Tomales Bay Resort

Tomales Bay Resort, Inverness, California

View from beside the dining room

Where do you go for a four day trip from San Francisco? We chose to do Napa and then were recommended Point Reyes by a friend. So from Napa we drove the two hours to Inverness, where we arrived at the Tomales Bay Resort, which we were staying in for two nights. If you've read my post on Hennessey House, you would know our first impression of this place but for those who haven't, an excerpt..

``We arrived at our `resort' which was more like a motel in the middle of nowhere, It was dark, our friends' room keys were taped to the window pane of the reception door in an envelope, and ours was nowhere to be seen. After calling our contact we found it had fallen on the floor. The place was so impersonal, and the exact opposite of our experience at Hennessey that we were quite depressed. We razzed our friend quite a bit for opting to spend more nights here. However, we got a ton of sightseeing done over the next day and a half which would never have happened otherwise and the motel grew on us by the second night so she was forgiven!''

Bungalow rooms

We chose the Tomales Bay Resort as it was the only place located on the bay inside Point Reyes National Seashore Park, so obviously the only place to stay. The room was quite large, clean and had a kitchenette and a heater with a chimney whose thermostat was bust so we kept our windows open to avoid getting stifled by the heat. Somehow none of us took pictures of the room so you're not going to be able to see that unfortunately. The place was deserted and the whole area is so quiet that its a bit disconcerting if you arrive after dark. 

After getting settled in our rooms we got back in the car to drive to Inverness to find a restaurant for dinner. We stopped by a grocery store in the middle of nowhere and being the last customers, as soon as we exited, they switched off the lights. It was really dark, quiet and eerie and reminded me of a scene out of the movie Psycho Cop where you get jumped on by a crazy killer in a deserted spot! That's my imagination running wild. That night we ate at the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes Station which was so so. 

Entrance to our rooms

The bungalow rooms we were in did not have a bay view but there are others that do. Breakfast was very basic and after spending more than $200 a night for the room the choice of cereal, two fruits and a couple of croissants (tea and coffee included) on both mornings was quite disappointing. The place is wonderfully located and the restaurant with glass windows faces the bay but I feel they haven't capitalised on the opportunities they have and lots more could have been done about the food which really is a huge part of the appeal in any resort one stays in.