Hospitality · Big Sur · since 2011
Treebones Resort.
Family-built off-grid resort on a Big Sur bluff. Drives reservations. Fifteen years in.
The work
A coastal resort that doesn't need to shout.
The Handy family has stewarded this place since 2004. From this side, the work began in 2011, and we've rebuilt the site — end to end — several times over since. The look has evolved. The voice never has.
Each rebuild has the same job: get out of the way. Treebones is what happens when you arrive in Big Sur. Our work is what happens before — when someone is reading from a phone, six weeks out, trying to picture themselves on the bluff. Restraint earns that. Specificity earns that. So does loading fast.
The 2026 rebuild
Rebuilt from the studs. Shipped this spring.
The current site is a custom WordPress theme, built from the ground up — Gutenberg and ACF, no page-builder bloat. Every booking, every page, every reservation flow runs on it.
- 01
Custom theme, hand-built
A bespoke WordPress theme on Gutenberg + ACF — fast, maintainable, no page-builder weight to drag the bluff down.
- 02
Direct booking engine
WebRezPro wired in so guests reserve direct — the resort keeps the cut an OTA would otherwise take.
- 03
Seven lodging pages
Yurts to the 3D-printed Cove — every stay type its own page, its own hero, its own story.
- 04
Two dining reservation flows
The Lodge and Wild Coast Sushi, each wired to its own Tock reservation system.
- 05
Live bluff cam
A real-time feed from the bluff, built into the page. No filter, no edit — the coast as it is right now.
- 06
SEO + content architecture
Full content stack, clean schema, organic search — built to compound quietly, never to keyword-stuff.
Design language
The system the site runs on.
Palette
Pacific is the throughline — a seaglass tone holding the homepage together. Bark and Nightfall do the structural work. Parchment carries the text.
Typography
Pacific. Wilderness. Nest.
Big Sur off-grid resort. Yurts, the Autonomous Tent, the Cove, the Nest. Two restaurants. Family-built since 2004.
Editorial serif paired with a clean geometric sans. Italic accent phrases — usually one to three words — hit a brand value: Pacific, coast, nest.
Find your Big Sur stay
Seven kinds of nights on the bluff.
Each stay type gets its own page on the live site — its own hero, filmstrip, and copy. Click any card to land on the live deliverable.
-
01 Yurts
Sleep in a Yurt Above the Pacific
Spacious circular yurts with king beds, ocean views, and redwood decks designed for comfort and connection to the coast.
View live page ↗ -
02 Autonomous Tents
Off-Grid Living, Elevated
Private off-grid luxury with solar power, modern interiors, and expansive ocean views in one of Big Sur's most secluded settings.
View live page ↗ -
03 The Cove
A Tiny Home at the Edge of the Coast
A 3D-printed tiny home perched above the Pacific, blending modern design, sustainability, and a truly unique off-grid experience.
View live page ↗ -
04 Campsites
Camp Above the Pacific
Walk-in campsites with sweeping ocean views for those seeking a more traditional and self-sufficient Big Sur experience.
View live page ↗ -
05 The Twig Hut
Sleep Inside a Work of Art
A hand-built two-story wood structure offering an adventurous overnight stay with sweeping ocean views and a one-of-a-kind design.
View live page ↗ -
06 The Nest
Sleep in the Nest
A human-sized woven nest perched above the coastline, designed for a truly unforgettable and immersive night outdoors.
View live page ↗ -
07 The Treehouse
A Treehouse Stay Above Big Sur
A cozy redwood cabin accessed by suspension bridge, offering ocean views and a quiet, romantic escape among the trees.
View live page ↗
On the bluff
Two restaurants. Two reservation systems.
Both dining pages designed, both Tock flows wired — part of the same rebuild. The food is theirs; the way you find it and book it is ours.
The Lodge Restaurant
Wood-fired, garden-driven.
A four-course seasonal tasting from Chef Kyle Walker — wood-fired oven, on-site organic garden, the Pacific through the glass. Breakfast for overnight guests.
Wild Coast Sushi
Omakase, ocean at sunset.
Chef Yancy Knapp's multi-course omakase — premium seafood, limited seating, the coast going gold through the window.
“
Step away from the world
and into the wild edge.
— John Handy, looking out · Big Sur · 1986
Approach
A few decisions, held for years.
Photography is the page. Sections read as horizontal bands across the screen, never cards stacked on photos. Type stays small. Booking and the live bluff cam earn the engineering attention because those are the moments that decide whether a stranger becomes a guest.
Search visibility is honest. No keyword stuffing, no tricks. The brand voice matters more than any single ranking bump — and the rankings come anyway, because the writing is good and the structure is clean.
Right now · Big Sur
Live view from
the edge of the coast
No filter. No edit. Just our bluff above the Pacific as it looks at this moment.
↳ Live section as it ships on treebonesresort.com
Result
Drives reservations. Holds the brand. Quietly compounds.
Pages load fast. Mobile feels native. Booking actually works. Restaurants tell their story. Search finds the property. The site grows with the resort — and the voice it was given a decade ago still reads true today.
11+
Years on the account
7
Stay types covered
20+
Press features supported
Want to talk?
Most clients come by referral — but if this case study landed for you, that counts too. Tell me what you're building.