Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa, Bodega

The lack of business ethics and professionalism are enough to convince me to NEVER GO HERE AGAIN. I personally witnessed the owner, Johannes, take a 1/2full handle of vodka from the bar (at a wedding), then proceed to fill it up with WATER, then return it to the bartender!!! The kitchen is rampant with moldy food, and I'm surprised no one has died yet. The wedding I attended had passed appetizers that were straight-out-of-the-package from COSTCO! -no joke!! The power generator went out in the middle of the wedding, leaving 80+guests and a band in the dark...owners no where to be found for 20minutes, when they finally were found, they didn't know what to do and the jerk blamed the band, stating that the music was too loud. I almost died of laughing...the volume of the music doesn't cause a power failure. The worst of the worst was when Ingrid, the other owner & Johannes' wife was collecting USED water bottles off tables and from the trash then REFILLED THEM!! I hate to say it, but you know it's coming...she then returned the bottles to the bar, where guests took them and drank them. In one of the buildings, I went in to use a restroom, and it smelled like nothing I have ever smelled before. I can't even describe how foul it smelled. I asked one of the waiters what the smell was and he said that an animal had gotten inside and died but that they don't know where the dead carcass is. So, instead of hiring someone, Ingrid has been spraying air freshener. DO NOT GET MARRIED HERE, DO NOT STAY HERE OVER NIGHT, DON'T EVEN WASTE YOUR GAS AND TIME TO SEE THE PLACE. It's a joke, and has NO RIGHT to be advertised as a "spa" or as a "resort"!

The SCV was a wonderful place to have some peace and quiet. The grounds were maintained very nicely, and the staff was very helpful. After reading the negative comments, we didn't experiance anything other than the innkeepers trying to make our stay pleasant. The innkeepers work very hard paying much attention to detail and of course running, a business that they truly enjoy. The rooms were large with a nice fireplace, windowseat to read on. The rooms were quiet, not hearing anything or anyone. SCV was full the weekend we were there, but we felt we were about the only ones there. The food was WONDERFUL. We had dinner brought to our room one evening and it was fantastic and the breakfast was something to look forward to. The hotel is 5 miles from Bodega Bay, and it seems many people think that because of the name it is on the coast but it isn't and we were not disappointed. We knew ahead of time that it sat on 60 acres among the rolling hills. We enjoyed our time there so much we are looking forward to returning soon. SCV might not be for everyone, if they are looking for a large hotel type service and location, for SCV is a small (16 rooms) bed and breakfast, out in the middle of the hills, being run by innkeepers that this is their life.

Bad management, unfriendly environment, unwelcoming host. you are better off staying in tent.

Out of the hundreds of places I have stayed traveling around the world, this was my worst experience ever. I just hope others don't go through the same. I would never go back. The innkeepers (Johannes more than likely was the owner) was grumpy and unfriendly. I have never been treated this bad before. Almost felt like walking away. Dont waste your time and money, you are most likely to get disappointed. I wish we read the reviews before going as most of them are negative.

First, the somewhat positives… The SCV is located right off of Highway One in a beautiful area of Sonoma County. It was relatively easy to get to from the 101. The rooms were nice; however, at $285+ a night, a little updating would be great. The room had a lovely fireplace; however, the room smelled strongly of a campfire. We had breakfast one morning which was very good. The grounds up front were well kept. Yet, after passing behind the spa, they became depilated and creepy. The putting green was a nice touch. I did not have the opportunity to use the spa facilities. Now, the negatives… The proprietors of the SCV should find another line of business. Unfriendly and rude would not adequately describe our “hosts.” Upon arrival at the SCV, we did not feel welcome. It took approximately 15 minutes for the male innkeeper to make an appearance. In all honesty, he kind of seemed annoyed that we were staying with him. (Is our money no good!?!) Showing us our room seemed like a chore. I think he was none too pleased when we asked him for a restaurant recommendation in town as opposed to his $50+/person without alcohol room service. In the middle of the night, the smoke detector began to beep due to a low battery. Based upon our welcome, we decided to take the detector down as opposed to bother the innkeepers. The next morning, we reported the beeping detector to the innkeeper which was met with a brunt brush off. We quickly ate our breakfast and set out for the day of exploration. Upon returning to the SCV, we noticed our belongings in our room had been moved around in a “Single White Female” kind of way. At that point in time, we decided to check out a night early where we were reprimanded for not thanking our “host” for breakfast. The reason why we like to visit BBs is the personalized service. The SCV has a lot to learn… As fellow human beings, we want everyone to do well. However, the SCV should go out of business or go under new management. A night in San Quentin would have been more relaxing.

