Los Angeles Magazine, May 2007
Luxury in Northern California

Lined with white gazebos and flowery B&Bs, Northern California's craggy Mendocino Coast has never been known for five-star accommodations. Up here, three superscenic hours north of San Francisco, it's all about natural beauty: ocean bluff walks and brilliant sunsets, historic lighthouses and gentle hills. But the recent renovation of the 60-year-old Heritage House (800-235-5885 or heritagehouseinn.com; $450-$1,300) has finally moved Mendocino into the modern age, giving visitors a new level of luxury. In the tiny town of Little River, scattered across 37 acres above the Pacific, each of Heritage's 47 rooms and cottages is tastefully indulgent. Along with a wood-burning fireplace, snowy-soft duvet, and powerful rain shower, they all come with an espresso machine, the obligatory plasma, and an iPod loaded with everything from Barry White to Britney to Bach. The private decks offer perfectly angled Adirondack chairs from which to watch the crashing waves and sip the complimentary whiskey. Steps away is the dining room, where foie-gras-stuffed roasted quail and pan-seared duck breast are on the menu. There are shops and galleries to browse in the town of Mendocino, but they can wait; the inn's new spa beckons.

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