Nice ambiance. Be sure to try the patio seating. The riverside chairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Olga Bolotina
Well, I have very mixed feelings about this place. If you are looking for a quiet getaway, this is definitely not it. The river is amazingly beautiful. But that’s nature, and it’s always beautiful. The people at the front desk are very friendly and accommodating, so that’s a huge plus. The office closes at 4 PM though, so if you need anything between 4 PM and 9 AM, there are not many options for you. The units themselves are rustic but clean and cute, in my opinion. They are very basic. The beds are comfortable. I chose to sleep on the pullout bed in the room closer to the river, and it was also comfortable, at least for one person. The loud human component though is unescapable. Yes, of course I knew that it’s right on Highway 1, but that’s not what kept me up at night or early in the morning. From delivery trucks at 5:30 AM, to people cleaning the restaurant at 2 AM with loud noise, to cleaning crews using strong-smelling cleaning products and walking back and forth by you starting at 8 AM while you are trying to enjoy the view of the river and relax, to people walking around the lawn, it all compounds into not a very relaxing stay. And that’s during the slow period in January. Also there is not much privacy between each room’s outside space. It’s a shared balcony with a small enclave for each room. Overall, I would only recommend this place for the restaurant (the food is pricey, but pretty good) and as a stopover on the way to a more peaceful overnight destination.
Sonya Shussel
Have never stayed in here like a hotel, but great ice cream! :)
Manasa Vankayalapati
I stopped here at their restaurant for food. Good place by the river/creek on the coastal route.
Dave Miller
Pricey
JOHN RODRIGUEZ
Great 👍
Gibly Wibly
The most rude and unhappy lady in all of big sur works here, avoid this place if you value customer service.
RoRo
Sleep under the embrace the coast’s giant redwoods while listening to the bubbling river. The room I stayed in was on the river side on the second deck with a great view over the river soaking chairs down below. To be able to rest in a room lined with some of the largest natural wood slabs I’ve ever seen was magical. The rooms were quite dated but still very comfortable and clean. Just to be able to wake up in Big Sur is with the visit. The road noise at night was a bit much but calmed down around 10pm.
Ryan Ingold
Always worth the stop for a drink. It’s best to take your time and sit outside by the River for a nice mental reset.
Anoop
Didn’t stay but I had to cancel my reservation due to scheduling change. I found out that in booking.com I had to pay entire booking to cancel even though the booking was 40 days apart. Gabe helped resolve the issue and helped with cancellation. Appreciate it especially they didn’t have to do it
Long time favorite. Historical lodge and restaurant dating back to 1800's. Updated rooms and restaurant. A must see. Enjoy with your feet in the river. Fantastic food and ambiance.
SeeTheWorld
We got breakfast at The River Inn grocery store and were happy with our choices. I had the bagel breakfast sandwich and my husband had the breakfast burrito. Mine was good, with scrambled eggs, cream cheese and a bit of fresh spinach. My husband's burrito was huge. It had scrambled eggs, sausage, grilled veggies and toppings.
Denise Peckham
We had such high hopes for this place. The check in and out process was relatively simple, but obviously the cleaning staff and desk staff don't communicate so there was confusion as to whether our room was clean. The day we checked out we went to breakfast early and took a short drive and when we returned the cleaning staff was already in our room - before we checked out! The rooms across the street from the main hotel are very small, dated and dark. Perhaps the rooms at the main hotel are different. This was not worth what we paid. Very disappointed.
Kristi Tucker
Amazing place amazing staff all around great
Adrian Everest
We stopped here while cruising highway 1 at Big Sur, as it was it coincided with Carmel Car Week so lots of exotica on the roads, my red mustang included lol 😂
Lovely place to stop, beautiful location, you can sit in the river on relaxing chairs, how cool!
We bought a beer and wine and chips (French fries type) from the outside bar. It was very busy but I think we hit peak lunchtime with the Shelby club having a lunch meeting in the outdoors eating area. We found seating on a bench overlooking the river.
