Benbow Historic Inn
445 Lake Benbow Dr, Garberville, CA 95542-3616
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Room & Suite (244)
Dining (99)
About
#1 of 5 hotels in Garberville
Location
4.5
Cleanliness
4.4
Service
4.3
Value
3.9
Opened in 1926, Benbow is a magnificent country inn that will transport you into an era from long ago. Fine dining options are offered for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in on-site restaurant and lounge which features a robust wine list. As a member of Historic Hotels of America and on the National Register of Historic Places the Benbow has kept it's grandeur while adding modern amenities such as climate control hotel wide, ADA accessible rooms, five stop elevator. Amenities include daily tea & scones, in room sherry & coffee, complimentary bicycles, seasonal pool & Jacuzzi, splash park, playground, meeting spaces, wedding venues, hiking & biking trails abound. Located on the Eel River near the entrance to the Avenue of the Giants. A must see at the Benbow Exit 636 off US Highway 101. When available two pets are allowed in designated rooms with a $30 pet fee per visit.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Pool
Bar / lounge
Bicycle rental
Game room
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Conference facilities
Electric vehicle charging station
Parking
Wifi
Outdoor pool
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Complimentary Instant Coffee
Complimentary tea
Kids' meals
Outdoor dining area
Wine / champagne
Golf course
Patio
Walking tours
Board games / puzzles
Banquet room
Meeting rooms
Convenience store
Newspaper
Non-smoking hotel
Outdoor fireplace
Outdoor furniture
Shared lounge / TV area
Sun terrace
24-hour front desk
Self-serve laundry
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Room features
Bathrobes
Air conditioning
Desk
Fireplace
Housekeeping
Coffee / tea maker
Sofa bed
Walk-in shower
Private balcony
Seating area
Sofa
Telephone
Bottled water
Clothes rack
Iron
Private bathrooms
Tile / marble floor
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Bath / shower
Complimentary toiletries
Hair dryer
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Room types
Mountain view
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Great View
Languages Spoken
English
Location
Contact
445 Lake Benbow Dr, Garberville, CA 95542-3616
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+1
My stay at Benbow was exceptional. My room was nicely decorated and quite comfortable. The meals and drinks were delicious. The serenity and surroundings were great. 50 years on my bucket list ✔️ Pure heaven
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
I stayed here overnight before a fishing trip on the nearby Eel River. The Inn is nestled among towering redwood trees; the drive up on Rte 101 is beautiful, but the highway that is 4 lanes of freeway in the San Francisco area becomes a two lane highway north of Ukia.. Driving late at night was a bit of a challenge. The Inn is comfortable if a bit dated. There are several amenities like a golf course and spa that I didn't sample. The dining room does not start serving breakfast till 8 am, after I was meeting my fishing guide, and was closed long before I arrived at nearly midnight, so I can't speak to the cuisine. Coffee, both regular and decaf, is available in thermoses starting at 6 am. PRO TIP: if you put the Inn into Google Maps it will sent you into Garberville, and give you precise directions to....the middle of town. The Inn is in Benbow, a separate exit on 101 that drops you practically directly into the hotel's parking lot. …
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled solo
Value
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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+1
I had the most wonderful experience at the Benbow Historic Inn once again. The hotel was the venue for a celebration of life event, with a lovely, midday meal served to over 200 guests. I booked a room to treat a friend celebrating her birthday and we had a great time dining in the hotel lounge. A hike around the grounds the next morning was beautiful.
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Date of stay: January 2023Trip type: Traveled with friends
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: I love checking out the inn's garden and grounds. We were served brussel sprouts grown on site....
