Cavallo Point Lodge

There are many five-star places to stay in the Bay Area, all very nice, but none of them are really special. Cavallo Point is different -- its history, location, charm, views, and rooms make it an altogether different and special experience. There might be nothing more relaxing than sitting in a rocking chair, on your porch, drinking a (complimentary) wine and watching The City, the bridge, the bay, in perfect serenity. The location is convenient to Sausalito and SF, and the hotel offers a great shuttle service to both places. "Shuttle" is an understatement, as it's private chauffer-driven new Lexus SUVs. It was great getting picked up and driven back after a day in SF! They also have an interesting (free) Lexus "test drive" program, where you can check out a car for 3 hours and do some exploring. The spa is beautiful, and the "meditation pool" is basically a swimming pool-sized hot tub, which was great! Terrific staff at the spa and everywhere else. The only little downside was breakfast at Murray Circle; the menu was small and uninspiring, and wait staff moved at their own, slow pace. Still a decent dining experience though, and I have only praise for lunch at Farley Bar, great food, great service, great wine! We booked a "Historic King Suite," listed as 540 sq ft on the website, and ended up in 605, the entire top floor of a historic house. It was probably closer to 1200 sq ft, with great views and comfortable furnishings. Loved the charm of the historic buildings, just one more thing that makes Cavallo Point the most special place in the Bay Area.

Just checked in about two hours ago & we’re very disappointed. We’ve stayed at hotels all over the world & know what we like & don’t like. Booked our room through Amex Travel, spending $900 a night & they put us in an old, smelly, very small room. Can’t even open a suitcase without tripping over it. The carpeting is gross looking & it smells like it’s 300 yrs old. Thank God it’s cool outside cuz there’s no a/c, & having the windows open & letting all the flies in isn’t ideal. We were just at an amazing place in Carmel, a little bit more expensive but absolutely unbelievable in quality, space, and anything else you can think of. Night & day compared to this place. Maybe I’m spoiled, but when spending this much money, I want it to feel worth it, and so far, it’s not.

They make promises they cannot keep! "No money down (pay at the hotel) and free cancellation" policy was violated by charging my Amex twice!! They have yet to return my money. I made reservations four weeks in advance and cancelled the next day.

$750 per night.. ok got it, location location location... right at base of Golden Gate Bridge... they have shuttle service to Sausalito - great.. oh wait, they're too busy right now... Want in-room coffee maker - no... go to desk and basically told we don't know where to look for it... really - you hide it.. no.. no you're wrong never in room to begin with. Want privacy in bathroom while taking care of your business.. nope, not here... blinds are destroyed so the nation can just look right in (see photos). They fix the blinds.. and leave some of the broken slats out on the ledge... classy move! Room was nice spacious. Check in mostly smooth. Restaurant... well good food, but if you want them to pour the $250 bottle of wine you just bought.. lol that will be extra... kidding, but after the first taste, never poured another drop... no pour the wine, no tip on the wine... Oh forgot if you're allergic to certain foods, they serve it to you anyway... nor do they list full ingredients... this literally happened on each of our two times at the restaurant... they do not list all ingredients on the menu seriously.... Bed was just ok, not a fan of the pillows... room too hot even with windows open as appears the heat is registered from outside the rooms... these are older rooms (nicely refurbished) but still with the older radiator style heaters. Oh if you want your room serviced after being gone all day... guess you'll just have to call front desk and request service. 1.my wife was pissed about not having a coffee maker first thing in the AM, but since we were leaving for breakfast, it didn't matter at that point.. we left for breakfast and upon our return magically, there was a coffee maker in the room - miraculous... Yet somehow this became an issue with the manager telling us we said it was ok.. it was not! 2. THe bathroom blinds were broken. They fixed it but left multiple pieces of the broken blinds left behind on the ledge.. How does housekeeping not notice this in the first place. The staff should have notified management, not the guest. We get mistakes happen, but seems too many in this case. 3. As for the restaurant issue... we disclosed wife's food allergies and they served it to her anyway! Then because they gave us complimentary dishes the next night they think they're absolved... well maybe, mistakes happen. But... they did it again on the 3rd night.. we were served a different plate than ordered, only to find out that THE DISH WE ORDERED HAD SHRIMP IN IT.... Their menus do not fully identify all ingredients - what like we'd ordered the desert with nuts or the brussel sprouts cooked with shrimp that wife is allergic... I don't think so.. 4. The owner messages me to contact his assistant for follow up. I think its endemic, he's too busy to interface with his guests directly... a problem? You decide.

Cavallo Point is an amazing experience. I was lucky to go on a work overnight here, so didn't have to pay for it myself. I definitely enjoyed the huge rooms, comfortable bed, amazing bathrooms and shower amenities. The view is of course unmatched; sit outside your patio during dusk to enjoy the sunset! We ate in the dining room for both dinner and breakfast--tasty as expected, but we were also unfortunately having meetings during our meals. If you're there in the morning, be sure to put your name down for brunch on the porch. If the wait is too long, there are tasty sandwiches in the shop and you can eat them in the rocking chairs on the other deck. Kids can play in the grassy area, or you can stroll down to the shore. There's a funky yacht club and a pier to explore.