With four Bay Area hotels recently earning top marks from the Michelin Guide and a San Francisco hotel ranked the best new hotel in U.S. last year, San Francisco Bay Area hotels are gaining accolades throughout the travel industry. That trend continued recently when Conde Nast Traveler readers named The Lodge at Bodega Bay the best hotel in the world, a distinction that put the coastal retreat above the likes of the Ritz Carlton in Doha and Four Seasons in Paris.
The traveler magazine released its Best Hotels in the World: 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards recently, with the Bay Area oasis taking the top prize after over 575,000 votes were cast.
“We’re honored and thrilled to announce that the Lodge at Bodega Bay has been voted the #1 HOTEL IN THE WORLD in the 2024 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards! We are so grateful to all who voted for our independent, family-owned hotel, and we hope you’ll join us in celebrating this exciting achievement,” wrote the hotel staff in an Instagram post.
Three other California hotels made Conde Nast’s top 50: the Claremont in Berkeley (No. 23), and the Colony Palms Hotel (No. 7) and Hermann Bungalows (No. 3), both in Palm Springs.
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and just off Highway 1, the Lodge at Bodega Bay features 83 guest rooms and suites. There’s a heated pool and an infinity hot tub, plus two California cuisine-style restaurants. The Lodge is about an hour and a half drive from downtown San Francisco.
Rooms start at $339 before taxes, although they can go for much more than during busier times of the year.
While the hotel recommends Bodega Bay visitors go whale watching and wine tasting, SFGATE food reporter Nico Madrigal-Yankowski had slightly less tony recommendations for the area, including a visit to the hidden Casino Bar and Grill, which serves gourmet meals from the dive bar’s simple, rustic kitchen.
– By Gabe Lehman
Photos courtesy of The Lodge at Bodega Bay
