Review The Lodge at Tiburon, Marin County, California
It was a spur of the moment decision to book a room in the Lodge at Tiburon in Tiburon California. After spending our first two evenings in San Francisco and a second two nights in Oakland, we were looking for a change of venue more accessible to Sausalito and Muir Woods and a quick glance on an online booking site led us to Tiburon Lodge located in the Marin County town of Tiburon. The excellent pictures made the hotel look very cozy, inviting even upscale while mapping lead us to imagine the property probably was a wonderful water view location. The lofty pricing also suggested something extraordinary. We were wrong on all counts.
The ownership has done a fantastic job of decorating, renovating and contemporizing the facilities. Stacked stone, wood beans, multiple seating niches were scattered throughout the property. Decorated with privacy curtains, wooden furniture topped with burnt orange colored cushions and umbrellas, well designed lighting and even a fire pit, the public spaces were visually inviting evoking a lakefront lodge sensibility. All public spaces were professionally designed and decorated. Somewhat hard to discern from the photos, some of the seemingly private outdoor lounge and dining space was located in front of the building adjacent to the sidewalk on the main street in town. It was quiet during our weekday visit but at busier times, this might be less than pleasant.
In spite of this excellent window dressing, the “lodge” still felt like the 70’s era motel it once was in many small ways. Room doors exited to open air exterior hallways and sidewalks. Exterior staircases were concrete and carpeted hallways seemed to “list” a little as if one was walking on the deck of a boat. Limited elevators, a small centrally located outdoor kidney shaped pool, and exterior walls in need of a refresh of paint made the property feel much less luxurious than the room rate would have suggested. Nevertheless this was in the high rent neighborhood in Marin County and no lodging was “reasonable.”
On a positive note the rooms were clean, neat and tidy with the quality linens dressing the beds in crisp, no wrinkle, almost military fashion. The only “views” to be had were of the courtyard as the building was too low to have a water view in spite of a relatively close proximity (5 minute walk) to the waterfront. Many first floor courtyard facing rooms had small lanais with privacy curtains, most second floors rooms had a bump out yielding more floor space and third floor rooms sporting a small balcony. Non courtyard rooms did not appear to have these amenities. Our first uninspired “view” room #218 was also a handicap room whose bathroom looked a bit scary medical. We switched to a “quieter” room #319 and enjoyed the view of a neighboring condo property’s water feature and lush foliage. The vaulted and beamed ceiling made the room 
feel much more expansive than the traditional 8 foot ceiling on the second floor. The bathroom was small with the commode placement leaving little knee room though the vanity was adequate and had a coffee pot with supplies. The shower stall was small but water pressure was good. Towels were the best we’d had during our trip. Soaps and shampoos were nice and the room had a mini-fridge. Designer water, at a ridiculous price, was available for sale in the room.
For all its quirkiness we would recommend staying at the Lodge at Tiburon for a number of reasons. The service was welcoming and courteous, our room was more than acceptable, the breakfast in the restaurant was outstanding and the parking was free as was wifi. Just an aside as this is something that rankled me, especially when paying north of $300 a night for a room, computer usage at the lobby “service center”was not free except for a 15 minute allowance for printing boarding passes. If you bring your own laptop you’ll be fine and find the Lodge to be a more than adequate choice for your visit to Marin County.
20170731 Review The Lodge at Tiburon, Marin County, California
Visited: July 31, 2017
More Information: www.lodgeattiburon.com
