Seal Cove Inn

I’m writing this as a vendor review. I recently was chosen to be the photographer for a wedding at seal cove inn as part of one of their packages and Kelly, the owner, was an absolute pleasure to work with. The inn is as picturesque as I could have ever dreamed and the back yard is one of my most favorite spots to shoot at, Fitzgerald marine reserve. I was so in love with this place that I’m planning a staycation there very soon!

I opted for the wedding package at the Seal Cove Inn, and it was absolutely fantastic. The «one-​stop shopping» made it all so easy, as Kelly took care of everything. All I had to do is show up and enjoy the day. Being able to rent the whole Inn for family is awesome, as no one has to travel anywhere. The food and the service were marvelous. I could not have asked for a more beautiful event to celebrate new beginnings. As for the rooms, almost every guest told me that the beds were so comfortable, and that they had a great night sleep. Breakfast was awesome for those who wanted healthy options or an «on the go» option.
Kelly and John, thanks for making our day so special.

Just was at this beautiful little gem. Amazing modern well appointed rooms. Highly recommend a stay with a great location to get in touch with nature and relax.

My husband and I spent our 1 year wedding anniversary here this past weekend. We had amazing relaxing weekend. The place is beautiful. Kevin who works there, who I thought was the owner because his hospitality was phenomenal. He made us feel at home and had a great personality! We will defiantly be back again! Thanks Kevin!

Wanted to take my wife and 3 year old daughter here for our 10 year wedding anniversary, but the lady on the phone sounded like she did not want to help us book the room once she heard the word, ‘child’.

I have nothing but positive things to say about our stay here. This place is about an hour from us in the South Bay and it was the perfect place for a weekend getaway. We arrived here at about 4pm and went to La Costañera (an amazing restaurant) that evening per their recommendation. The next day we checked out after enjoying a lovely breakfast and spent the day in Half Moon Bay. The room was beautiful, the bathroom was clean (I especially enjoyed the towel warmer), the walks were beautiful as well as the view.

If there were more stars to give I would. From the first second we drove up we were beyond impressed. Service was gracious but not too invasive. You walk into the inn which smells like lavender and eucalyptus and are immediately relaxed. The rooms were gorgeous. Spotless. Quiet. Bath products were wonderful. Enjoyed a gorgeous walk through the woods down to the most beautiful beach. Indulged by the gorgeous but cozy fireplace sipping on our complimentary glasses of wine while reading magazines. Fireplace also in our bedroom which was a great touch. Breakfast was presented very beautifully and tastes just as well. Would love to return for a birthday or some other special event. Bought the locally made lotion in the lobby so that I could always remember the essence of the inn and our wonderful stay.

My wife and I really enjoyed our stay. Very private, well appointed and quiet. Access to beautiful coast trails and walking distance from Moss Point Distillery. Highly recommended.

It’s the little things that make such a memorable experience. Like arriving on your honeymoon to find a handwritten note of congratulations from the managers. Such a classy touch. We really enjoyed visiting with Kevin — super friendly and supportive staff. The building was immaculately clean. We loved the heated towel rack — what a cool modern touch in an older building!
A few hiccups — our fireplace did not work when we arrived, and because we showed up at 9:30PM, we had to wait for our an on call staff member to drive out and move us to another room. Typical for any B&B. Even in the new room with a working fireplace, we still had issues with the thermostat. We went to bed freezing and woke up in a furnace. Minor problems in the long run.
Fantastic breakfast the next morning, and really enjoyed walking around the beautiful grounds and the beach. The building is lovely and fun to stay at, even in the winter. We’d certainly recommend!