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
My husband, 20 year old son, & I stayed @ Benbow Inn for 3 nights during the Christmas 2022 weekend. We enjoyed two breakfasts & Christmas Eve dinner @ Benbow Inn’s restaurant. Over the past 27 years, we have stayed @ Benbow Inn more than a dozen times, always enjoying at least one meal. The food has always been above average. However, this time, the food and service were excellent! The special Christmas Eve dinner was fabulous!!! The soup and salad were unique. A relative joined us, and among the 4 of us, we had 3 different entrees; that were all superb. The service was prompt and friendly. We did not know in advance that our relative would be able to join us, and the hostess cheerfully accommodated the extra seat (it was a very busy night, likely with more customers than the restaurant had served in one night in many years). Our waitress indicated the restaurant’s Sous Chef had recently been promoted to Head Chef. A brilliant move; please retain him or her!!!!…
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Date of stay: December 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Our family stayed here for two nights over Thanksgiving in 2022. We were in California to visit the redwoods, and this was a great location. Only a 15-minute drive from the south entrance of the Avenue of the Giants on Highway 101. The grounds are beautiful with lots of flowers. Parking is easy with plenty of spots just 1 minute from the front door. The check-in process was easy, and the staff was friendly. We had 2 rooms. We ate breakfast one morning in the dining room, and then we also had Thanksgiving dinner here. Self-serve guest laundry facilities are not available on site, but there are washing machines and dryers at the RV park down the road .5 miles. This was very convenient; $2 per wash/dry, RV park has quarters and detergent available. Laundry room is open 24 hours (but you need to get a keycard from the RV office staff). Pros: location; friendly staff; parking; room rates were reasonable; beautiful grounds; dining room and bar area/restaurant lobby was very nice. Cons: Not enough towels; one of our rooms had a bad smell (it wasn’t worth it to us to raise it with management - we just dealt with it because I’m not sure what they could have done anyway); the antique furniture was nice, but the art and interior design needs a serious upgrade (this was our largest issue; the inn seems content to just leave things the way they have been for decades, which is fine I suppose if you want “quaint” or are a guest who has been coming here for years, but it’s a turn-off to those who don’t fit in those categories). If they upgraded their art and interior design, they could have a really nice inn. The Thanksgiving dinner was just okay, which was disappointing for $69 per person plus tax and drinks (stuffing was a bit over cooked, soup portion was small, Turkey was meh). But we were glad to find a nice place for Thanksgiving dinner while on vacation, especially one that could accommodate the vegan in our group. The other disappointing thing was that scones and tea were advertised as being from 3 PM until 4 PM. We arrived at 3:12 PM, and got the last four scones. Once we took the last four scones, the staff immediately cleaned up the entire tea service. As a result, as we sat there eating our scones and tea, we saw several groups come in after us who looked around and were confused because they could not find where the tea and scones were. We even heard some of them remark to themselves that tea must’ve been from 2 PM to 3 PM, and so they missed it. If you are going to advertise scones and tea from 3 PM until 4 PM, you need to have enough for the entire hour, even if that means you need to out out a second tray. In addition, the scones really were not that tasty anyway, certainly not made in-house.…
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Date of stay: November 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
I've stayed at the Benbow several times in the past 40 years. I visited a couple of years ago when the Inn was under construction. I understand changes needed to be made but it's not been the same. The warm welcoming charm of the Inn has drifted...pretentiousness has taken over. The staff, while not rude, can barely be bothered to give you more than cliff notes on your stay. Our "historic" queen room was not only a stuffy relic, they still haven't fixed the lack of hot water. Signs plead with us to conserve water yet if you want anything above tepid you must let it run for several minutes. The bedding looked as if purchased at a thrift store, circa 1970. The sheets were thin and stiff and comforter lacking in warmth with no extra blanket provided for the drafty room. The bed was hastily made. I had to pull the corners of the sheets over the lumpy cheap mattress so they would stop popping off. The pillows no better than the lumpy mattress. No refrigerator, microwave but the cheapest pod-type coffee maker was provided. $30 for 2 pieces of uncooked lukewarm french toast, bacon cooked into curls of grease and tiny glass of orange juice. I'm so sad to see this happen to a place that once held so much history and grace. We drove up 101 and out to the coast and for $120 less we stayed in a room twice the size of the room at Benbow. We had a beautiful view of the ocean, microwave, coffee maker, refrigerator, King size comfortable bed with crisp soft linens and extra blanket and pillows. The person on staff was welcoming and helpful encouraging us to let her know if we needed anything. We had instant hot water and a sink separate from the bathroom with a hair dryer, soaps, shampoo and conditioner and a ‘shaving mirror’. There was a big screen TV and free wi-fi. The room clean and flooded with natural light. We’re already planning our next stay. We will not be returning to the Benbow Inn.…
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Really loved this place. What a classic. Beautiful in every way. Rooms were terrific but not inexpensive. Excellent grounds. Two terraces upstairs for drinks or dining. Restaurant is old school in appearance. Loved it. Service is solid, as is the food. Plenty of parking. Pet-friendly. I'd return should I happen to be passing through this area again.
