A Review of the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern

The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos is the biggest new hotel in this area since the Rosewood Miramar Beach, with nothing comparable on the horizon. All the glossies have written up the property, and the Auberge Resorts Collection has been generous with invitations to influencers, including me. But I prefer to travel incognito and pay my own way, in order to give a more accurate impression of what a hotel is really like. So my husband, Adam, and I booked a night and wrangled some friends to come along.

You know what heightens the mood when you’re anticipating something fun? A waiver. Before our stay, the hotel emailed and texted a link to one (read it here and here)—something none of us, all well traveled, had ever encountered. I ignored both requests, figuring we’d have an interesting conversation about the matter at check-in, but the staffer didn’t bring it up. Our friends, however, were asked to sign (and did), with the explanation that it’s akin to what you might see while visiting a resort’s fitness center. Weirdly, the hotel only requires one person per party to sign, which would seem to offer limited legal protection. Why bother?

The building with the big “Mattei’s Tavern” sign that greets you upon arrival is the historic tavern, but you check in at the more modest structure next door, which has an outpost of Santa Ynez General inside. The “welcome drink” included in the $50-per-day resort fee is serve-yourself lemonade with an optional splash of vodka.

While booking, we found it difficult to tell the room categories apart—most are the same size (450 square feet), and the photos are limited. There appear to be two main types: the six Cottages, some of which are original to the property…

…and the new “Guest House” rooms gathered in quadplexes. Our friends booked a ground-floor Patio King Studio ($953 after fees and taxes for a Wednesday in mid-May), while we went for an upstairs Balcony King Studio ($1,129). On one hand, the design elegantly allows everyone a different entrance, so you don’t share stairs. On the other hand, it can feel like a condo complex, and the red roofing comes off as cheap.

The architecture would be much better served by more mature landscaping—and more landscaping in general. I don’t want to see fully exposed HVAC units while walking the grounds, and I can’t imagine anyone enjoys staring at one while sitting on a porch.

The property’s position along Highway 154 is what it is, but surely some sort of barrier between hotel and road would be welcome. The traffic is a constant presence, and while I would have guessed the noise would be my main issue, seeing it out of the corner of my eye bothered me more. A hedge, a row of trees, even a split-rail fence with climbing roses on it—anything to soften the border would be welcome.

Our friends’ room was adjacent to the road, but the windows all faced the opposite direction, and the road noise wasn’t a problem. Our room overlooked the pool, where the music coming from speakers grated on me after a while, but at least it stopped when the pool bar closed at 5 p.m.

Inside, the room was truly lovely, with enough character to be interesting, but not remotely fussy, and the windows on two sides allowed a lot of light.

The bathroom was spacious and pleasant, although I would gladly take a smaller sink if it meant more room for toiletries.

Nice touches: a bowl of tasty olives and nuts; cowboy hats and a blanket you can use during your stay (for Ennis-and-Jack role play?); and—something too few hotels do—complimentary half-and-half in the minibar, which goes a long way toward making Nespresso coffee palatable.

The balcony, however, was a dud. It was too spare, and the parapet is so high that if you sit down, you stare at walls.

We all agreed that the close quarters throughout the property could be a concern on weekends, during school holidays, and/or if a large group (wedding, bachelor/bachelorette party, corporate retreat) rolls in.

The voyeur in me was intrigued by our view of the pool area, although the handful of guests willing to brave the glum weather stayed on the far side. And again, why not use landscaping to hide the storage unit?

Everything in our room worked fine, with one exception: we couldn’t get the door handle to budge from inside. The bellman came and opened the door—and then, without thinking, I encouraged him to shut it. As a result, the three of us were locked in. (We were quickly rescued and the handle fixed.)

The restaurant building is the heart of the property. You enter into a vestibule with a host’s stand, and directly beyond is the coffee bar. I can’t thank management enough for opening it at 6 a.m. daily. Those of us who get up early need somewhere to go—our companions don’t appreciate the sound of a Nespresso machine while they sleep—and we need there to be coffee.

And you can enjoy that coffee in the Wicker Room. It’s the prettiest moment of the entire resort (even if cars and trucks can be seen whizzing along behind the diaphanous café curtain).

