If you like the experience of getting away from it all, but still being close enough to a major metropolitan city to take advantage of what it has to offer, then La Grande Maison is for you. Situated in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Mt. Tamalpais State Park, La Grande Maison provides a relaxing home base with outstanding views and fast/stable wifi while being only a 25 minute drive to San Francisco. It’s a rare combination indeed.
You’ll enjoy short walks across the street to the Muir Beach Overlook to catch sunsets over the blue Pacific or strolls through the giant redwood trees of world famous Muir Woods, which is only 3 miles away. If you enjoy wine the bucolic wine regions of Napa and Sonoma Counties are an hour and a half drive up the road. Your host formerly lived in Sonoma County and can give you tips on favorite wineries in that area. According to one of our guests, "It's like staying at Lake Tahoe, but without the drive.”
Gourmet Chef’s Kitchen
The gourmet chef's kitchen is all set up and ready for you and your family or friends to prepare wonderful meals together. Double electric ovens and a five burner gas cook top are complimented by full slab Brazilian granite countertops, custom built maple cabinetry, high-end fill and spot intensity lighting, modern refrigerator/freezer, dishwasher, and an extra large and deep double sink. Your guests can sit at the granite bar drinking wine and making conversation with you as you prepare meals together.
The Great Room
The Great Room runs the length of the house and provides plenty of space to spread out and a dedicated play area to keep younger kids occupied for hours. It has an open floor plan with an arched wood burning fireplace as the focal point, along with oak hardwood floors reclaimed from an old church. The entire back wall is a series of sliding glass doors and windows leading to the deck that lines the back and side of the house overlooking beautiful Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Valley. A full wall of maple bookshelf cabinetry and the children’s play area is on one end while at the other end is the dining room with its maple, farm style dining table and outstanding views..
The Master Bedroom Suite
You’ll be able to relax, read, and sleep soundly in the Master Bedroom Suite with 30’ vaulted ceilings, double opening skylights, side sitting/desk area, and super comfortable California King bed with dual control mattress pad warmers.
If you’re traveling with a baby the large walk-in closet doubles as a nursery with a baby bed, rocking chair, and foldable travel crib. We welcome children, but please bear in mind that the house is not child proof.
When you need a place to get away and do some work, the built-in loft office provides a relaxing and private dedicated workspace for one or two complete with color printer/scanner/copier.
The Master En Suite Bath
The roomy master bath has a custom vanity with top bowl sink, fully enclosed glass shower, double opening skylights, a towel warmer, and travertine tile throughout.
The Family Room
Sit back in our large, comfortable leather sofa or leather zero gravity chair and enjoy streaming content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, The Disney Channel, ESPN+, and YouTube on a 52" high definition Samsung tv or our high def over the air antenna.
The Second Floor Bedrooms
The second floor features two large bedrooms, with internal windows that overlook the great room, and are connected by a loft hallway that also overlooks the great room. One bedroom has a California King bed with dual control mattress pad warmers, a laptop friendly desk for remote work, and views of Mt. Tamalpais. The other bedroom has a very comfy pillow top queen bed with dual control mattress pad warmers and a laptop friendly desk for remote work.
The Second Floor Bathroom
The grand full bathroom has a custom maple vanity, double sinks with brushed nickel hardware, mirrors and faces an extra large soaking tub/shower surrounded in gleaming glass.
The Third Level Crow’s Nest
Guests have told us that sleeping in the Crow’s Nest is like being in an adult sized playhouse. The third level Crow’s Nest is a small, charming two level room with its own loft. There is a single bed on the lower level while the cozy loft has a super comfy foam topped single mattress set on the loft floor in the Japanese style.
The Basement
You’ll be able to take care of any laundry needs during your stay with the front loading washer and dryer with folding table area in the basement. In addition, there’s a built in wine cellar for safely storing 25 bottles of wine at an even temperature.
Wifi
For staying in contact during your stay our blazing fast and stable wireless wifi makes Le Grand Maison a perfect spot to get away and work remotely or just treat yourself and your family to a wonderful staycation or vacation.
Wedding?
We’ve hosted several weddings at La Grande Maison. Additionally, The Muir Beach Overlook with its sweeping ocean views is just a few steps across the street and is a perfect place for a wedding. Finally, the Pelican Inn hosts many weddings as does Slide Ranch, both of which are within a 5-10 minute drive from the house.
Hiking
If you like hiking, the Owl Trail starts literally across the street from the house and runs north from the Muir Beach Overlook through dense chaparral with rangy views of the coast down to Slide Ranch. Look for seabirds perched off shore, and owls in cypress trees along the trail. No need to drive to get to a wonderful hike. There are also a number of additional hiking trails in the Muir Beach area.
Muir Beach
The beach is a 5 minute drive down the hill, but if you’re feeling like a challenge it’s about a 20-25 minute walk down the hill. Going down is the easy part while coming back entails a pretty good climb.
The Decks
The extensive decks on the back and side of the house provide outstanding views of Mt. Tamalpais and surrounding hills and valley. You’ll find a playhouse to keep the kids entertained, and enough places to sit to be able to enjoy great conversation and mesmerizing views. A six burner gas grill is ready for grilling up some great meals.
Climate
Living on the Pacific Coast means that we have a moderate climate for most of the year. There are usually only a handful of days during the year when it’s hot enough that air conditioning would be useful. As such, we don’t have air conditioning nor do the majority of homes in Muir Beach.
Dinner Parties
When we say no parties or events we mean that we don't want people renting the house solely for the purpose of throwing a big party. However, small get togethers such as inviting friends over for a dinner party or a small engagement party are perfectly fine.
Number of Guests
We limit the number of adult guests to 8, but allow up to 2 infants or children under the age of six.