I had to come back & edit this bc it was simply too long. In short — My bff chose this lovely Inn to celebrate my 45^th birthday on our girls get away weekend. Here’s the basics:
Upsides– The grounds are beautiful, the place itself is spotless, it provides a peaceful & romantic ambiance & environment.
The wine reception is fantastic & breakfast the next morning was absolutely delicious.
While Kevin neglected to offer us any refreshments, I did overhear him offering them to another couple checking in behind us. He was actually great! He gave us a tour of the property, escorted us to our room & took the time to personally walk us out to the trail that leads down to the beach.
Downsides– Apparently, even though they have a temperature control thermostat, they dont have AC. Our host, Kevin must also be unaware of this, as I would think that he would have mentioned that when he came up to see why it wasnt working. Thank goodness he was able to help rectify the issue by bringing us a fan.
The mini frig was also broken (as both our host & hostess tried adjusting the temperature to no avail) & the hors d’oeuvres previous nights dinner spoiled!
The check out process was horrible & even though we were offered a $ 25.00 concession to help compensate for the loss of our dinner (which was to be taken off of the bill at check out) we were still charged for it.
Arguing with the clients & talking behind their backs. I clearly overheard our hostess, Debbie when she went into the back office to complain to the owner, Kelly «pft! Now they are complaining about the concession not being removed from the bill». Kelly response was neither appropriate or true. We opted to wait for the receipt but Debbie could not get the printer to work stated that she would email us the receipt. Sadly, instead of a receipt, we received a BILL for the remaining $ 25.00!
Overall, it is the POOR TREATMENT we received that has really us left with a sour taste for the Seal Cove Inn. The combination of the snotty comments & rude gestures is what has caused us to reconsider ever returning.
We are neither sure if this poor treatment was due to the fact that we are two females traveling & staying together nor if it was due to our ethnicity. No matter which is the case, its not a good practice to give your guests the impression that you are judging them or treating them with any less respect than your other clients, based on their race or your perception of their orientation.
We loved this place & looked forward to returning, but needless to say that after that experience, no we will NOT be returning to the Seal Cove Inn, nor would I recommend this establishment to anyone else. There are plenty of other beautifully charming inns in the Half Moon Bay region who will gladly take our money and treat us with the respect we deserve.

FINALLY … a lodging place run the way I’d run a lodging establishment if I had one. They strive on perfection and it shows. Of course, there is no such thing as perfection and they may want to look at the molding that prevents the fridge door under the coffee machine from closing all the way. The place exude calmness and serenity. A bit pricey but worth it. I’m hoping they have a 1 night minimum instead of 2 in the winter.

This is a lovely Inn. The location is good and the staff wonderful. Unfortunately I cannot give it more than 3 stars because of the disappointing breakfast. At these prices I expect a hot gourmet breakfast which you always find in top notch Inns. A mini pastry, coffee and/​or granola or a cold hard boiled egg does match up with the otherwise nice Inn. We have stayed in Inns in California and across the country and Europe. This is the first time we have been disappointed with the breakfast offered. If not for the disappointing breakfast, I would give it 4 plus stars.

Incredible experience! Value has not increased with price.
Seal Cove Inn has been my annual secret hideaway the last 4 years. I look forward to the serene cypress walks along the Pacific cliffs and private beach every time. It’s really a piece of paradise. The rooms are large, comfortable and modern with cozy fireplaces and balconies or 1^st-​floor verandas with a lovely garden view. You can borrow their beach bikes, write on a private cliff over the ocean, and watch a sunset close to seals on the beach. It’s unbelievable. Even better is the staff that makes you feel like you’re coming home vs. checking into a hotel. Friendly, engaging and with afternoon wine and cookies and a terrific morning breakfast. You can’t lose here!
Except in money. The inn was recently sold to new owners who have preserved a lot of its charm and made some nice, basic improvements; however, not enough to increase the price $ 100−200+/night. While I appreciate them valuing their assets, which are indeed valuable, I don’t think I’ll continue paying 33%+ more for maybe a 5% increase in value.

We spent our 20^th wedding anniversary here in room 1. From beginning to the end of our stay, everything was perfect. We were greeted promptly and checked right into our room. Everything was so clean and well decorated. We had a ground floor room with patio– we sat out in the afternoon sun, watched birds and bunnies hop around the garden! We had some delicious wine served from 5−6pm in the lobby and then took a walk on one of the many nearby trails to watch the sunset. Moss Beach Distillery is walking distance from the inn for dinner and sunset on their patio next to the fire pits.
Morning breakfast was delivered at 9am to our room– you can also choose to eat in the dining room or have your meal packaged up to take to the beach! We opted for the mimosas ($ 10 charge) –breakfast is complimentary and delicious.
We loved the noon checkout time so we could lounge around for awhile. Overall, a wonderful, relaxing stay. We will be back for sure!

We had such an AMAZING experience at Seal Cove Inn! From the moment we pulled up, to the moment we (sadly) drove off we were impressed and so happy we chose to stay here! (Make sure you check out my photos of this gorgeous property!)
Kelly was so helpful! She showed us to our room, around the property and even how to use the amazing espresso maker in the lobby (which we took full advantage of).
When it came time for dinner she helped us find our way to The Distillery, even giving us a map and a flashlight in case it was getting dark on our walk back!
Our room was gorgeous! So light, beautifully decorated and CLEAN!!! The bed was also amazing with the softest sheets I have ever experienced and tons of fluffy pillows. We chose our breakfast and asked that it be delivered to our room. It came hand delivered on time and as soon as it arrived we were ohhhhhh-​ing and ahhhhhh-​ing and had to grab our cameras. It was the most beautiful display of food I have ever seen and tasted just as wonderful.
I work at a highly stressful job and staying here was the most relaxed I have ever been. Even though they were fully booked, it was so very quiet. It was truly the perfect getaway!
We will be coming back here again and again!
Thank you Kelly and the entire staff at Seal Cove Inn, you made our trip one we will not forget!