Across the board, interiors at the hotel are excellent. Take the bar, which has plenty of charm and its own food menu.

The main restaurant, called The Tavern, is also quite handsome, whether you’re inside or out on the terrace. The grass paint on the lawn is less successful, but maybe preferable to brown.

Adam and I had lunch at the Tavern, and the four of us ate dinner there. Lunch was fine and dinner was very good—standouts included the chicory salad in an anchovy dressing, the octopus with squid-ink rice, the crispy cauliflower, and the chocolate soufflé(s).

I mean the restaurant no disrespect when I say that the highlight was when we noticed a fellow patron brought a pet Silkie chicken in her purse. Its head poked out of the top, and she fed it water with her straw. And eventually she let it out for a walk. So many questions went unanswered: Does she take it everywhere she goes? Was she staying at the hotel? Did she mention the chicken at check-in? How did the hotel respond? What does the bottom of her handbag look like? Did she order the chicken salad for lunch?

Gin’s Tap Bar, a little building off to the side of the restaurant, is currently open Thursday through Sunday, so we weren’t able to try it. I did peek inside, of course. It serves wine and beer, with food service launching this summer.

The property is set up nicely for events, with a structure called the Barn and a large courtyard. It’s sure to be very popular for weddings.

After booking, the hotel sends an email saying “our Itinerary Designers will contact you shortly to build a bespoke program filled with convivial culinary moments, holistic wellbeing experiences and one of a kind adventures unique to this wine country region,” which I was excited for, because I’ve always wondered what there is to do in the area besides day drinking wine tasting. Alas, we never heard from anyone. Our friends, meanwhile, got a call about activities the morning of our arrival and were sent a PDF of “experiences” that includes renting bikes, hot-air balloon rides, horseback riding, touring a llama farm, golf at Alisal, and a knife-making workshop (“$700+ per person, includes knife”).

Had the weather been better, we would have sat by the attractive pool. Instead, I blogged while Adam used the gym, and in the morning, the four of us hiked the Lover’s Loop trail near Grass Mountain. It was terrific, but I couldn’t help but think we should’ve remained at the hotel to maximize the value.

Another pre-arrival email touted “the Lavender Barn, our world-class spa,” so I assumed it was open and booked a 50-minute deep tissue massage ($195 plus a $39 service charge that includes an 18% gratuity). Had I paid closer attention, I might have noticed that the website lists the Lavender Barn (below) as “coming soon.” A staffer said it’s expected to open by fall.

Until then, there’s the Cottage, which the website describes as “an exploration of simple pleasures […] offering two well-appointed treatment rooms with soaking tubs and private facilities.” The waiting area is comfortable enough, but the experience is more like being at a day spa than at a resort spa: there’s no locker room (you change out of your clothes in the treatment room, kind of like at a doctor’s office), steam room, or sauna, and if the Cottage really has a soaking tub, no one mentioned it to me.

If I had to boil our stay down to one sentence, I’d say that the interiors are fantastic, time will be kind to the grounds, and there isn’t much to do but eat, drink, and loll by the pool. If that sounds appealing, keep an eye out for special offers. While factchecking this post, I came across several deals on the website: 1) three nights for the price of two; 2) “children 10 and under enjoy all meals on us from our complimentary kids’ menu” through September 30; and 3) “save 30% and enjoy daily breakfast for two when you stay between Sunday and Thursday.”

P.S. Dust is omnipresent. An employee told us that it’s because the hotel’s many decomposed granite paths and roads got damaged by all the rain, so they were replaced with gravel. I guess no one has hosed it down, because dust gets tracked in everywhere, including your car.

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Previous travel coverage:
••• Another quickie in L.A.
↓↓↓ Sitting Pretty at the One & Only Mandarina
••• The Mysteries of Istanbul
••• Palm Springs: Midweek at the Oasis
••• A Summer Swing Through the Northeast
••• Why Is Everyone Going to Portugal?
••• Patagonia Made Easy
••• A Quickie in L.A.
••• From Penthouse to Pavement in Mexico City
••• Do Greek Islands Live Up to the Fantasy?
••• Splendid Isolation at Utah’s Lodge at Blue Sky
••• Three Reasons to Visit Paso Robles Now
••• The Rebirth of the Cuyama Buckhorn