Spacious 5-bedrm home:Ocean Views,hot tub,BBQ,pool & ping pong tables, fast wifi

I liked the house a lot and the owner answered all my questions quickly. I would definitely recommend this house.

Beautiful views. Kitchen is very well stocked. The living room was large. Seating was comfortable and not too fussy that a family with young children would have to worry. There were a few minor issues. The bed in the master bedroom was a bit too tall for us. There is a stool to help you get in. The screen for the back slider is hard to open. There were a lot of rules in the rental agreement. It was a little intimidating but turned out to be fine.

What a great place to celebrate my 60th with my family. We are an active family and this spot fit well with all we wanted to do. We walked to Pinnacle Gulch which brings you through a very lush valley that is well walked by locals and drops you at a the ocean. We went at High Tide and at Low Tide. 2 completely different ocean experiences. The game room was well used by our family and the house is stocked with games. Very quiet area and the views are fantastic. The communication could not have been better. Thank you very much. We will book again next year.

It was a wonderful! Very spacious . Had everything we needed to relax and enjoy our staff retreat.

Overall, we would not recommend this rental. We’ve never left critical feedback before (we have a 5-star rating as guests), and there are some nice aspects, but our family of 7 adults agreed there are more negatives than positives.We had no hot water when we checked in. When it wasn’t available the next day, we emailed the owner as instructed in his emails and contract terms at 9:37 am, 12:38 pm, 1:31 pm, and 4:42 pm. We never heard back. Finally, we were able to reach the owner through VRBO. When we asked for a rebate of one half a day’s cost for the days without hot water and his delay in responding, the owner refused and wouldn’t discuss it.Apart from that, there were positives: large kitchen; nice view of the golf course; spacious primary bedroom; bright primary bath.But there were more negatives: the house is very far from the beach; the living room has a large sofa, but no chairs and nowhere to sit together as a group; too few bedside tables in the bedrooms; poorly placed outlets made it hard to reach the bed area.The contract we were required to sign and initial had pages and pages of renter promises, more than we’ve ever seen. For example, we were required to agree that no visitor would stay longer than 4 hours and that every visitor would leave by 9:00 pm.In summary, we didn’t have a terrible experience, but we’ve stayed in nicer and better designed homes for the same cost, with better views, closer to the ocean, and with more responsible and helpful hosts.

We spent 3 nights just before Christmas at The Grey Whale. It was lots of fun and very comfortable for our family gathering. It rained most of the time so we spent a lot of time indoors, playing games and using the huge kitchen to cook. It was perfect for our large family of 3 generations, lots of room to spread out and play. V very comfortable. We will return!

Host was welcoming. The views were excellent. We were comfortable in the great room w/ fireplace. As a group we felt that the house was a little dated, kitchen utensils needed an upgrade and the BBQ was dirty and we could not use it.

The Gray Whale was clean and welcoming. Vista was perfect view of Bodega Head.Kitchen was spacious with 2 sinks. Not having used a 'vacation home ' before, I really didn't know what to expect. 7 guestsneeds more than: 1 paper towel roll, 1 small cube of tissues, napkins, coffee -2 tbsp & 4 tea bags, wash cloths (only 4) in rolled towels, sharpened knives, scissors. Ignore if these items are not normally provided.

Every year our family camps at Doran Park and several of us rent a house in Bodega on the golf course to be close to the park. This rental did not disappoint. With five bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a spacious and open kitchen, large table with plenty of seats for dining, and a very cozy living room, our family had a great time for the 6 nights we stayed there. The views from the decks are stunning and even the view sitting in the hot tub was spectacular. Don's communication and instructional binder is very detailed and we really had no additional questions or concerns with the house. Definitely recommend this home for teens and multiple families staying together. Thanks again Don.

We had a great 4 day stay! The check in process was simple and the house was very clean. The living area was spacious with a large dining table which was perfect for our group to all spend time together. There are stairs so if you have small children be sure to bring a baby gate. The neighborhood was perfect, great location, on the course, and there is a short hiking trail down to the beach with tide pools. *****My only complaint is that the hot tub was not staying warm. It would randomly get warm however it wouldn’t stay warm and never seemed to be warm when we wanted to use it. It tells you not to touch the pad to make adjustments however even if we wanted to it has duct tape over it so you can’t see anything. Big bummer.

