Checking in (Again) at Casa Madrona in Sausalito

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed)
Jun 18th 2010 at 4:01PM

Casa Madrona was the first hotel in California that I ever truly loved. I first visited in the late 1990s, when a dear friend got married, at sunset, on the patio of the Mikayla restaurant, overlooking the bay towards Tiburon and San Francisco. I returned several times after that, but hadn't been back since the hotel went through a major expansion in 2002, and oh yes, bankruptcy, foreclosure and sale at auction.

When I stayed a few weeks ago, Terra Resort Group had just been engaged to manage the property.

The hotel started its life in 1855 as a mansion, and the historic section (pictured above) appears to be just as charming as ever. The 2002 expansion, in my opinion, was unfortunate. It's perfectly nice, but entirely contemporary, the type of room you can find anywhere - a missed opportunity, if you ask me. The contemporary part of the hotel is also closer to the street than the historic rooms which are set back on the hill, so you do get more street noise. I'll have to poke back in once Terra has had a chance to get its bearings, but I'll definitely request one of the older rooms.

And oh, as of now, the lovely Mikayla restaurant is closed, replaced by a street-level restaurant Poggio. It serves top-notch Italian food, but it doesn't have the bay view that made dining at Casa Madrona so special.

Tags: bay area, california, casamadrona, hotel renovation, HotelsInTrouble, sausalito, terra