Northern California is one of our favorite spots for weekend escapes, especially along the coast. Only two and a half to three hours from San Francisco lies Mendocino and Fort Bragg, both along the coast, but with lots of cute shops and cafes in their small downtown areas as well. We’ve been up here many times in the past and have reviewed other properties as well so be sure to see our previous articles for more things to do and see that we didn’t cover this time, such as the Botanical Gardens and Glass Beach.
On this trip, we stayed at the Glendeven Inn & Lodge and Little River Inn — read on for the details.
Glendeven Inn & Lodge
Glendeven Inn & Lodge has several buildings on its property with room offerings of various types. In other words, some are more modern and others a bit more traditional. All rooms include wood burning fireplace, flat screen TV, fridge, coffee maker, and microwave, to name just a few of the amenities. The Glendeven Lodge (it houses the lobby area where you check in), was originally built in 1987 and as you can see, has tons of windows.
Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge
One of the things that we love about the property is that it is spread out and sits among nature. One of the more charming ones is the historic farmhouse (1867), which houses five rooms, four of which offer ocean views. It is sheltered from the ocean winds and yet, it still has terrific views of the stunning coastline.
The Historical Farmhouse. Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge
Below are some of the building shots that we took during our stay.
A front view of the farm house. Note the benches where you can sit outside and the lemon tree. There’s a coffee station inside.
Stevenscroft Building from the side – our room was on the upper level with the big window.
Here, you can get an idea of the expansive nature of the property and the green lawns and trees which surround the buildings.
Above: Glendeven Inn: The Barn Loft, The Farmhouse, and Stevenscroft (left to right). Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge
The Stevenscroft buildings (upper right) has a “L” shape so the rooms upstairs and downstairs are not side-by-side but rather corner to corner. Three of the rooms (Briar Rose, Pinewood, and East Farmington) have outside ocean-view areas accessed through French doors, all of which have incredible views down the coast.
The Stevenscroft Building. Our room was on the upper left with the big window.
Below, an example of one of their more modern rooms.
Photo credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge
It’s not just the lush gardens which make this property so beautiful but they also have chickens and a llama pasture. How fun, right? Who doesn’t love llamas? Their Carriage House (below) is home to their upstairs Carriage House Grand Suite. The main floor houses the art gallery which also overlooks the courtyard.
Above: one of the llamas on property during our stay during an early morning walk.
Glendeven is home to three llamas and yes, they all have names. Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge.
The Carriage House Grand Suite has the largest bathroom on their property with a double-headed shower, and tons of light with its four closeable skylights — we are a huge fan of skylights.
The Carriage House Building. Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge.
We stayed in a room they refer to as the BAY LOFT which is a second floor ocean view room with dramatic high-vaulted loft ceilings. Its huge bay window overlooks the gardens with a corridor view straight to Van Damme’s “Stag Rock.” You can see the llamas outside the window.
The BAY LOFT. Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge.
The Bay Loft has a queen size feather bed tucked away in a nook room across from three skylights so you can see the magnificent north coast stars from your bed. There is a tile-hearth wood-burning fireplace with swivel-chair seating, which is cozy for reading and watching the fire or viewing the ocean. The dining table is set right in front of your bay window so you float above the garden while you have a glass of wine, tea or morning breakfast. (below)
The sitting room chairs by the fireplace in the Bay Loft room. Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge.
The bathroom in the BAY ROOM. Credit: Glendeven Inn & Lodge.
The bathroom has a marble tiled shower with chrome finishes, (above). Included is a three-course, hot, in-room breakfast using their local farm-raised chicken eggs, a hot or cold fruit dish of the day, and homemade baked goods, with organic fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee or tea, PLUS complimentary wine daily. Yes, really. Our breakfast included OJ, citrus salad with gingered yogurt, a Colorado chili quiche with blistered pasillas (pictured below the basket), and homemade corn bread with honey.
Above, breakfast came in a basket at 9 am.
Above, part of the hot breakfast included the Chili Quiche with Blistered Pasillas.
Note: the breakfast menu changes, for one the second day, they gave us a Spinach Souffle (so fluffy, airy and light), Berry chia pudding with granola and oat milk (OMG, this was scrumptious) and homemade soda bread. Whoever the chef is, we say “bravo bravo!” It’s rare to get such fresh and delicious breakfast, especially in the midst of the pandemic, which continues to be a bit stricter in Mendocino county than it is further south.
Breakfast @ Glendeven Inn & Lodge. Note that the above image has the Berry Chia Pudding (upper left and lower right) and the Spinach Souffle. (lower center)
One of the most precious things about the property is that it has many trails you can take and even if you’re not a trail walker, there’s plenty of natural beauty on-site. See below for some of the shots we took during our stay.
Look at the fresh lemons.
More fruit trees on the grounds.
We also went for a few walks on the grounds as well, one of which took us into the woods, down a hill and over a bridge. I felt like we were in Middle Earth at times. We also passed some wild mushrooms along the way.
Wild mushrooms on the trails.
Plenty of ferns as well, which reminded us of New England.
They don’t charge extra for their Wi-fi, homemade cookies, self-serve coffee and tea stations, hiking trails, personalized parking, farm animals, or their manicured (and edible) gardens.
DETAILS:
Glendeven Inn & Lodge
8205 N. Hwy 1, Little River, CA 95456
707-937-0083 or 800-822-4536
Little River Inn
Perched on the edge of the Pacific, just miles south of the village of Mendocino, the family-owned Little River Inn has been running it for five generations. Many of the Little River Inn rooms have ocean views, fireplaces, steam showers, Jacuzzi tubs, or individual hot tubs. There are many pet friendly accommodations from which to choose as well.
Above, the main lodge/building at Little River Inn. The restaurant is to the right and the lobby on the left.
One of the best things about staying here is the fact that it is surrounded by nature on all sides. And of course, the ocean views off in the distance. There’s actually a small beach nearby you can actually walk to which is on the way to downtown Mendocino.
We stayed in one of the three rooms/suites that are part of what they call the MALLORY HOUSE. All three rooms face the ocean and are surrounded by trees and deer who graze casually on the lawn outside your room. Each room faces a slightly different direction, aka Electra which faces west is a top floor suite.
Above and below: the Mallory House which has three rooms.
We stayed in a room called the Johanna Brock, which was an eastern view room that was also part of the Mallory House.
Above and below, the Johanna Brock room (part of the Mallory House). Credit: Little River Inn.
Above and below, the Johanna Brock room (part of the Mallory House). Credit: Little River Inn.
The bedroom in the Johanna Brock room. Credit: Little River Inn.
Below, is our bathroom in the Johanna Brock room.
The bathroom in the Johanna Brock room. Credit: Little River Inn.
There are also more traditional rooms which face the ocean as well if you want to stay on the main property.
View from a patio of one of the rooms at Little River Inn. Credit: Little River Inn.
The Electra. Credit: Little River Inn.
There’s also the White Cottage which is on the ground floor and the Hannah Madison (pictured below).
Above: The Hannah Madison room/suite. Credit: Little River Inn.
For more information, be sure to visit their website to view the various types of rooms they offer, including rates, and information about their restaurant.
DETAILS:
Little River Inn
7751 CA-1
Little River, CA 95456
Want even more spectacular views and walks, then head into Mendocino where there is a cliff walk you can take (photos below). You can also browse some of the quirky and creative shops, cafes and museums.
Panoramic shot of Anthony and I in downtown Mendocino overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The Kelly House Museum in downtown Mendocino.
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We were hosted by the properties but all opinions expressed are entirely our own.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
