If it were not for the fact that this place is remote, we would not have stayed. The decor takes eclectic to a whole new level; the furnishings and "art" work did not go with the rustic look of the building. Our room stank as though a toilet had overflowed at one time and there were water stains on the walls to prove it.
The only redeeming qualities were the restaurant and bar. The cocktails we ordered were correct and generous and our dinner was superb. The fish tasted as fresh as if caught the same day and was wonderfully prepared!

We stayed at the Timber Cove in twice in the last two months for one night the first time and two the second. Our standard room the first time was quite small and difficult for two adults to navigate. The second time we opted for a two story loft room with an ocean view. While nicer, it suffered some of the same shortcomings as the smaller, pond view room. The term "rustic" has been used in other reviews; we would say the property is in need of an update. The carpets in both rooms were worn, stained and smelly. Plumbing was tempermental in both rooms. The smaller room had a small tube TV while the loft included a flat screen TV. On the positive side, the ocean view rooms have a lot of natural light. Don't plan on sleeping in if you have a skylight! Cat lovers will be in heaven with the 5 or so resident cats milling about. There is also a family of raccoons that will fearlessly enter your room if you leave the deck or patio door open. [I observed some guests feeding them, which is inadvisable.] And, the location is superb for the many activities of the Sonoma Coast.

Probably the biggest disappoint of all was the terribly slow and inattentive service at the restaurant. We spent nearly three hours for a simple dinner--salad, main course, dessert--one night. The food is nothing special; even the beurre blanc sauce served with the fish special used dried rather than fresh herbs, a travesty in Northern California. Breakfast the next morning was a 90 minute ordeal and "cooked to order" scrambled eggs came out like shoe leather. None of this seemed intentional. In fact, one had the impression that the waitresses were doing everything: taking orders, clearing tables, cooking the food, preparing the drinks, etc.

A better, though more expensive, choice for dinner is Sea Ranch. While it is a drive up the Coast, you'll spend no more time in total and you'll have a much finer meal.

Bottom line: Timber Cove Inn needs to be cleaned up and the level of service in the restaurant needs attention, but there's no serious competitor nearby, so don't count on it. If you're willing to tolerate the inefficient restaurant service and the worn finishings of the room, you'll find yourselves in an ideal location for exploring the Sonoma Coast.

We found Timber Cove on spec as we were driving down the Sonoma coast. At $160 it was a bit more than we'd planned on paying for that particular nights accomodation (2 week whirlwind tour of West USA, accomodation varied from Marriott to Super 8 motel !) but decided to stay as it was getting late.

Having since seen the sizes of some of the other rooms on their website I can see that ours was relatively small but perfectly adequate, clean and homely and the stunning view and proximity of the ocean from our balcony more than compensated. I'd have liked to have left the sliding doors open slightly to hear the sea but that wasn't possible due to the cheeky racoons trying to get in, not that we minded, we didn't put the tv on, just watched the sea and racoons all evening !

I didn't read the brochure until after we'd left and realised we had a good deal as the room rates were almost double what we paid.

The food wasn't cheap but was excellent, we didn't sit in the lounge but its very impressive yet still cosy (can imagine it would be great in the winter)

The location is spectacular, we would have stayed another night but had to get to a pre-booked hotel in San Francisco the following day. I would definitely go back and will recommend Timber Cove to friends.
Cath & Geraint, South Wales, UK

I have seen the ad for Timber Cove Inn for years in the AAA magazine. It looks so enchanting so my husband booked it for our anniversary. The view was awesome. Everything else I did not care for. Anyone who is allergic to cats and doesn't mind cat hair this is your place. I am a animal lover but for someone who is not or is asthmatic or has allergies stay away!
The room was okay but the glass sliding door leading to outside deck looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years! The bathroom had cobwebs and tiles broken from the shower and totally needed to be remodeled! They need to do some upkeep on this place. The gas fireplace leaked gas and my husband had to shut it off completely . When we advised the hotel staff they said the maintenance man would look at it. We never heard from them and when we got back to our room it still wasn't fixed. The staff told us when we checked out, he couldn't fix it. I feel they could have left us a messge on the phone or should have gave some kind of discount.
The dining room is a few steps down from the bar where the cats sit at the bar on the stools and I wonder what keeps them from going into the dining room? The bay window was filthy and the food well I will never eat there again. I would tell anyone stop and look at the view and enter at your own risk!