We stayed here in the winter but it was still a busy time. Our breakfast were catered for outside along the fire which was a lovely touch.

The rooms were standard but clean, with a lovely spa bath.

The hotel had a nice outside area with a pool and a jacuzzi. We didnt use the spa facilities but they did massage and mud treatments.

I usually stay at The Victorian Inn but, because it often is booked full, I also have had the opportunity to enjoy the nearby Redwood Suites. I LOVE both but am surprised at how much I like the Redwood Suites! This past week-end, I particularly noticed the silky sheets and superbly comfortably mattress. The innkeepers are always thoughtful and, without my asking, had an extra extension cord in my suite waiting just for me and my laptop. The Suites are impeccably clean and offer kitchens with microwaves and refrigerators.

We stayed in the Eel River room and were very satisfied. This is essentially a one bedroom apartment with small living room/dinette, full kitchen, queen size bedroom, and one full bathroom. Kitchen includes good sized refrigerator, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, electric can opener, and full size electric range. A small four seat dining table and small five foot couch (more like a love seat) with end tables and lamps adorn the living room/dining area. The bedroom has a queen size bed which is a little soft for our taste, but still very comfortable and we were able to sleep well on it. The bedroom dresser has a few gouges and marks in it and should probably be replaced. The bathroom is not overly large by any means, but plenty of room for one person and lots of hot water available. I noticed a small amount of mold on the ceiling above the shower head. The linoleum in the kitchen area is worn and discolored in some places and should be replaced. Otherwise everything in the apartment is very clean and in good condition.

I read the other reviews stating that the place is somewhat outdated, but in my opinion there’s nothing outdated about the Eel River room. Perhaps the owners took the advice of previous reviewers and we are now benefiting from the renovated room. If so, NICE JOB! There is ONE thing missing from this apartment however; a garbage can. The only such can provided for trash is a small gallon sized one in the bathroom. Not sure if someone just forgot to put it back, but there’s nothing here right now. We checked under all the cabinets to see if it was hidden or something, but no luck. Since we bought some drinks and snacks at the grocery store we simply are using the shopping bag for trash. Note to owners…need a garbage can here. Internet is available free via WIFI but was somewhat on the slow side with a speed test averaging 3mbps down and only 512kbps up. Not horrible, but not stellar either.

It was a bit chilly during our stay in August because Ferndale is close enough to the coast to be affected by the cold Pacific. The heater in the apartment was more than adequate to keep us warm. The television is an older style CRT, not flat screen or high-def, but appears to have a full cable lineup not just the typical half dozen channels you get in so many places. Parking for your car is plentiful and free. Surprisingly, I find the traffic on the road in front of the Eel River room rather loud and annoying, and for such a small town there seems to be a lot of traffic going by the room, and rather quickly at that. Another note to the owners, maybe talk with your police dept about transferring the on-road speed gun to this part of town for a while. The good news is that the bedroom is in the back of the apartment and road noise did not bother us sleeping at night. In summary, this apartment is very welcoming and nice to come “home” to after a long day of touring around.

We wanted to try the restaurant at the Victorian Inn but unfortunately just could not coordinate it with our rather hectic schedule. If you want to do your own cooking there is a pretty well stocked grocery store just around the corner. If you need money there is a bank right next door, and just across from the grocery store is a pharmacy. What Ferndale lacks is a gas station. Well, they do have one (and ONLY one) which is a single pump attached to an above ground tank. Price was $4.39/gallon while most stations in other areas averaged $3.80. So gas up before stopping in Ferndale or make sure you have enough fuel to get to some other location like Eureka, about 15 miles north or Fortuna about 5 miles south.

I don’t suspect Ferndale is a destination for most folks traveling around this area of California, but it does make a nice home base for Avenue of the Giants (AOTG) which was our purpose for traveling here. At check-in I asked about AOTG and was given a very helpful map/guide from the front desk. Redwood Suites is about 15-20 minutes from the Northern entrance to AOTG which makes it very convenient. Having traveled the entire length of AOTG (about 45 miles), we thought the northern half was better than the southern half. More trees, more scenery, just an overall better experience. So if you don’t have time to travel the entire roadway, stay in Ferndale and visit the northern half of it. You can also stay in Garberville about 50 miles to the south and get quick access to the Southern entrance of AOTG, but having gone through Garberville my advice is to bypass it (quickly) and head to Ferndale or Fortuna instead. I hate to say it but I saw nothing of redeeming value within Garberville.

Redwood Suites is convenient to the Redwood Forest, Eureka, and numerous attractions in the area. We would definitely stay here again and would not hesitate to recommend this location to others. Well done and thanks for such a nice place to stay.

The rooms are very old and tired looking (nothing like the pictures on the website). The shower was awful-no power at all, just dribbled. Ferndale was a real disappointment. Very glad we were only there as a stopover on our road trip. This was probably the worst place we stayed on our 3week trip :-(