Love the Seal Cove Inn! It is so cute and private we felt like we were hours away from home and we were just 45 mins away.
We arrived around noon (check in is not until 3:00pm) and just wanted to check the place out and maybe get a recommendation for lunch. We were aware of the check in time. When we walked in we were greeted by a woman who I think was the owner? She was not rude, but she was definitely not welcoming. She seemed bothered that we were there before check in time. We didn’t have bags with us or anything. We weren’t trying to get an early check in we were just wanting to look around, but she quickly gave a few suggestions and shuffled us on our way. We came back for check in around 3:30pm and we were greeted by Maya. Maya was super sweet and helpful. She definitely made us feel welcome. She gave us a little tour of the place and let us know how everything worked. She even offered to set up a dinner reservation for us. She showed us to our room (which was gorgeous!) and left us to ourselves. She invited us down for wine hour (they provided a glass of wine and snacks for my husband and I) which was between 5 – 6. I love the intimacy of this place. We checked in on Saturday and checked out on Monday and it felt like it was just my husband and I the whole time. We really liked how quiet it was out there. They had soda and water always available for you (milk and other options too, I believe) in a little fridge located up and downstairs. The only down side to the room was that there was no AC, but it actually wasn’t that bad with the door opened. It cooled down the place pretty quickly and then the fireplace heated it right back up.
Over all, we loved our stay at the Seal Cove Inn and we can’t wait to return for another romantic weekend away!

Unless you enjoy having the toilet overflow multiple times per day, stay away from this place! Upon check in, we noticed a plunger in the bathroom — how many hotel rooms have a plunger sitting there? I was weary about that, but thought it might have been there in case of the rare case of an clogged toilet. Oh, but this wasn’t rare. Sitting on the toilet, you can tell it is old since it creaks. And I definitely did not enjoy spending my vacation unclogging this toilet after every bowel movement! Not to mention that the bathroom is tiny and outdated. The room itself was adequate with a comfortable bed, but with too-​fluffy pillows that were not comfortable. Also, from our room, we kept hearing the same creaking sound all night long — it almost sounded like water in a pipe — and it made it hard to fall asleep.
This place tries to put on a classy front, but it is TOTALLY OVERPRICED for what you get!!! For $ 300+ per night, I expect a quality room/​bathroom and a freshly cooked breakfast (since that is what is advertised).
The breakfast consists of all pre-​made items (yogurt, granola, hard-​boiled eggs, pastries) decoratively arranged, but nothing was freshly cooked. I would have expected freshly cooked eggs, quiche, etc from a place that advertises breakfast as part of the package.
BOTTOM LINE, AVOID THIS PLACE IF YOU WANT A RELAXING (PLUNGER-​FREE) STAY IN A QUALITY INN IN HALF MOON BAY!!!

This place is absolutely beautiful. It is perfectly located just off from the central beaches in its own little private spot. When we needed a weekend away we decided to splurge a little and found this wonderful little place. It’s something out of a story book. I’m not sure if the story is Snow White, Jane Austen, or something in between.
The building itself and the grounds are lovely on their own. It gives less of a hotel feel and more of a summer home. The rooms have a view of the garden and it’s nice to sit out there and eat the fresh breakfast delivered to your room every morning. Just outside the garden is a bath leading to the beach and trails that offer some spectacular sights.
The staff is friendly and helpful. They answered all the questions we had and were more than willing to offer tips.
They have bikes that you can borrow and there’s a bike trail all the way down the strip of beaches.
I could go on and on about this place but just know that it it’s beautiful and relaxing.
The one oddity is the carpeting. It’s kind of this odd, tough substance. It has that «new carpet smell» to it which I think is that «chemical» smell that another reviewer mentioned. It’s not a bad smell. I didn’t mind it at all and it’s not even that noticeable after a little bit.

I wish I could give another 5 stars to make it ten. Yet somehow that’s still not enough. Customer service here is incredible. John, owner, even brought us umbrellas at the Distillery because he knew we walked and it had started to rain. That has never happened in all my life. Talk about caring for your customers. We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend and we will be back ASAP! :)

I just had an absolutely terrible experience at this inn. The room had a very awful chemical smell! Yes CHEMICAL smell. When I told the manager about it he just scoffed. He was incredibly rude and actually raised his tone at me when I was describing the issue. I couldn’t sleep at all because of the terrible chemical smell throughout the room.
The manager was generally a very unpleasant and rude person. I had a terrible experience here. :(