Need to know
Rooms
21, including one suite.
Check–Out
11am, but flexible, subject to availability and a fee of $50 for an extra four hours. Earliest check-in, 3pm, also flexible for $50. The hotel will need to be notified in advance of any arrivals after 9pm.
Also
Look out for the hotel’s regular experience packages, which have included a ‘wild flower/flour weekend’, celebrating both spellings of the word, with sourdough classes, a baking lesson by a Bakersfield baker (nominative determinism in action), picnic-enhanced trips into the valley to see the wildflowers in bloom, dinners graced by free-growing flora and a tutorial in how grains become flour. Another honoured the hotel’s spiritual animal in lunar form, the Full Buck Moon, with meditations, tea ceremonies and sound baths.
At the hotel
Free WiFi throughout, mercantile, sandwich-laden fridge and pie cupboard, pool table, projector, fire-pits, board games, carpark. In rooms: free filtered water, s’mores kit, Bluetooth radio, tea and coffee kit, air-conditioning, television, minibar and mini fridge, and Further bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Each room has vintage furniture, books and a series of cowboy hats on the wall, and semi-private patios with second-hand furniture sets for sitting out on and getting to know your neighbours. If you’re feeling greedy, book the Enchanted Suite, which has two whole semi-private patios to enjoy. The rooms overlooking the garden (as opposed to the courtyard, lawn and picnic table) are more private.
Poolside
The heated outdoor pool is lined by white parasols, with a sauna and Jacuzzi, too – available for dips and over-heating between 8am and 10pm.
Spa
There’s no spa, just the Jacuzzi and mountain-facing barrel sauna in the pool area.
Packing tips
Your best biker vest and hiker attire for tackling the forest trails. Free up some luggage allowance by leaving the books behind and borrowing some of the vintage reads, instead – titles to pique your studious interest include The Other California and Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey.
Also
The property has ramp access to the outdoor common areas and restaurants, and concrete walkways that are navigable for wheelchair users – but no specially adapted rooms.
Pet‐friendly
Dogs weighing in at under 50lbs can join the community fun for $30 a booking – check availability for a pet-friendly room when you book. They’ll have their own relief area in the grounds. See more pet-friendly hotels in California.
Children
Extra beds can be added to some of the bigger rooms for $30 a night, and there are rooms with two double beds that are ideal for families. The diner has highchairs and a kids’ menu (and chicken tenders so good, the adults will want to order them too).
Sustainability efforts
Local farmers were consulted to help determine the landscaping, all of which is desert-friendly, with an astroturf lawn and all plants picked for their low water usage. The remote setting means goods have to travel a long distance, so as much as possible is sourced from the valley – handily, there are lots of organic farms, ranches and smallholdings nearby.
