San Francisco Magazine, May 2007
The 365-day Weekend

Golden days on the north coast and star-filled evenings without the fog's chill–there's nothing more romantic than Mendocino in autumn.

Perched on cliffs that plunge dramatically into the pounding Pacific, Heritage House is the perfect place for an affair–not that we'd advocate that sort of thing. It's no wonder filmmakers chose this rustic cluster of cottages as the location for the 1978 film Same Time, Next Year, in which Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn meet one evening and return for a weekend each year to carry on a love affair that spans decades. The hotel continues to draw lovers to its craggy coastline, where they rendezvous, elope, honeymoon, and celebrate anniversaries. And now, under the direction of GHM Hotels and redesigned by Jaya Ibrahim (the name behind the Setai in Miami and the Legian in Bali), this farmhouse-turned-hotel is in the midst of a major revival.

Its quaint character–a reception area always lit with a fire, giving way to a bar and lounge with awe-inspiring views of the Pacific–is still intact, but it now has the amenities for discriminating travelers. So far, nearly half the rooms have been transformed with mini living rooms and decks, wood-burning fireplaces, plasma TVs, slate-tiled bathrooms, feather beds, and iPod docks. All will have broadband access and land lines (until now, none had phones, and there still isn't cell service).

An intimate spa by Espa (a high-end consultancy that has created spas in the Maldives and Hong Kong) provides Asian-inspired massages and body treatments. GHM has also imported Australian chef Nancy Kinchela, who turns out melt-in-your-mouth specialties like organic lamb shoulder rubbed with rosemary, and Niman Ranch beef tenderloin served with seared foie gras. This season also sees the full bloom of the new garden Kinchela has planted in order to serve guests her own organic produce, some of which (like chamomile, beets, and white thyme) will be used in spa treatments as well.

Special packages for guests include a Champagne Bath Pairing (a grape-based bath product and a glass of specially paired wine–wonderfully strange) and a privately chauffeured tour of the top wineries in the nearby Anderson Valley. Sometimes, though, it's the littlest details that make the biggest impression. A telephone call from the hotel prior to arrival allows guests to request their own minibar selection as well as the type of sheets and pillows they prefer.

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