Cypress Inn at Miramar Beach

Eighteen contemporary rooms on Miramar Beach in Half Moon Bay — adults-only, with the kind of small-and-considered scale that Half Moon Bay's coast does well. The Cypress Inn at Miramar Beach sits directly on a quiet stretch of the Half Moon Bay coastline, north of the village proper, with the Pacific immediately outside the door.

The pitch is straightforward: an eighteen-room contemporary inn on a beach in the Bay Area's coastal back yard, an hour from San Francisco and a million miles from it. The aesthetic is architectural-minimalist applied at small-inn scale — light wood, large windows, and the ocean as the primary decorative element.

The setting

Half Moon Bay sits on the coast thirty miles south of San Francisco — over the ridge from Silicon Valley, with the kind of foggy, working-coastline character that the rest of the Bay Area sold off decades ago. Miramar Beach is the small beach community north of Half Moon Bay's main harbor, three minutes' drive south of Pillar Point.

Pillar Point Harbor (and the famous Mavericks surf break offshore) is three minutes north. Half Moon Bay village is ten minutes south. Mavericks Beach is five minutes north. The Half Moon Bay State Beach is ten minutes south. San Francisco is an hour north on Highway 1 or via Highway 92 inland.

The building

A new-build inn in contemporary Pacific Northwest-leaning vocabulary — concrete, glass, and timber, with clean lines and large oceanfront windows. Materials are concrete-glass-timber with painted-coastal accents. The aesthetic is architectural-minimalist with monastic-nature undertones — quiet, restrained, oriented toward the ocean view.

Public spaces are minimal: a small lobby, a breakfast room, and ocean-facing communal seating.

The rooms

Eighteen rooms across the inn's floors. Categories include ocean-view rooms (the desirable ones), garden-view rooms, and a few suites with private decks. Most rooms have fireplaces; ocean-view rooms have balconies or large windows oriented to the Pacific. Bathrooms are stone-and-tile, well-considered. Beds are king or queen.

Adults-only is enforced. Rates from $545 in shoulder.

Food & drink

A full breakfast is included — served in the breakfast room or delivered to the room. There's no on-site restaurant. Half Moon Bay's restaurant scene is ten minutes south — Sam's Chowder House, Pasta Moon, Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., plus a number of casual options. Pillar Point Harbor has Barbara's Fish Trap (the iconic harbor seafood shack) for a casual lunch.

On the property

The beach is the program. Direct ocean access from the inn — you can step out the door and onto the sand. There's a small wellness area with a hot tub. No pool, no spa.

• Full breakfast included
• Direct beach access
• In-room fireplaces
• Adults-only
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Couples on a quiet Bay Area coastal weekend
• Anyone wanting an oceanfront adults-only inn within an hour of San Francisco
• Travelers who'd rather have eighteen rooms than 180
• Foggy-coast people (the Half Moon Bay coast is foggy through summer)

Who it's not for

• Travelers under 18 — adults-only
• Anyone wanting a full-service hotel with restaurant and spa
• Sun-seeking travelers in summer (the coast can be foggy through July)

Nearby

Pillar Point Harbor is three minutes north for the harbor walk and Barbara's Fish Trap. Mavericks Beach is five minutes north. The Half Moon Bay State Beach is ten minutes south. Half Moon Bay village (Main Street's restaurants and shops) is ten minutes south. Año Nuevo State Park (elephant seal viewing) is forty-five minutes south. San Francisco is an hour north.