If you’re in the area then defo stop and have a break here. On the day in August there was some fog and wind on the coast but just inland a bit here in Big Sur valley it was super warm and sunny ☀️ 🌞 😎👌
Nice ambiance. Be sure to try the patio seating. The riverside chairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Well, I have very mixed feelings about this place. If you are looking for a quiet getaway, this is definitely not it.
The river is amazingly beautiful. But that’s nature, and it’s always beautiful. The people at the front desk are very friendly and accommodating, so that’s a huge plus. The office closes at 4 PM though, so if you need anything between 4 PM and 9 AM, there are not many options for you.
The units themselves are rustic but clean and cute, in my opinion. They are very basic. The beds are comfortable. I chose to sleep on the pullout bed in the room closer to the river, and it was also comfortable, at least for one person.
The loud human component though is unescapable. Yes, of course I knew that it’s right on Highway 1, but that’s not what kept me up at night or early in the morning. From delivery trucks at 5:30 AM, to people cleaning the restaurant at 2 AM with loud noise, to cleaning crews using strong-smelling cleaning products and walking back and forth by you starting at 8 AM while you are trying to enjoy the view of the river and relax, to people walking around the lawn, it all compounds into not a very relaxing stay. And that’s during the slow period in January. Also there is not much privacy between each room’s outside space. It’s a shared balcony with a small enclave for each room.
Overall, I would only recommend this place for the restaurant (the food is pricey, but pretty good) and as a stopover on the way to a more peaceful overnight destination.
Have never stayed in here like a hotel, but great ice cream! :)
I stopped here at their restaurant for food. Good place by the river/creek on the coastal route.
Pricey
Great 👍
The most rude and unhappy lady in all of big sur works here, avoid this place if you value customer service.
Sleep under the embrace the coast’s giant redwoods while listening to the bubbling river. The room I stayed in was on the river side on the second deck with a great view over the river soaking chairs down below. To be able to rest in a room lined with some of the largest natural wood slabs I’ve ever seen was magical. The rooms were quite dated but still very comfortable and clean. Just to be able to wake up in Big Sur is with the visit. The road noise at night was a bit much but calmed down around 10pm.
Always worth the stop for a drink. It’s best to take your time and sit outside by the River for a nice mental reset.
Didn’t stay but I had to cancel my reservation due to scheduling change. I found out that in booking.com I had to pay entire booking to cancel even though the booking was 40 days apart. Gabe helped resolve the issue and helped with cancellation. Appreciate it especially they didn’t have to do it
Restaurantji Recommends
Long time favorite. Historical lodge and restaurant dating back to 1800's.
Updated rooms and restaurant. A must see. Enjoy with your feet in the river. Fantastic food and ambiance.
We got breakfast at The River Inn grocery store and were happy with our choices. I had the bagel breakfast sandwich and my husband had the breakfast burrito. Mine was good, with scrambled eggs, cream cheese and a bit of fresh spinach. My husband's burrito was huge. It had scrambled eggs, sausage, grilled veggies and toppings.
We had such high hopes for this place. The check in and out process was relatively simple, but obviously the cleaning staff and desk staff don't communicate so there was confusion as to whether our room was clean. The day we checked out we went to breakfast early and took a short drive and when we returned the cleaning staff was already in our room - before we checked out!
The rooms across the street from the main hotel are very small, dated and dark. Perhaps the rooms at the main hotel are different. This was not worth what we paid. Very disappointed.
Amazing place amazing staff all around great
We stopped here while cruising highway 1 at Big Sur, as it was it coincided with Carmel Car Week so lots of exotica on the roads, my red mustang included lol 😂
Lovely place to stop, beautiful location, you can sit in the river on relaxing chairs, how cool!
We bought a beer and wine and chips (French fries type) from the outside bar.
It was very busy but I think we hit peak lunchtime with the Shelby club having a lunch meeting in the outdoors eating area. We found seating on a bench overlooking the river.
If you’re in the area then defo stop and have a break here.
On the day in August there was some fog and wind on the coast but just inland a bit here in Big Sur valley it was super warm and sunny ☀️ 🌞 😎👌
Free WCs available for customers.
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