our stay, it did not because of the smoke in the area. Neither were open. So that meant if you wanted room service, be prepared to pay a lot for simple things (check their menu!), but also that 18% room service charge. No C19 breaks. The rooms DO NOT have a micro or fridge, so better bring a cooler. You can make coffee in your room using their little one cup at a time coffee maker; just make sure it's amply supplied. Our's only had two pods upon arrival. The drain in our bath didn't drain properly; needed attention. But wait, there's MORE! So, though not clearly stated, room service personnel instructed to just leave our plates outside. There were two container bins outside our room, one for our trash and one for ? not sure, towels? Signs are not posted, procedures are not posted. So we just used our common sense. Needless to say, our plates were not picked up. Guess who came to visit two nights in a row? The trash pandas. And boy were they noisy. And boy did they go through those designated trash bins, bottles, plates, and have a good time. Not only by our room, just outside, but also a neighbor's, just outside their door area too. A system is clearly not in place. And wouldn't the health department LOVE to know about this problem! The room walls are thin, so know that you WILL HEAR the arrivals of your neighbors. And you WILL HEAR your neighbors use of water if you are downstairs; like when they FLUSH the toilet. Of all the need to knows, this "heads up" is KEY. The pool, while wonderful, is not cared for. The bottom is slippery. It's a salt-water pool; so it feels good. BUT, know that its care is questionable. Upon entering the step area, I stepped in while reaching for the handrail and SLIPPED. Thank heavens my husband was there to grab my arm as best able. It's a good thing that I didn't break a rib and tear off my toe. But that fall was NOT good, still feeling it. OMG. Know that the chances of you easily slipping is high. NOT GOOD. Pool hours are 9:00-11:00pm at night. I'll be calling the BBB and the health department regarding aforementioned concerns. Oh, we were promised, no problem kind of thing, a slightly early check in (called beforehand, called on the way), oh no problem it's ready; come to arrive, it wasn't. Really? Consider...

We had a fabulous 3 night stay at The Inn at the Tides. The lady at the front desk was overly nice. They appear to be upgrading the rooms, as we saw old furniture being loaded out of one of the complexes. Our room had been upgraded with new furniture and a mini-fridge! The amenities don't yet list the mini-fridge, so definitely call to see if your room as one. She mentioned they are adding microwaves next. I wish they would have upgraded the flat screen TV... it's fine but could be bigger (I think it's 35" or so).

We rented a King Deluxe room for $350/night. The view from our room was glorious - we could see the pool and the bay in the background. Lots of windows to open to let the cool breeze in (there is no AC, which is understandable since it doesn't get hot here). We had a fireplace in our room which was the source of heat - awesome.

The room is huge! The bed is comfortable with lots of pillows. The couch is a pull-out couch (we didn't use it, so can't comment). The free wifi is fast. Parking is included. The room comes with 2 beach towels. The bath towels are huge (I hate when there's dinky towels), but are a bit scratchy.

The pool is heated and big, but clearly needs to be replastered. That doesn't matter when you are swimming, but it looks old. The spa is big - you can have 4 sets of couples in there and each have your own conversation. The sauna was hot and there's an outside shower. The whole complex is on a hill, so expect some slopes and stairs.

The onsite restaurant was closed during our stay due to COVID staffing issues. The free continental breakfast is at the Tides Wharf Restaurant across the street. This is a short walk just to the other side of Hwy 1 with a nice big crosswalk. You can either eat it there in the restaurant or ask for it to-go in nice walking containers. The continental breakfast includes granola and milk, small croissant, small muffin, cut fruit (or a piece of whole fruit if it's to-go), and a beverage (coffee, tea, juice). It's a fine-sized continental breakfast! Or, you can get any breakfast they serve for 25% off (yes, even to-go).

All in all, a fantastic stay. You get the secluded feel you want while also being close to town. It was a perfect mix for us. (We looked at places like Timber Cove and Sea Ranch, which is more of an inclusive resort feel without a town of restaurants etc. nearby.) We will...

Not worth the price. Stayed there last Monday - Wednesday. Unfortunately, I didn't read all the reviews, otherwise would have stayed somewhere else. I paid $250+ per night to stay at the Inn at the Tides in a room with upgraded bathroom on the second floor. I also ordered a fruit/cheese basket upon arrival (another $18). Check in experience was OK, although we learned that the onsite restaurant, The Bay View, is closed on Monday and Tuesday, so that was not an option for dinner. The room, as other people have complained, smelled like hell. My best guess would be a combination of humidity, age and lack of proper ventilation. The rooms don't have air conditioner (which is probably OK for that area, although when we were there was super hot), but the windows don't open enough to have good air circulation. There is not fan either. I think a ceiling fan would alleviate a lot of the smell issues along with providing some cool air during hot days. We received the fruit/cheese basket (with very poor fruit variety, 2 apples and 2 oranges and some local goat cheese), only to learn that there is no place to store the cheese (if you don't want to eat it right away or if you don't finish it in one sit, you're out of luck), as the rooms don't offer a small refrigerator. Again, a small refrigerator would not hurt as also, there is a nice store at the Tides Wharf where you can buy stuff that might require refrigeration (which obviously, we were discouraged to do). There was a complementary bottle of wine, Salmon Creek, that was OK (I think pretty much all hotels around offer the same thing). Hot complementary breakfast is served at the Tides Wharf restaurant, it was OK. We also got 15% off for dinner at the Wharf (both places, to my understanding, are owned by the same people). The hotel grounds are in general nicely kept. The highlight of the hotel, at least for me, was the pool in which I spent a good amount of time and fully enjoyed. Workout facility was OK (no different from any other hotel of that size). The main reason I would not come back to this place is the room. The smell and lack of basic amenities is a total turn off. If the hotel owners ever decided to renovate the rooms, I would be very happy to give it another try. I could have stayed in a much better place for extra $50... ...