Alta Mira Hotel, Sausalito

Alta Mira is now a Rehab Center as of 09-2007 It is no longer a hotel

We stayed two nights at the Alti Mira. We orginally had booked a room without a view in the main part of the inn. About two weeks before leaving for our trip, they called and upgraded us to a room with a Bay view at no extra cost. From the first time we talked to Tom to when we checked out, he was very helpful and friendly. We would defintely go back. The view was fantastic and the room very nice.

We had the displeasure of staying at the Alta Mira during a 5-day holiday surrounding a dear friend's wedding. We checked in to one of the "quaint cottages" and were literally crestfallen at how DISGUSTING and DIRTY it was. This place was built in 1927 and hasn't been remodeled or even cleaned well since. We arrived from the east coast to a bleary eyed nighttime check-in clerk, named Michael, who was unwilling to help us scale the many stairs straight up to our dirty room in Cottage C. The lights dimly shone the dirt, dinge, cracks and terribly digusting attempt at Victorian decor. If we had not been here as part of a wedding, we would've walked out immediately and refused to pay. Save your time, energy and money and stay at Casa Madrona, Hotel Sausalito or even better, in downtown SanFran for a fraction of the price!

I was there for a friend's wedding and stayed in one of the "cottages" on the property, not in the main hotel. The rooms are OLD and run down. In my room the heat was not working and their attempt to fix the problem was to bring a tiny space heater which kept blowing a fuse. Later a larger space heater was brought in but it still wasn't enough - had to sleep in a fleece, socks and 3 blankets and I shivered for hours before I fell asleep. Not sure if the smoke detectors even worked. The staff was not very apologetic of any of the problems I encountered. The view is spectacular but not worth all the aggravation of an old, smelly room when there are other, better maintained hotels in Sausalito.

Tom the manager was super accomodating, friendly, helpful. The views are gorgeous. There are a lot of stairs but if you feel like getting a little exercise, the place is very charming. During the weddings, parking was sometimes a problem but the staff told us where to drive a few blocks to park. This may bother some people but for us, the place was so great otherwise, that we were ok with that. Breakfast was a wonderful buffet with eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, pastries, coffee, juice etc. Couldn't have asked for anything more. We'll stay there again, hopefully soon!

Every visit to San Francisco means a trip to Sausalito and the Alta Mira to stand on their terrace and look at the GREATEST view of the bay including the bridges, Alcratraz and more... you can see the beauty of the hills of San Francisco and surrounding communities. If you have time to stop for brunch or lunch, the hotel serves wonderful food although with the views maybe the food isn't that important. Although a tad expensive the quaint hotel is a romantic overnight stop too.

Warning . . .staying at this place will cost you a lot of money. We paid $263 for adjoining rooms with one room having a view (shared bathroom between rooms). The hotel is outdated, has stains on the carpeting and seems to be in disrepair. The bathroom sink faucet ran all night. The tile in bathroom was outdated gold color. All furniture was broken or in disrepair. The chairs in one of our bedrooms looked like a cat had clawed the fabric and was literally shredded. The wine and cheese reception included sliced cheeses from a deli counter (looked like sandwhich cheese). The breakfast was no better. We stayed in this hotel on 9/28/06. When booking your reservations, you have to pre-pay with a credit card. When we complained to the front desk, the clerk said, "I'm sorry you are not happy, here is your bill". After questioning further, she said that if I was not happy, I could contact the owner in writing. We are warning people to stay clear of this place.

OUR SON WAS MARRIED THERE LAST YEAR, WE RESERVED 3 ROOMS FOR OUR FAMILY, WE FELT LIKE WE WERE PART OF THE MANAGERS AND OWNERS FAMILY, THEY TREATED US LIKE ROYALTY! WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER OUR TIME THERE WITH FOND MEMORIES.

As a local I love to take guest to fabulous places in the area. I recently learned that the Alta Mira is only open for private parties, OK I understand why. I it a one-of-a-kind place, but when I called to verify, a cold voice confirmed. That explains why we were ignored on Mother's Day afternoon when we stopped in for a drink. No one bothered to explain the situration and we walked out. A local friend of mine who spent her honeymoon there many years ago and who has been a visitor for many years stopped by, not knowing it had become private. Her and her guests were told that the locals didn't support them when they were open to the public. ??

I would like to say that this place is one of the greatest places to escape all of your daily grimes. I would go there for a peace of mind retreat anytime!!!!