We really enjoyed our stay and the house is very comfortable with all the amenities we needed for a relaxing weekend. They layout is ideal and there is ample seating. Everyone played ping pong at some point in the garage and billiards was a plus as well. We didn't use the hot tub mainly because there's not much of a view to see from it but also the controls were covered in duct tape so we didn't want to take any chances with it. I did message the host who responded right away and informed me that it's more to prevent a specific button from being used which would trip up the temp settings. House is perfectly located 1/4 mile from the Pine Gulch Trail entrance which leads to the beach. I would say it's more of a moderate walk/hike rather than an easy one. The microwave button in the kitchen would stick and require you to use both hands to open, but was fully functional. Everything in the house is labeled and had everything we needed for a great weekend. Keep in mind that VRBO does not make it very clear at the time of booking that an 8 page short term rental agreement is required and will ask for your guest list complete with names & ages along with your phone # and address. This is not something I have ever experienced before in booking via VRBO in past vacation rentals so this completely caught me off guard and don't recall anyone mentioning this in their reviews. This is important to be aware of if you are particular about you & your guests' privacy as it is required.

Wonderful large home. Easy check-in with excellent instructions on how to use everything in the house. Our teens especially loved the ping-pong and pool tables. The home is close to two trails that lead to the beach. Great view of the ocean.

Check-in was flawless. The owner accommodated our special request. Lovely location on a golf course with lots of wildlife and great ocean views. The neighborhood is wonderful. Kitchen was huge and had everything we needed for our stay. Everything was well labeled. Will stay again if in the area!

Great property with a peaceful view. Nice lay out with plenty of room. Garage with pool table and ping pong made time for fun. The only recommendations is to provide storage bags and additional towels. And to let renters know there is construction across the way.

Big home with room for everyone! Very comfortable beds, cool breeze, & so quiet on the course. Few imperfections but that made it feel more home-like, not a “no touch museum”. Totally recommend & worth it. Would stay again.

The property was great, everything was easy and simple to find and use. Very spacious and great for our group. Was in town for a family reunion and 5 differen properties were rented across several families. Our group was 9 and our max house allowable was 12. This made getting together for dinners etc. Virtually impossible, no fault of the manager of the property, just a reality of the situation. The house was really nice and spacious and each family had their own bathroom which was great! Just know that if you have a LARGE group, in bodega bay, the beach is really one of the only places for meeting up as a large gathering. Would definitely come back to this property again, but for a large reunion, bodega bay may not have been the best choice. Had it Only been our 3 families staying together, the stay would have been perfect and the house would have suited our every need!

Communication with host was excellent. The house was clean, well organized and had great instructions/labeling for everything. We loved our time there!

To celebrate my 60th birthday. Went with my best friends to have a great weekend. Had an amazing time.

The house is perfectly located for exploring the Bodega Bay area. The open layout of the dining, kitchen and living room area was very comfortable and functional for our group of 7 adults to hang out in. Being within walking distance of the beach from several approaches (via the south end of Doran beach and Pinnacle Gulch trails) was extra wonderful. Thank you for helping to make our family reunion a memorable event. 3

We loved our stay at the Grey Whale! The home is so peaceful, up on the hill over the ocean with amazing sunset views. The living room is so open and light, our group of 8 was very comfortable. The kitchen was very well equipped and spacious. Everything was clean, easy to use and well maintained. The hot tub was lovely and the ping pong table and billiards in the garage was lots of fun. Communication with the owner was easy and prompt. We'd love to come back.

Could not have been happier with our stay. Property was just as advertised. Wonderful weekend with old friends.

Our stay was great! Views are amazing, location is great, hike to the beach was great.

Heavenly!

Our family had a wonderful week-long winter holiday retreat at the Grey Whale house. We had 10 people: a mix of kids, parents, and grandparents. There was ample space for everyone to spread out. The kids especially enjoyed the game room (converted garage) as a large space to play. The kitchen is large and well equipped (some of the kitchen ware is older but functional, no issues). The views are stunning, and while the house feels remote in the quiet neighborhood, it's just minutes (by car) into the charming town of Bodega Bay, and it is easy to drive to other Russian River / Sonoma county activities. There is also a trail to access the beach (note it is a hill), or it is a very short drive to Doran Beach park. Highly recommend as a relaxing location for a family gathering. Would stay there again.

Grey Whale was a great space for our family reunion of nine adults. We loved having the pool table and the ping pong table. The kitchen was well equipped. The living room coffee table was large enough for us to work on jigsaw puzzles and we had views too! Don was very responsive and had great check-in instructions and house book.

Nice property for our multi-generational family celebration.Space enough to spread out or stick together with entertaining amenities in the garage for fun and great views for relaxing enjoyment.

Beautiful home. Very well stocked kitchen. Lots of room to spread out. Communication with owner was great. Clean. Slightly dated but that didn’t matter to us. The only minor problem was the BBQ was difficult to control, we couldn’t get low setting to work. It would work on high but when we tried to turn it to low it would shut off. Overall it was a great home and we really enjoyed our stay.

This was the second time staying at the Grey Whale and it won’t be our last. House is great, very roomy and comfortable, the location is great and owner is responsive. We had a great time!

The property was neat and tidy, plenty of space an amenties. Lovely views all around and easy to check in and out.