I love where this hotel is located - beautiful! But other than the location, I was rather disappionted in our stay at Occidental Hotel. The bed was extremely firm (very uncomfortable, they need to invest in pillow top beds), and the walls were thin (we could hear the people next to us talking and laughing). We did not sleep well.

We had purposely asked for a quiet room, so we were lucky and got one at the end of the building (on the pool side). The man on the phone mentioned they had added sound-proofing. Unfortuntely, this didn't help, even when we stayed on a Sunday night....

The towels needed a good dose of laundry softener, and the heater in our room was hard to get just right....it got either too hot or too cold, and we wanted it "on" to help drown-out the people next door.

This place was about 15-20 minutes from Bodega Bay which worked well for us. Their rates were also reasonable, which is why we checked them out to begin with. The staff were friendly and helpful. Over-all, I have mixed feeling about this hotel because I feel the owners should invest in better beds and wall insulation. It would have been perfect, and I would have been willing to pay a little more for the room had it provided what we needed!

Spent a hot afternoon ziplining through the redwoods and were anxious to get cleaned up. Selected the Occidental Hotel because it was close to the ziplining. A very sweet lady behind the desk got us registered quickly and told us to always call the Hotel first before signing up through other internet sites to possibly get a better deal. Good thing to know. The room was clean and nicely decored. We had an upstairs King bedroom. There are about 20 or so total rooms, so it's a small hotel. The only things kind of negative were that the upstairs rooms took a long time to get hot water up to the showers and the towels were not very soft. But a great loufa!
The setting was beautiful right along the Bohemian Highway nestled among the trees. I would recommend this hotel to those who want to use it as a jump-off based for the loads of other activities in this area. Also on the place side, we were not put right next to other guests, but the manager spread us out so there wasn't any noise from other guests.

Wifi is kind of sketchy and slow loading. But you didn't come there to be on your computer did you?
We paid $129 + taxes for 1 night. A little expensive, but par for the area. Just take your own towels and be patient with getting hot water if you're upstairs.

There's no getting away from it, the walls here are really thin so invest a few pennies in some earplugs for an undisturbed night. And, yes, it's a motel not a hotel so if you want a business centre, or valet, concierge and room services then you're probably better off on Highway 101. Other than that, for budget accommodation, it's fine. You won't hear the thrum of the ocean here, but it's only a short hop to the pricier Bodega Bay places and the town of Occidental is a delight. The little Mexican diner, La Mariachi, is cheap and cheerful, the Italian restaurant, Negri's, is unpretentious and good and the Bohemian Market is on hand if you get tired of eating out and want to make your own snacks: decent bread, wine, cheese and salami - what else do you need? There are a couple of artsy shops close by and if you pop into Such Fine Things you might get really lucky and hear a live performance by songstress Teresa Tudbury.

Quaint, quiet and relaxing hotel in center of the Occidental. Only 50 steps to excellent breakfast place, a local pub or wine tasting enoteca. Sparkling pool, clean rooms and relaxed atmosphere created by attentive staff. Highly recommend this place for visitors coming to "down shift", take in the Bohemian atmosphere of the town or go Zip-Lining the nearby Canopy Tours.