Goose & Turrets B & B

Raymond and Emily are the sweetest!!! It’s like stay at Nana’s & Gramps for a day… Breakfast was superb and twas a delight to meet them!!! Very quaint quiet rustic place… As for me a perfect qetaway to basic in the country feeling…

Quaint old-​style B&B with tea time and country-​style decorating (w/​some mid-​modern influence). It’s tucked away off the beaten path, but easily findable from the main road so there’s no traffic noise. There’s a garden in the back, but I didn’t find myself lingering there too much.
The bedroom we stayed in was just ok, with thin walls, a creaky bed and a bit cramped. The bathroom was clearly retrofitted from some kind of closet. Still, this sounds like complaining. It was comfortable enough.
Breakfast was quite nice, though we were left to entertain ourselves with other guests. I didn’t see the owners once. There were staff who prepared our food and served then went back into the kitchen. From other reviews, it sounds like the owners are there sometimes…
All in all, for a B&B it’s a nice place, but maybe a bit more on the rustic side than I was hoping for.

very Basic!
we waited a few minutes at the door till finally one of the guests opened the door for us. inside, we waited 15 – 20 minutes to check-​in but no body showed up until we saw a young lady leaving the building and when we asked her if she worked there, she replied «kinda…» and we asked her to help us check in! She showed us our room: small and basic but clean room. we never saw the hosts.
when taking shower, I tried to grab the towel from towel warmer, I got electric shock from the warmer. it was soo dangerous putting something like that in a wet environment and there was no one to complain about this. no one was in charge!
nice breakfast.
Location: close to beach, nice area.

this place was where i should’ve booked originally.

Emily and Raymond are truly interesting people. The old house is full of fascinating artifacts from their travels around the globe. The garden is lovely. The breakfast was well prepared. This is a great spot for a cozy, unique get-​away.

The inn-​keepers asked overly personal questions and too readily give their strongly-​worded opinions. The room was gloomy and there was a musty smell about the place.
When you go to a bed and breakfast you look forward to a bit of a special feast — warm and inviting. Breakfast was awkward and sparse. One of the breakfasts served was «Welsh Rarebit.» This was an almost impossibly hard piece of toast (hard tack comes to mind) with an extremely salty brown something on top. I’m not being overly dramatic when I say that it resembled something from a Charles Dickens hard-​knocks cook book. Another breakfast consisted of a bowl of barley oatmeal about the size of a petri dish.
Had we not wanted to enjoy our last day of our one weekend away from the kids, we would have gone home early.

Completely not for me. But it could be for you. This is a true bed and breakfast, and maybe those simply are not my thing.
I expected a real fireplace in the room when the description says it (there isn’t) and a bit more space in our cramped quarters off the living room. I could hear others clearly through the walls, and I felt like we were all stuffed in someone’s house (in a residential neighborhood). I have been to other B&Bs where there was a little more privacy and intimacy, but I did not find it here.
I was not a fan at all of the design/​decorating, but that’s probably because there wasn’t much in our room. Also, the mattress/​pillows could use some updating.
We ended up leaving after one day to go elsewhere. We did NOT got a refund for the second day we booked but did not use (and no the place was not even close to being full so they couldn’t have rented it out anyway).
My recommendation: if you do want to stay here, book one night and see if it is your thing, before staying for a longer trip.
+1 star because the owners are really nice.

This was a great Getaway for the weekend from San Francisco. The owners– Emily and Raymond are the best hostess and host. They were very engaging with everyone staying there. It was wonderful having an intelligent conversation. Raymond is a great cook and is very insightful. They offer true and honest restaurant recommendations. The tea time shortly after check in was a wonderful treat to a great weekend. The breakfast the next morning with a nice 4 course breakfast. If you need a wonderful weekend away– go here!

