Okay, let's start with the good part - scintillating views of Dark Gulch, nice buildings, and nice grounds. True.

However, don't try and eat here - smart tourists will learn that there are plenty of great restaurants nearby - in Albion or Mendocino - where your servings don't leave you feeling hungry. Like Le Beauj, Stanford Inn, or Ledford - spend your money there ....

We had a small group and spent some $500. No problem - we intended to spend it. Problem was, the group left hungry.

I'm talking a sliver of fish on a plate - the entree. Save the plate an serve it on a cracker. A risotto dished up with a tablespoon. Triple the serving in any other restaurant - at least!

This phenomenon was not limited to a single item - every dinner plate seemed to have a vast china desert around the food itself. At $30 a pop.

Dainty might be the word for it. Insulting might better describe it. But hungry is definitely the end result. Not worth the trouble.

Granted, if the food was mind-blowing, these portions might be acceptable, but they were decent only, not memorable, and overshadowed by stultingly diminutive portions.

If you want to be here, our advice is to go for a drink - in winter, sit in front of that great fireplace; or play a game of chess and look out at the ocean. You'll have a nice time.

But if you go even a wee peckish, soon you'll be asking for the menu and trying to make a meal out of it, and that's where you'll go wrong. At that point, head into town!

I just returned from a weekend stay at the Heritage House. It was wonderful!! Our room had double glass doors opening onto a private deck with a view down to the ocean. It was incredibly peaceful and quiet. The bed was really comfortable and the bathroom was quite large. The room was filled with light.

The food was excellent. As good as and more interesting than fine restaurants in big cities. We also ate at the Albion River Inn and found the food and ambience and Heritage much better: melt in your mouth homemade gnocci, for example. And, a diverse offering for breakfast even though included. We are breakfast on a sunnny outdoor porch. Terrific and friendly service -- they opened the restaurant a half hour early (7:30 am) so that we could eat before heading to the airport. We will definitely go back.

Just stayed at Heritage House right after Christmas because we wanted to get away and read books by the fireplace with a view of the Pacific. We'd stayed at Heritage House a couple of years ago during the summer and had enjoyed our visit then, and were thrilled that this time we could book an even better room (one of the luxury rooms, with exceptional ocean views), and at the off-season reduced rate as well.

For the most part, everything we liked last time worked just as well this time. We got the exceptional view of the ocean and bluffs receding into the distance southward; we got the fireplace with plenty of firewood to keep a fire going all night; and the king-sized bed with featherbed was a dream to sleep on. The dual showers were great; the jacuzzi was all right, but sadly no views from the tub. The decor in the room was a bit faded (literally so, in the case of a couple of the decorative prints), but we'd known that from our previous stay, and considering how we were smoking up the place with our continuous fire, I can't blame them for not wanting to get too precious with the room furnishings.

The only point where I fault the inn was how they handled breakfast, which now comes free with the room. We did not receive breakfast during our first stay two and a half years ago, so just bought danish in Mendocino and ate in our room, no problem (there is a mini-bar with a small fridge in the room, though no eating utensils). This time, we got our expectations raised, since breakfast is now part of the deal. However, Heritage House doesn't seem to manage their breakfast operation well once the number of guests surpasses a certain threshold. Our first morning there were very few guests, and no problems--we came in, were promptly seated, and could order whatever we liked from the menu, which was prepared and served in short order. The quality of the food was excellent. However, on our second and third mornings, it was clear that the guest list was longer, and we had to wait ten minutes and twenty minutes, respectively, to be seated. And once we were seated, we were informed that our menu choices were restricted because they had run out of some ingredients.

It's especially difficult being told that you can't be seated when there's an entire dining room, immediately adjacent to the section that apparently constitutes the breakfast room, set up for meal service. And even inside the breakfast room there was a table for four (which could have been split into two tables for two, which would have been more appropriate as many guests appear to be couples) which remained unoccupied the entire time we were seated (after a 20-minute wait, and there were still people being seated towards the end of our meal after enduring half-hour waits). I fully understand the need for management to pace the breakfast orders so that the kitchen and waitstaff not get overwhelmed, but if they can't or won't increase the number of employees on duty to be able to serve their guests promptly (and we were told upon check-in, and signs inside the rooms also announce, that breakfast would only be served from 8 am until 10 am, which means that guests will arrive to be fed during that window), then maybe they just shouldn't bother with offering free breakfast service. I ended up feeling like I was imposing upon the waitstaff, in particular when one waitress was telling us all to just be patient through gritted teeth. We already have a car, it's not that much trouble to drive the few miles to Mendocino and get some eggs and coffee there.

So, in short, do stay at Heritage House Inn for the views and wood-burning fireplaces, but don't let the poorly-run breakfast scene undo the relaxation you'll be getting the rest of the time. Sleep in late and drive into town for your first meal of the day instead.