We wanted a place to stay so that we could visit Hearst Castle and this came up through Karen Brown. Her directions to find the place were confusing but this is something to which we were rapidly becoming accustomed!! You check in at the shop next door and the original lady was friendly and helpful. We had the Parlour room..bright and clean. In the main sitting room they insisted on playing some really dire music which was piped to the bedrooms. Although we could turn the music off in our room, the bedroom was next to the main seating area so it went on all night unless you could turn it off. I did try but the music was always turned back up whenever a member of staff went past! Our first night in the room made us realise that the mattress and plumbing matched the age of the house (133 years)! The showerhead needed de-calking, the toilet seemed likely to block at any moment and the matress/pillows had definitely seen better days. The fire in the room was on making the room far too warm in the late afternoon/evening so my husband turned it off. Having gone for a walk we returned to find a note under the door telling us not to turn it off as it was difficult to start again! Brilliant! This proved the case. My husband went back to the shop and having finally managed to get the new lady's attention asked to have it put on again. Unfortunately she did not know how to get it to work (neither did we as it failed to respond to the directions on the top) The lady who did know how it worked had gone home. The room did require heating first thing in the morning but we managed by putting on extra layers of clothing. It would be better if they got the heater fixed! Apart from that -should you really be leaving a gas fire on all night??? The room was incredibly noisy with cars going back and forth till late at night on the Saturday and first thing on the Monday. Breakfast arrives in a basket with hot water for tea in an insulated mug. Sadly the mug had been used for coffee so many times that the water tasted faintly of coffee which transferred to the tea! The gardens were detailed as 'very pretty' in Karen Brown but were overgrown and in dire need of some love and attention. The whole impression was one of making money with the least amount of effort. This is a shame as the house has fantastic potential - it seems the owners are not too bothered about putting the correct amount of time, effort and money into making it a true success. We were very disappointed as it wasn't cheap!

Upon check-in we were told someone would come to light only heat source in room which is a gas stove. No one ever came and when I asked a different person came and tried to light it, but could not. Turns out she has never been able to light it and neither had the first person. I was told repeatedly, "there is nothing I can do". She said the owner was busy, "moving furniture". When I suggested we call him, she said he was in Los Angeles. I asked her if there wasn't a "fix-it" person we could call, and she said emphatically, "no, there is no one". She filled the room with gas trying to light the stove and then made a remark about, "not bringing her magic wand". A lot of nerve to charge $175/night and offer no heat, and yes, it is chilly on the N Calif coast, even in summer. Very unprofessional operation.

We were looking for a place to spend the night after visiting Hearst Castle and, after stopping at a couple hotels to check for vacancies, we happend to stumbled upon Squibb House. We were very lucky! Swibb House is very well located, the room is cute and comfortable, we got complimentary wine tastings. The breakfast is included and served to the room. The price for all this was reasonnable for the area. It was one of the nicest room we has in our California trip!

Wow, great service. The owner and his personnel provided fantastic hospitality, the amenities were perfect, and as a bonus, the town is just a great place to get away, relax and eat excellent food!

I highly recommend it. I can't wait to rent the house again!