The Luxurious Historic National Park Lodge Right At The Foot Of The Iconic Golden Gate Bridge

Few landmarks are as iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the strait between the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean and connects San Francisco to Sausalito. If you want to wake up and fall asleep with a view of this incredible bridge, you can rough it and stay at a secret beachside campground. However, if you want something more swanky and luxurious, you can stay at Cavallo Point, the Lodge at the Golden Gate. This award-winning, four-star hotel has a deep history and seemingly endless amenities and activities.

Cavallo Point is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area on the grounds of Fort Baker, a once-active army base. The buildings at Fort Baker were built in the early 1900s as part of a defense system for the Golden Gate and other important harbors in San Francisco. Troops were stationed at Fort Baker until the '90s. In 2002, it became a National Parks Service site, and Cavallo Point got the go-ahead as it was a way to help preserve the historic buildings. In 2008, the property opened for guests, with 20 of the original Colonial Revival-style buildings restored and renovated and some new guest room spaces added.

There are 142 guest rooms in either historic or contemporary accommodations. Many of the contemporary rooms feature views of the Golden Gate Bridge, and some have private decks or patios and large soaking tubs. The historic guest rooms are in the buildings around what was once the parade grounds for the fort, and they incorporate vintage details like crown moldings and tin ceilings along with modern conveniences and comforts. All the guest rooms feature custom lavender and eucalyptus bath products, and all guests get welcome treats when they check in.

Each morning at Cavallo Point, there's complimentary coffee, tea, and pastries for guests. There are also two restaurants on-site. Farley — the more casual of the two — is open for lunch and dinner with dishes like the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich and beer-battered Fort Bragg cod. For a more refined dining experience, visit Sula. It's open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a weekend brunch. The seasonal menu features items like short rib tortellini, burrata and pears, and New York steak with a bourbon demi glaze. Both restaurants have outdoor seating with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, and most of the ingredients used to prepare the meals are sourced within a 200-mile radius.

That's just one of many eco initiatives here. Cavallo Point is also a Gold LEED Certified property. Much of the original building materials were reused in the renovation, and the new buildings feature innovative behind-the-scenes features like repurposed jeans for insulation, recycling, and energy efficiency. This helps make it one of those eco-friendly hotels where you can celebrate Earth Day year-round.

Cavallo Point even has a massive spa and a cooking school. The spa offers traditional treatments like massages and facials as well as more specialized wellness experiences like hypnotherapy and shamanic journeys. At the Cavallo Point Cooking School, you can learn to make a range of international cuisine from Burmese to Mediterranean to French. Needless to say, there's enough to do at this luxurious lodge to keep you busy for days.

The activities you can enjoy at Cavallo Point don't stop at the spa and the cooking school. Guests can take morning yoga classes, guided history tours of Fort Baker, and guided hikes of the area — all for free. Other onsite activities (that come with a cost) include watercolor classes and guided meditation.

Cavallo Point also makes it easy for you to get out and enjoy the natural beauty of Sausalito and the Marin Headlands. Take a guided kayak or stand-up paddleboard class or tour along the Sausalito waterfront. Plus, what better place to learn to surf (or perfect your surfing skills) than California? The lodge can book you a private surf lesson. For those who've already got the skills but don't want to travel on a plane with your surfboard, surfboard and wetsuit rentals are available for guests.

Of course, if you're staying at Cavallo Point, you have easy access to the Golden Gate Bridge itself. It's about 1.5 miles away, and you can borrow one of the hotel's complimentary e-bikes to ride across the 1.7-mile expanse of the bridge; it's definitely a bucket list kind of adventure. Bike rentals operate on a first-come, first-served basis. If you'd rather not ride alone, the lodge also has guided e-bike tours on the activities menu.

Cavallo Point is about a 40-minute drive from the San Francisco International Airport. If you're planning to stay around San Francisco and Sausalito, you don't necessarily need a car since there are pretty good public transportation options throughout San Francisco and into Sausalito. Moreover, guests can get a free shuttle ride to and from the Sausalito Ferry Landing; the ferry ride from Sausalito to San Francisco is particularly scenic. The lodge also has a number of Lexus vehicles that guests can use for free during their stay. So, if you're looking to explore the area, like checking out Stinson Beach, a white sand beach full of hiking trails, you can do so in style! The cars are available for two hours at a time and are first come, first served.

Sausalito is a perfect spot for a couples getaway, and Cavallo Point is the perfect place to stay for romance. The hotel offers a date night package that starts with a craft cocktail and is followed by dinner. Wine is brought to your guest room so you can reconnect and enjoy a delicious meal in complete privacy (and no clean-up!). The next morning, you'll wake up to an in-room breakfast. Cavallo Point is also a very popular wedding destination.

That said, Cavallo Point is great for families, as well, with plenty of room for kids to run around and explore. If you are traveling with kids, the nearby Bay Area Discovery Museum is a must-see. It's a delightful, hands-on children's museum with indoor and outdoor interactive spaces. For those who want to check out more former military spots in the Marin Headlands, Hawk Hill, which has sweeping ocean and bay views, was once a World War II military installation.