Timber Cove Inn, Jenner

My finance and I came out to visit our favorite coastal gem. Unfortunately we did receive the best service. We had been traveling all day so as opposed to getting all dressed up for dinner we went to the bar. Personally I feel that the bartender in this lodge can set or break the overall mood. This woman was awful. Not only did she sit there and complain about her job, but she also made everyone feel uncomfortable. She had an attitude, and you were afraid to even ask for a drink. Then to top off the horrible experience she kept on forgetting everyone’s drinks. I wonder if the owner is even aware that a woman like that is setting the presence of the establishment. This was an awful experience, and I doubt we will ever return. It’s too bad, because we really loved this place.

I wish I could give this place 5 stars. After all I got engaged while staying here. However, this joint gets a solid thumbs waaaay down. Don't want to listen to my advice? Here are tips for staying at Timber Cove Inn... 1) If you're coming up the Sonoma Coast, stay in Jenner at the River's End or go straight to Sea Ranch. This bump in the road will leave you with a blister in your wallet and a crick in your neck. 2) If for some reason you did not head #1 and decided to stay at this "pretty as long as you're outside" venue, do not - I repeat - DO NOT let them place you in room #204. It is the "Harry Potter Room under that stairs" complete with non-draining tub (despite plunging), rank order, broken sliding door screen covered in bird poop, stove pipe in the middle of your deck with the "premium seaview". 3) If you've bypassed Tip #1 or #2, do not make reservation online - via their website and especially not Expedia or other online entities. The mgmt of Timber Cover consider you a client of whatever online engine you used and any complaints are not their problem. If you must ignore all heeds to boycott, make your reservation via phone. Ask direct questions about bed size, room location, view. Only 4-5 of the 41 rooms have the views you see on their website...talk about false advertising. 4) If 1-3 haven't convinced you to pass this dive, at least ameliorate your inevitable discomfort by limiting your stay to one night. Anything longer and you'll be forced to either drive 30+ min for a meal or eat laughably mediocre food multiple times a day. Don't let the menu online fool you. Most things will not be available. If they are available, simple things like sautéed scallops are brutalized by some line cook who chose to use leftover bacon from the breakfast buffet instead of pancetta. The simplest creme brulee is baked to the consistency of rubber ducks and topped with burnt (not caramelized) sugar. Can you say, "Quality control"? You're better off having breakfast at Black Bear Diner. 5) If you must absolutely stay in this area, wait for summer and camping season to open.

This is a gorgeous spot. We had no complaints about the facility itself. The food was good, as was the service. A bit pricey, but maybe you can get some sort of discount (we went off-season - weekdays in September.) The biggest caveat is the location - if you want to try another place for dinner, it's 15-20 miles up or down Highway One, not a casual drive. If I go there again, it will be for one or two nights, not four.

Just reviewed the 2007 thru 2010 reviews ... scary. We had a different experience. The room was clean, the towels and linens were good. We had a room with ocean view, fireplace, and outside deck. The fireplace (gas) is also the heater, so we had the sliding door to the deck partially open to 'balance' the fire. That worked great with the added benefit of being able to hear the sounds of the sea. Great views! The food and service in the dining room was excellent. Some have complained about limited choices, but you don't get fresh food in a fifteen table restaurant if you have a giant menu. We got a special deal for the room and dinner which cut the price in half. The 'normal' full price is definitely on the pricey side, so if you are expecting the Ritz Carlton, go to a Ritz Carlton. This is on the 'rustic' side. Picture a big wooden lodge, with great views. It is what it is. We found all of the staff to be quite friendly and helpful.

Room was not clean, room was hot and had to leave door open even with heater off, restaurant had a very poor choice of food and over priced, everything in room is old and tired looking. For a 400 dollar two night stay it was not worth it. The owners of this place must be trying to get every penny out without putting any back

Lets start with the one positive thing, it has a great veiw. My wife and I went there for our 2 year aniversery, we had our room reserved for 2 months in advance, and called 2 weeks in andvance to confirm this. When we arrived to check into our loft room with a jacuzzi on the porch we were told that room no longer EXSITS!!! They were in the middle of a remodel and had removed the jacuzzies from that type of room, so we got a fairly decent room, with an small (barely 2 person) jacuzzi tub. The room had been remodled and was fairly nice. However, every morning at 7am construction began, which if we had known that it was under construction we would not have stayed there, obviously. Next problem, there are 0 services in the area, if you want to eat, drink, buy anything you have to go 30 miles either direction, on hwy 1, which means it will take you 1.5 hrs round trip to get a bottle of wine, or whatever. Because of this, our 2nd (and thankfully last) night, we decided to have our anniversery dinner in the resturant there. HUGE MISTAKE!!!! We ordered steamed muscles for an app, which were fishy and overcooked. We waited 1.5 hrs, in a nearly empty dinning room, to get a steak, which was ok, and my wife to get a prawns dinner, which was overcooked, fishy, sides were undercooked. I complained to the waitress and she compd us some of our drinks, but not all, and our check was still $100!!!! When we asked to speak to the hotel manager we were told she was out for the day. Told them that we were not paying $440 for the service we had recieved over the last 2 days, and she said a manager would call us that day. 1 week later my wife called back to speak with the manager, who was out, but left a message, 1 week after that same thing. It has been a month and we have recieved no calls, so SCREW THAT PLACE!!! Made me feel bad for my wife, you know, anniverseries are about the women in you life, and it really put a damper on ours.

I am a returning patron--I am glad to see that someone is investing in a great hotel and making even better. Each and every employee-including the construction people were beyond friendly. I had a special person with me and she truly had a great time.

This was a great getaway. CA 1 is pretty curvy and windy, but once you get there, the staff is great and helpful! There is nothing around you except the resort itself, so hiking and relaxing is all there is to do. Rooms are good size, rustic wood, nice fireplace, most have hot tubs too.

Compared to all of the other places we stayed on our trip (Vancouver to San Francisco) this place was expensive with poor facilities. Not even coffee making or a fridge in the room. It's all built in an interesting, grand architectural style, and was probably really nice a few years ago, but now everything just seems dusty, outmoded, and a bit depressing. The best thing about the place were the views, and the semi-tame racoons that visit the balconies and gardens.

Timber Cove Inn has ocean views -- period. Obviously the owners are trying to get everything they can from the property without doing any upkeep. Granted it is designed to be rustic but at the prices charged I expect it to at least have clean; towels, bedding, carpet and restaurant. If you want gray towels, see through bedding sheets, a modern pop belly stove (fireplace?), rude staff, and cobwebs stay here. The entire place has an aura of neglect disguised as 'rustic'.