To begin with it took me a long time to find the correct phone number to make a reservation, which is (831) 386-2262. I stayed in a Cowboy room for $50, and I seemed to be the only guest in the hotel that night. The Hacienda never emailed the pass code for the key drop box to retrieve the keys to my room, which was a problem when I arrived, as the office was closed during their posted business hours. I called the help number and within an hour someone arrived to check me in. Bar opens at 5 PM. Asked bar maid when the restaurant opens, and she said, "It don't." Be prepared and bring your own food (rooms have a refrigerator) or stop for a meal in San Miguel or King City on your way in. You might also want to bring your own beer as a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is $4 at the bar. I had planned to eat at the restaurant at the Hacienda (which every website claims is open 7 days a week), but having been overcome by events, I ventured into King City and had dinner at El Lugarcito. Though dinner ended up being a round trip of 50 miles out of the way, the chile verde was awesome and completely worth the otherwise scenic drive.

The room itself was simple but architecturally interesting. The Cowboy rooms have no private bathroom but a shared bathroom with an attached shower room. I had thought I would be sharing a bathroom with a couple of guests, BUT the bathroom also services the bar patrons, so it gets quite gross by about 9PM. The bar and bar patrons also proved to be quite loud, but they were "living the dream." Also note that the swimming pool is now empty and appears to be permanently so.

Nevertheless, I absolutely enjoyed visiting the adjacent mission, staying in a Julia Morgan creation for quite cheap (compare the rates at Berkeley City Club for example), and watching the night sky, while drinking the beers I bought in town out on the back patio of the Hacienda. With little light pollution at night, you can see the milky way and passing satellites. I also saw a shooting star, and in the quiet after the bar closed, I heard it hissing overhead. The drive from the Hacienda to the highway 1 is absolutely beautiful, passing through immaculate California oak prairie, and dropping you off a little south of Lucia. Bring a camera. You will be stopping for pictures frequently.

If I had it all to do over again...
1) I would stay in a garden room or a tower room, as those have private baths.
2) I would bring food and have a nice picnic.
3) I would bring beer of better quality than what you can buy in that area.

We checked in after the office closed for the day, got the room key from a lock-box similar to an old post office mailbox -- This was the start of a really cool visit to Fort Hunter Liggett. Luckly, we were in a room next door to the base commander's, as the outside noise level was high with pig hunters there for the weekend. I quieted down after the BBQ coals died down in the big Weber kettle that was available for all to use to cook thier dinner. Spent most of Sunday at Mission San Antonio chating with many that had attended an earlier service inside. Breakfast was great, the short chat with the commander was teriffic and the historical part was the best....! Debbie & John

This is an historic lodge in the cantonment area of Fort Hunter Liggett that is open to the public. It was designed by Julia Morgan (Hearst Castle) and built in 1933. So the building is really interesting architecturally. It is surrounded by a very nice lawn with large oaks, with tables and chairs, and has a view out over beautiful countryside with huge oaks, valley, and mountains. It is very peaceful.

There are four types of rooms - a suite (1), tower rooms (4), garden rooms (a few), and a bunch of cowboy rooms. The suite has two rooms. The tower rooms are large and have a couch that opens into a bed, table and chairs. The garden rooms are just a little smaller than the tower rooms, and have a chair instead of couch. The cowboy rooms don't have a bathroom - you have to walk outside to a communal one. The restaurant is permanently closed (it used to be in an adjoining building), and there are a couple snack bars nearby in the military facilities. There is a bar in the adjoining building that is closed Mon and Tues, which is a good thing because the military people in there are VERY noisy and you can hear them from your room. The continental breakfast is actually very good and has a lot of options.

I stayed in a tower room ($90) which was cool looking, but the tower is echo-ey so you share all noise with the tower inhabitants. I felt the garden room was more comfortable. They have recently redone all of the furniture in these two types of rooms, and there are nice touches. The bed has a thick pillow top (that was too soft for me), and down comforter. There is no AC or fan, so I don't think it would be possible to stay here in the heat of the summer. The heater is a really old long skinny thing that runs along the wall and seemed to work OK, but I don't think it could heat the whole room with the incredibly high ceilings in the winter. The windows downstairs are so old that the glass is opaque. The view is nice, so I opened the windows (and left the heat on...). Carved wood doors.

Nice size fridge with freezer, and microwave. Internet works well but is satellite, so it has a 2 second delay to load any page. There are flat screen TVs with Direct TV.

The downside certainly is the bathrooms. The toilets didn't flush right in either room. The sink dripped constantly in one room. The showers were the dirtiest motel showers I have ever seen - bring flip flops! Mold and grunge. There is no place to put your stuff, and the floor is concrete.

You can only check in between 9am and 4 pm, and they are closed 12-1. I also found it hard to reach them by phone to make a reservation. Don't get mixed up by another lodging place across the street that is a really funky old barracks.

Close by is The Indians in the Los Padres National Forest - hiking trails and a historic adobe ranch house that you can walk around in. The mission across from the Hacienda is definitely worth seeing. I don't think you can hike around anywhere else on the base, and you have to go through a check point to get to the lodge. You can drive across the mountains to Big Sur. There is absolutely NOTHING in King City, Soledad, or Greenfield. You can go east to Pinnacles National Monument. I think it is about 45 minutes west of Hwy. 101.

I had frogs in each room (but no bugs).

What an excellent place to get away from the city. Beautiful setting, beautiful architecture, and to top it off good food. You can't beat the prices either. Although it is located on a Army reserve base it is open to civilians. If you like history this is a great place to stay. Sandy and Debbie are great hosts. Call and make a reservation.