By Last Updated on January 19, 2023
Northern California’s Mendocino County is a wild, untamed paradise known for its natural wonders. This outdoor lover’s nirvana is also renowned for another treasure: Mendocino bed and breakfast Inns. Quaint and cozy inns along with charming bed and breakfasts dot the coastal landscape.
Situated on a windswept bluff overlooking the rugged Mendocino coast, Brewery Gulch Inn was designed in a warm California Craftsman style paying homage to the area’s stunning redwood forests. Like many of the businesses in this area that celebrate an entrepreneurial spirit, Brewery Gulch Inn is family owned and operated – and the best Mendocino bed and breakfast if you ask us!
History of the Inn
The Inn, located on the original 10-acre homestead of Mendocino pioneer, Homer Barton, borders 48,000 acres of undeveloped state forest meadows and redwoods. It’s no wonder Barton chose this site as the down-slope vista to the crashing waves of Smuggler’s Cove is absolutely breathtaking.
Incredibly Beautiful Great Room
Constructed in 2001 from 150-year-old reclaimed virgin redwood from nearby Big River, Brewery Gulch Inn boasts 15-foot cathedral ceilings in its Great Room with a massive four-sided glass and steel fireplace. This room is a favorite gathering place for visitors, especially on a chilly California Pacific Coast morning or evening as we, like other guests, truly appreciated the warmth and glow of the fireplace embers.
The Great Room area also serves as the check in for this inn and contains a book library along with a 500+ DVD collection and an extensive selection of board games.
Best Mendocino Bed and Breakfast
A selection of coffee and teas, pastries and fruits are always available in the Great Room. A breakfast area with quarter-sawn oak tables and chairs overlooks the outdoor patio with unwavering ocean views.
Speaking of breakfast, this Mendocino bed and breakfast inns made-to-order gourmet cuisine hits the spot! Menu items change according to the availability of organic and locally-sourced products. In addition, a heritage garden planted at nearby Ferrington Vineyards provides seasonal fruits and vegetables used to prepare the inn’s breakfasts and snacks.
Each afternoon, guests are treated to a selection of wine and small bite offerings. Wines are from nearby California vineyards, and small bite plates are exquisitely delightful, filled with cheese, meat, olives, nuts, and other items perfectly selected to pair with the wines. It’s more than a simple appetizer so you may not even need to make that dinner reservation – one more reason why we rate this as the best Mendocino bed and breakfast.
Guest Accommodations
Each of the 11 individual guest rooms at the two-story inn are tastefully decorated in soothing classic earth-tones and natural woods. Each includes a fireplace and private bath. Some also feature balconies. All rooms with the exception of one suite enjoy ocean views. We love the names of the rooms and suites as they pay homage to nature’s regional treasures like Redwood, Manzanita, Osprey, Raven and Meadowview.
Our Smuggler’s Cove loft was the highest room, located six steps above the second floor by private stairway. It featured walls of sea grass, a king feather bed, luxury linens, leather chairs, a writing desk and gasfireplace. Without a doubt, our favorite aspect of the room was its view. In the morning, we’d throw on our plush robes, snuggle near the fireplace, and enjoy our first cup of coffee overlooking Smuggler’s Cove on the magnificent Mendocino coast.
It’s not unusual for a layer of fog to blanket the area at any time during the day, but at some point, it always seems to lift, replaced by fluffy white clouds and bluebird skies.
Getting to Know the Property
Local artworks are showcased throughout the inn and include abstract paintings, wildlife photography, murals, stonework and antique button pieces. Many of these items are available for purchase.
Access to the grounds is on a climbing, winding rustic road leading past picturesque ponds surrounded by grasses, shrubs and flowers native to this region. Of course, there are the towering redwoods, pine forests and moss-covered Spanish oaks on property as well as a myriad of flowers in the rolling meadows surrounding the inn. Of importance to us and those who are environmentally conscious, no herbicides, pesticides or fungicides are used anywhere on property.
One of our favorite ways to enjoy the peace and serenity of Brewery Gulch Inn was sitting on the outdoor patio with its comfy chairs, pillows and blankets. Guests almost feel as though they must speak in hushed tones as not to disrupt the sounds of birds, wildlife, and the waves crashing in at the cove.
If you can pull yourself away from the property, try this railbike excursion. The area is renowned for its steam engine railroad history.
It’s no wonder this enchanting property is considered the best Mendocino bed and breakfast having won numerous awards by such publications as Conde Nast, Travel + Leisure and USA Today’s 10 Best. It’s romantic, classy, intimate, welcoming, and downright gorgeous. A stay here is serene escapism at its finest.
A song by famous singer Carly Simon says it best, and the lyric applies to this of all Mendocino bed and breakfast inns: “It’s the Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of.”
What do you think?