Those who venture into West Marin County are forsaking the world of Hyatts and Holiday Inns.
Instead, visitors will find inns, guest houses and bed and breakfasts of all kinds, and in many of them, helpful hosts, charming antiques and homey atmosphere. A traveler should not, however, expect standard hotel conveniences. Of four B&B rooms my wife and I slept in during February, one offered a television; none had telephones. The happiest travelers in West Marin arrive with this in mind, and do not attempt to remain in daily contact with the office or Dan Rather.The listings below begin with four unscientifically chosen places where my wife and I stayed, followed by several places I looked through. All the prices below are for a double room, and exclude Marin County's 10 percent tax on lodgings. Most lodgings have a two-night minimum for Friday-Saturday stays. And be sure to ask about children: Many B&Bs are reluctant to house them.
Casa del Mar (37 Belvedere Ave., Stinson Beach 94970). A villa-style, two-story building at the foot of Mount Tamalpais, the Casa del Mar has an elaborate garden and an innkeeper, Rick Klein, who makes first-rate breakfasts while guests sit at a long, blond-wood table. Bright colors, splashy works by local artists on the walls, half a block walk to the shops and restaurants of tiny downtown Stinson Beach. Four rooms, a bit shy on storage space. Rates: $100-$225.
Roundstone Farm (9940 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Olema 94950). The setting is a 10-acre horse farm, but the inside of the B&B is more roomy and tidy than ranchy. Breakfast is served in an informal dining room downstairs, next to a spacious living room with bookshelves, couches and green valley views. Five rooms. Rates: $115-$125.
Hotel Inverness (25 Park Ave., Inverness 94937). Once a four-story hotel, this 1906 shingle-walled place has over the years been renovated down to two stories and five rooms. (A handsome white stairwell on the second floor leads nowhere.) The bold interiors - one room has red walls, another yellow, another blue - were designed by co-owner Susie Simms. Rooms are smallish, but space is very well used and atmosphere is wonderfully woodsy. One quibble: When breakfast was delivered to our room, the only table to put it on was so low that we had to sit on the floor to eat. Rates: $100-$115.
Carriage House (P.O. Box 1239, Point Reyes Station 94956). Set in a residential neighborhood, the Carriage House resembles a remodeled suburban garage: box shape, undistinguished style, one suite downstairs, one upstairs. But for a weeklong stay, the place could be family-friendly: Each suite is really a one-bedroom apartment with fully outfitted kitchen, wood-burning stove and windows that let in lots of morning light. Children welcome. First warning: The property is being offered for sale ($845,000 for the two suites and a larger separate home on a roomy lot), so status could change. Rates: $100 without breakfast, $120 with.
Among other options in West Marin:
Manka's Inverness Lodge (P.O. Box 1110, Inverness 94937). A 1917 hunting lodge, now a B&B and restaurant. Rates: $95-$160.
Stinson Beach Motel (Box 64, Stinson Beach 94970). Nothing fancy here. Six small, basic, clean rooms with strictly functional furniture. Good location on main drag, but might be vulnerable to traffic noise. Rates: $50-$65.
Olema Inn (10000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Olema 94950). Opened July 4, 1876, restored in 1988. Antique furniture, top-notch restaurant downstairs, cars from nearby country crossroads occasionally audible. Six rooms. Rates: $85-$105.
Point Reyes Seashore Lodge (P.O. Box 39, Olema 94950). The lodge is not historic - it's not quite five years old - but is done up in attractive woods and placed near the National Seashore entrance. With 21 rooms, it looks more like a hotel than a B&B, but breakfast is included. Rates: $85-$175.
Smiley's Schooner Saloon and Hotel (41 Wharf Road, Bolinas 94924). A budget alternative with character. Rates: $49.50-$69.50.
Three lodging services operate as clearinghouses for dozens more inns and cottages of widely varied prices. Coastal Lodging Point Reyes National Seashore. Inns of Point Reyes. West Marin Network. - Christopher Reynolds.