Little River Inn, Mendocino: Stay Highlights
/Back as promised with some, nay - several, details on our wonderful stay at the Little River Inn in Mendocino! One weekend was too short of a time to really explore all of the many things Mendocino county has to offer, let alone Little River Inn, but here's a little recap of our attempts at the latter, at the very least. :)
1. Explore the ~220 acres of wooded property along the Mendocino coast.
Any of the ocean-front rooms or luxury cabins will get you access to ALL of the endless beauty the property offers, but as a lucky occupant of one of the Garden Retreat suites, you get to do in your pajamas. Right outside of our back porch was a picture perfect haven of hills, grassy fields and bluffs overlooking the rough NorCal Pacific waters. I could hardly go to bed our first night in anticipation of our mornings!
Sleep Set: c/o adore me
2. Enjoy a relaxing hour or two in the hot tub.
As someone that isn't used to luxury travel, you bet there were a few high pitched shrieks involved when I laid eyes on this hot tub + bubbly situation! Not even kidding, you guys, our options one afternoon were 1) to go into the town for coffee and food or 2) hot tub until golden hour. Based on the fact there are pictures of the latter and not of the former, you can guess which way our minds bent. (Because if you didn't take pictures, did you really do it? ;))
3) Order yourself an order of Little River Inn's famous Swedish Hotcakes. And their Abalone fitters. Just not at the same time. ;)
The food is an obvious deciding criterion when we plan any trip, so you can trust me when I say that the kitchen at Little River Inn is a choice well made. Not only did we thoroughly enjoy our one full dinner at the Restaurant (The waters in Mendocino are famous for Abalone diving, so definitely try them if you're seafood-okay. So good!), we had read in reviews that the breakfast has a must try Swedish Pancakes or 'Hotcakes' listed. If eating a yummy aka sugary breakfast in this cozy vintage space isn't the definition of an indulgent morning, I don't know what is!
Tip: The kitchen is run by globally renowned Chef Mark Dym, so call ahead to ensure that he's running the kitchen the night you're planning to visit!
Sleep set: c/o adore me
4. Catch a killer sunset along the Mendocino coast.
If there's one thing that's a must do, it's this one! The Pacific coast rarely disappoints when it comes to sunsets.. add the rustic Mendocino coast to this, and it's basically heaven. We took a leisurely stroll during golden hour before heading to dinner and 'wow' was all either of us said for the rest of the night. So beautiful!
5. En route to or from Mendocino and SF, make pit-stops at The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talmage and at Paysanne's Gourmet Ice Cream in Boonville.
I know, I know, one's a religious temple and the other is dessert, but I promise you, both hidden gems are well worth it! :)
Thank you for reading and have a great week ahead!
XO Sushmitha :)