My partner and I stayed here last weekend and had a wonderful time! We live in SF, and were looking for a quick weekend getaway. I wanted to head toward Half Moon Bay, but aimed to stay away from the hustle and bustle of tourists, Safeway, Starbucks, etc. This B&B is nicely situated in a quiet residential area about 10 minutes north of HMB. We enjoyed the Montara Beach across Highway 1 (2-​min drive from B&B) and had a lovely Peruvian dinner at La Costanera next to the beach (make a reservation!). The dinner/beach/B&B combo made for a perfect getaway!
Emily and Raymond are very kind and attentive. Their 4-​course breakfast was amazing and very filling. We stayed in the Hummingbird Room. It’s right off the living room, and is HUGE! It includes a queen bed, a desk, a sitting area, a fireplace, and a huge bathroom. The price was lower than HMB B&Bs.
We hope to return in the near future!

My girlfriend and I stayed here this past weekend for our one year anniversary.
We had a wonderful time, and really enjoyed meeting the hosts, Emily and Raymond. The house has a very interesting history, and is filled with interesting art. It’s tucked away in a quiet neighborhood, and is a great place for a relaxing getaway.
We had tea and good conversation at 4:30, and went to Café Gibraltar for dinner (Raymond was kind enough to call in to make a reservation for us). We loved the breakfast and coffee the next morning that we enjoyed before heading back to the city.
Look forward to coming here again in the future, and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a unique experience with great hosts in a historic building.

Charming, great location, very good value, excellent tea time and full breakfast, interesting rooms, overall good service from the hosts, beautiful common areas and grounds. Very nice B&B.

Overall, a great B&B. Helpful owners, beautiful property, and interesting guests. Lovely!

For those of you looking for peace and quiet this would be perfect. I stayed in the blue airplane clipper room, and it was nice. After seeing the rooms, i would probably have picked the Demetra room, for the price. I had a shared bath down the hall that i never actually had to share. Breakfast was fine, fruit and oatmeal and eggs. The building has a lot of history and is interesting. This is located 15 min. from Half Moon Bay and about a mile from the beach. Innkeepers were nice people.

The bottom line: If you want to stay in a quiet, comfortable but non-​cutesy B&B near a great beach, check this place out. The breakfasts are excellent too.
If you want more details: We just stayed at The Goose and Turrets last night and had a thoroughly relaxing time. Warning: If your idea of «bed and breakfast» is limited to white wicker furniture and lots of florals, this may not be the place for you; it is definitely not cutesy (which is one reason my husband liked it). However, it is very well decorated and clean. Our room, the Demetra Room (named after an ancient Greek goddess) was decorated in an ancient Greek motif – pretty cool and a nice change from the usual.
The owners, Roy and Emily, are a very erudite and intelligent older couple who will either make enjoyable conversation or leave you alone, as you wish. They have a lot of books and magazines you can peruse, as well a CD player and piano in the front parlor if you’re musically inclined, but there are no TVs in either the guest rooms or the common area. (My husband and I preferred it that way, but if you can’t live without TV, this place won’t be your cup of tea.) There is free Wi-​Fi, though, if you absolutely have to remain plugged in. The garden in the back is pretty and would have been a relaxing place to sit if the weather had been a little better.
Breakfast was excellent: some of the best coffee we’d ever tasted, tea, juice, a fresh fruit salad, homemade frittata with sausage, and toast with apricot jam. We also had a little «dessert» of Queen Anne’s cherries – all locally-​grown produce. The day before, we joined Roy and Emily for afternoon tea, which consisted of Roy’s delicious homemade rhubarb and strawberry pie in addition to the tea.
Finally, they are a short walk (15 minutes at an easy pace) from pristine Montara State Beach. I don’t surf, but I saw several surfers and boogie-​boarders, so I assume it must be a good spot for that. It was very beautiful and relaxing just to walk on the beach and check out the variety of beautiful wildflowers. There are also a few restaurants in Montara within about a 10-​minute walk of the B&B, but we decided to go to dinner in Half Moon Bay, a short drive (about five minutes) down the coast. If you want a quiet B&B a little apart from the crowds that descend on Half Moon Bay at the weekends, I highly recommend the Goose and Turrets.