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
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Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Andy L wrote a review Oct 2022
We splurged on a founders room for this our 33rd aniversary. The room we booked(Leta's) was undergoing maintenance so they gave us Joe's suite, which has an even better view! They also gave us a complimentary bottle of champaings which was a really nice surprise. I havent been here in about 10 years. The Hotel is still an awesome place, full of great antuiques. They added an annex with an elevator which is nice, and also sprinklers, ADA upgrades etc. We had a great time and will stay here again. I feel it has lost a little of its prior charm with the upgrades however. Suggest adding some more refining touches to the bathroom to cousy it up a bit. The tub and view were superp, but the bathroom itstelf is cavernoius and empty. Woudl also benefit from a shower door. Our dinner experience lacked the freindly smileing faces, and well trained waiters/waiteresses I have enjoyue there in the past. The crazy hunt for breakfast and coffee the next morning was dissapointing, which dampened the overall experience. The dining room used to be so fantiastic and they had great coffee out early in the am. That was missing from this trip. We had to pay $40 for two small coffees, and half cold breakfasts burrito's to go. I also had to walk into the kitchen to ask for cream twice.…
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
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Service
Room Tip: Schedule time to enjoy the property!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
We recently celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary here at the Benbow Inn. The setting offered a romantic evening where the room was private and quiet. From the time we checked in to when we checked out we found the staff's service was cheerful and accommodating. We enjoyed two wonderful meals, the brunch served on the terrace and the dinner in the restaurant. Both meals were delicious.
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Date of stay: September 2022
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
My wife and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary and decided to try the culinary offerings of the Benbow Historic Inn. We were greeted by our bartender, Courtney, as she served up excellent libations to begin our celebration. After drinks, we were warmly greeted by the dining room hostess, Taylor. Taylor seated us at a beautiful patio table overlooking the East Branch of the Eel River framed with the historic stone bridge. Our server's assistant, Jonah, was very prompt with our water and cheery personality. Moments later our server Heather arrived to explain the menu and answered all of our questions with confidence and poise. When our food arrived, amazing fails to adequately describe how delicious our meal was. Chef Ethan created an absolutely delicious combination to satisfy our appetite. This is my first time writing a review for any business, but I proudly recommend the Benbow Historic Inn for an absolutely wonderful fine dining experience. Thank you for making our 31st wedding anniversary so special.…
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Date of stay: September 2022
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
PRICE RANGE
$251 - $314 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
benbow inn
LOCATION
United StatesCaliforniaHumboldt CountyGarberville
NUMBER OF ROOMS
65
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Claim Your ListingBENBOW HISTORIC INN - Updated 2023 Prices & Hotel Reviews (Garberville, CA)
Frequently Asked Questions about Benbow Historic Inn
Which popular attractions are close to Benbow Historic Inn?
Nearby attractions include Richardson Grove State Park (3.3 miles), Legend of Big Foot (2.3 miles), and Julia Morgan Redwood Grove (0.2 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Benbow Historic Inn?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, a pool, and an on-site restaurant.
Which room amenities are available at Benbow Historic Inn?
Top room amenities include air conditioning, a desk, and a fireplace.
What food & drink options are available at Benbow Historic Inn?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and breakfast during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Benbow Historic Inn?
Conveniently located restaurants include Benbow Inn Restaurant, Woodrose Cafe, and Eel River Cafe.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Benbow Historic Inn?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Are pets allowed at Benbow Historic Inn?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.
Does Benbow Historic Inn offer any business services?
Yes, it conveniently offers meeting rooms, a banquet room, and conference facilities.
Does Benbow Historic Inn have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the river view available here.
Is Benbow Historic Inn accessible?
Yes, it offers reduced mobility rooms. For specific inquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.