My husband and I went there for our honeymoon. It was not what we expected at all. Why does this hotel come up on the Bodega Bay hotel searches? You cannot see Bodega Bay from there. It's far from Bodega Bay, not even walking distance. In fact, you're in the middle of a cow patch. The only views you get are of cow patches and dry grass. There were no other guests the whole time we were there. Now I know why. Holiday Inn rooms with Sheraton hotel prices. The pool is a pond. The putting green is an eyesore, not like the web pic. The man at the desk, Johannes, I presume, would not let me cancel our reservation once I saw what they had to offer. Must be the only way they can make any money. We'll never go back, telling all my family, friends, co-workers not to waste their money here. Even if you want quiet and solitude I could not recommend this place. There are much nicer hotels with just as much quiet and they won't charge you these ludicrous rates.

The location is out of the way on Highway 1. You have to be ready for it as you travel, it comes up on you quickly. However, once inside, you are transported to an Italian villa, with all of the amenities. The rooms are nicely appointed to the point of luxurious and clean; the location is quiet and you can do as much or as little as you would like on your visit. Only 5 miles from Bodega Bay, the villa is within easy reach of several less visited spots in Sonoma County and the coast that make it worth while. I highly recommend it.

My wife and I recently had our wedding at the SC Villa. We were really looking forward to the wedding and had spent m,onths planning every detail. All of our chosen vendors were the best and very professional including Wisteria Florists, America's Party Rental, Zoom Photography, Angelica Dessert Boutique, and Oye Productions. We only hads to meet with each vendor once which is unheard of. However with SC Villa and the owner/couple of Johannes and Ingrid this was a different story. We had read the reviews and met the people so we had our apprehentions but decided to put our faith in them to do a good job. Bad idea. Our guest list was around 125 people and we had rented the whole Inn for two nights and three days. First the positives: 1. Beautiful location 2. Intimate location 3. Good food 4. Nice rooms 5. If you are only a party of two and want to be left alone and don't require any services then this may be a good place for you to go Now the negatives (believe evry negative review you read - they are true) 1. Unapolgetically terrible service especially for the premium prices being charged 2. Owners complained about everything from having to stay up to "noisy" guests 3. The owners are cheap and do not hire enough staff or make enough ffod to feed all of the guests 4. The "ice-queen" as another reviewer put it is spot on. She made our older and handicapped guests climb stairs to use bathrooms. She and her husband made false claims about our guests (which is affluent guest list) and they would fight and argue with our guests 5. There is no attention to detail or style when putting together an event luckily our family members do and they were able to put together all of the table settings before the reception began otherwise it would not have been done 6. Johannes the owner called the Sheriff on my wife when she asked for a detailed list of charges before paying - highly professional on his part I must say and shows his lack of integrity and lack of knowledge of the law (the sheriff laughed at him) Anyway, the list goes on with too many details and screw ups to mention in a review,needless to say I would find other venues. However, do look into the other vendors I mentioned above you will not be sorry. If you mention this review to Johannes I guarantee he will have a long list of answers to each item. As he did for us when we mentioned the negative reviews. Do not believe him he will lie and then manipulate the situation.