I’d been looking forward to my stay at Goose & Turrets ever since I had read some reviews about it online (through various Google Maps links and such). «Goose & Turrets — what an odd name for a business,» I kept thinking. It must be great! Indeed, Goose & Turrets turned out to be even better than I had hoped.
First off, Montara is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town on Highway 1 between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. I value obscurity and so this was a plus for me. When checking our G&T online, their webpage was quite funkified with 1996-​style web design replete with pictures of what could only livingly be described as the ‘high eclectic’ decorative style of their rooms. Obscure + eclectic. This place just keeps getting better!
Raymond and Emily are both such wonderful people, where can one start to describe their generous hospitality? Before I begin such a task, let’s talk about the house: it is really quirky. Indoors your find a well lived in dwelling that isn’t at all primped or primed for luxuriant or high maintenance B&B guests. Instead, G&T feels like someone’s home. This, in my opinion, is a good thing as that is what I think of when I think of a B&B — being welcomed into someone’s home and being cared for like family.
On that note, Raymond and Emily are caring people that can sustain a good, intellectual conversation without being overly assertive or condescending and they really want to make sure you are at home. This said, however, they don’t smother you with their charm and hospitality. You are given space to come and go as you please (after all, it is a business) but are welcome to chat any time. At 4:30, tea is served and it is quite special as it is REALLY good and it is the time when all guests have a chance to sit and get to know each other.
Montara is a teeny tiny town. To me, this means that G&T is more of a getaway than a hotel/B&B hybrid (like you might find in Half Moon Bay). Also, G&T is not on the coast nor near the immediate costal vicinity. Rather, it is in a ‘residential’ neighborhood tucked away in the hills. You may be asking, «why on earth go to a B&B that isn’t A.) near some kind of overt cultural/​shopping center or B.) doesn’t have some sort of killer amenity like a costal view? Well, my answer is admittedly wordy and self-​righteous: our hyper-​gentrified and gaudy times filed with excursions to latte houses of worship and alcoves of material delights beg for balance and a retreat like G&T provides the a wonderful panacea to this. At G&T, expect above average accommodations at a good price, superb tea with quality conversation, and an out-​of-​this-​world four course breakfast that is truly customized to your taste (my breakfast was raspberries and cantaloupe, oatmeal with allspice, lower-​back bacon with french toast stuffed with a homemade raspberry jelly [incredible!], and toast with a nice, dry gruyère cheese — salt to balance the sweetness).
If you want pamper-​me-​with-​glitter B&B, keep on going. G&T isn’t about that at all. If you want a B&B where the hosts really want to KNOW you and engage in bright, intellectual conversation while continually teasing your olfactory senses with wonderful tea, coffee, and four course breakfasts, then call G&T up now!

My first B&B experience, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but it was delightful. The proprieter, Emily (husband Raymond was working elsewhere this weekend), is very friendly, generous, helpful, opininated, and intelligent. She has been everywhere in the HMB area and can tell you about it, honestly. (One of our fellow guests mentioned that they had reservations somewhere and she remarked, «Well, did you want something romantic, or did you want to eat?») The house is old and funky and has a great collection of art.
There are four rooms available — we stayed in Demetra because my mom and I need separate beds. It was very comfortable and had a private bathroom. It’s not fancy, but I’d take comfortable and eclectic over high-​gloss and bland any day.
The food and drinks were also wonderful. There is a different tea each day, and they know something about tea. No cheap bagged tea here, no way! Afternoon tea is served with a variety of little snacks, all of which were worth tasting. Breakfasts are a multi-​course affair, and while you’ll be full, it’s not like getting a Grand Slam at Denny’s or something. The portions are neither ginormous nor meager, but they are lovingly prepared, filling and – above all – delicious. In our two mornings there, we had a fruit plate each day (different assortments), some dish with a grain (yogurt and granola one day; oatmeal with cinnamon the next), an egg dish with a side of bread (corn frittata with biscuits and homemade (?) strawberry jam; egg and cheese baked in a ramekin with thick cinnamon raisin toast), finished up with a sweet (both days were sherbet for us). She was very accomodating of our dietary needs (vegetarian), though I’ve heard she has some bacon and sausage-​based dishes that are divine.
Also! Their coffee is fantastic.
We met some interesting people and had some lively discussions with our fellow guests, too.
My only regret is that HMB was kind of boring for us, so we’d have no real reason to come back here!
Website has lots of information: