nicoleevon

Can anyone who has stayed at Manka's recommend a room or cabin? This will be part of our honeymoon trip, so we're willing to splurge. Thanks

KathrynT

Is this Manka's in Inverness, CA? If so, the restaurant there is wonderful. I haven't stayed there but noticed the rooms are above the restaurant which might be a bit noisy.

PamSF

I can only say choose a cabin outside of the inn itself. We have stayed in rooms upstairs and it cvan be pretty noisy with the kitchen and the dining room. Someone recently(within the past year) wrote about Manka's and their room which was outside the inn itself. Try typing in Manka's in the search and see what you get. I seem to remember the Chicken Ranch cottage as being spectacular from what I can remember.
Enjoy..it's a beautiful part of the country. When will you be there?

nicoleevon

Yes, Manka's in Inverness (sorry, should have said that). We'll be there mid-October next year. We're starting out at Post Ranch Inn (which is why I'm already making reservations) & working our way up the coast. PamSF, do you have any recommendations in the area, food, sights, etc.?

winerycat

Nicole, Post Ranch Inn and Manka's--I like your style! Definitely get a cabin at Manka's. We stayed a few days last year at cabin 1-2-5, which is one of the two newly available off-site cabins up on Inverness Ridge that are a few blocks away from the lodge itself. 1-2-5's charming and very private in the treetops and has a king bed overlooking a fireplace and a hot tub on deck. The other cabin on that property is Perch, which I think would be my favorite of the two. Perch used to be Margaret Grade's (Manka's owner) home and it's situated higher on the hill, is larger, has a kitchen and bigger bathroom, views, but no outdoor hot tub. Of course, you'll have to walk or drive to the lodge for meals from these cabins, but the food/wines they serve there are selected from local purveyors and are by far the best in the area, imo.

Manka's Cabin and Fishing Cabin are very near the lodge and look great, but are not quite as private. Least private are the Redwood Annex rooms, which are lined up motel-style outside the lodge. The Boathouse down by the water is supposed to be done well, but it's not rustic like the others, very contemporary.

I believe the trip report PamSF is referring to is mine. The only way I could find it was to type my name, winerycat, in the search box, hit find, then scroll down to post 38, Trip Report: Manka's Inverness Lodge, Carmel, Big Sur, Pacific Grove. Hope this is helpful!

PamSF

You will be here at a beautiful time of year. There might be some showers but,for the most part, you will have clear skies with temps in the 60's.
At Manka's you will have Point Reyes National Seashore at your feet. There are so many places to explore in the Park it's hard to say specifically without knowing the degree of ease or difficulty you want in your walks. There is a visitors' center which will provide you with maps. Some of my favorites are :Abbott's Lagoon, Tomales Bluff and Limantour Beach. You can also kayak on Tomales Bay. Manka's is probably the best (and most expensive) place to eat in that area. You can also get very good food at the Olema Inn. Casual food can be had at the Pine Cone Diner and the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes Station.

It was winerycat's trip report I was referring to.

dovima

nicoleevon,
In Point Reyes Station, check out Bovine Bakery for strong coffee and delicious pastries. The supermarket in town is unusually well-stocked with goodies, perhaps due to the numbers of picnickers headed out to the beaches.

Point Reyes Station and Inverness have a definite new-age thing going on, so ask at Manka's where you could get a massage. I bet it would be in some idyllic setting with a view.

A favorite drive in the area for me is to head up Highway One to Marshall, then take the Marshall-Petaluma road for a ways. Great views, very bucolic feeling.

nicoleevon

Wow, thanks everyone for all the great tips! Winerycat, I did a search for your name & found your post. Very helpful indeed...either of the 2 more private cabins sound perfect. Although, I'm a little torn between smaller cabin w/outdoor tub & larger cabin w/out. Decisions, decisions...

winerycat

I'm glad you found the info you needed nicole. Those two cabins appealed the most to us too for their beautiful setting and privacy, but it was also fun knowing that they were Margaret Grade's home and guest cottage, which we found out after we got there. I researched Manka's well beforehand and Margaret's quite an interesting person!

You know alot about 1-2-5 now, maybe not so much about Perch. I'm sure you'll want to call Manka's and get a very detailed description of it so you can better compare the two, especially since there are no pics on the website of them. I'd be curious to know what kind of a view Perch has from its deck, being higher on the hill. Also, I might have read somewhere that Perch's bathroom was more "luxurious"? Being a mile away from the Lodge, a small kitchen with refrigerator, which I believe Perch has, could come in handy, allowing you to stay at your cabin when you want to, rather than having to drive to town for lunch, as Manka's doesn't do lunch. And of course, for keeping your champagne chilled! But, those things may not be as important to you. Each place has its own features, so it just depends on what you want most. Have fun with your research and know that either of these places are going to be very romantic!

nicoleevon

Winerycat, thanks for all the great advice. That's a good point about the cabin with the fridge...we do usually end up w/lots of snacks (especially when we're in an area with such good wine and cheese). I'll be sure to ask when I talk to the folks at Manka's. And yes, I've read up some on Margaret Grade. She's sounds like quite an interesting character! I'm looking forward to spending some time at her place.

Little_Man

this place looks really interesting! Thanks for all the info. on it everybody! I'm putting it on my list to research for a 20th anniversary in January.
However,when I checked out tripadvisor, and there was only 1 review of it, which wasn't good...not clean, etc.
Well, I guess anyone can have a bad experience, otherwise it sounds wonderful.

galelstorm

nicoleevon,

I for one would recommend Manka's food. Took my mom there a couple of years ago and had an incredible meal. Try the caribbou!

nicoleevon

Hmm, only had caribou once before. Isn't it true though that Manka's doesn't have an actual menu? I think I've heard it's Alice Waters style...local food & whatever's good that day?

winerycat

The menu changes daily, depending on what's freshest and available. So each night a new menu is written, by Margaret, of course. Monday thru Wednesday, it's very simple, a few choices, a la carte or prix-fixe, but Thursday thru Sunday they only offer the multi-course prix fixe menu. You'll love the menus those nights, they are as whimsical as you can imagine, kind of like a guessing game. You don't know exactly what you're getting until it arrives and then it makes sense. Ha ha, that Margaret is something else. The local food and wines are very good, very romantic ambiance in the dining room.

If you like a hearty breakfast, the Cook's Breakfast is delicious, they also have simpler choices, but the breakfasts are only availble to guests, so it's nice to be able to take advantage of that.

winerycat

Frankie, I seem to remember one of the lodge staff telling us that Manka's closes in January. It's a pretty wild and remote coast and I understand the winter storms can be intense. But I'm not exactly positive of that, so you might want to call to verify.