We spent last weekend at Little River Inn, and will revel in that great experience for a long time. Our very pleasant room had an unobstructed ocean view. We are certified foodies, and thoroughly enjoyed our dinner in their garden, which was well heated. The Bouillabaisse broth was excellent, the petrale sole and the vanilla bean crème brulee the best ever. Service was exemplary, both from hostess Sue and waiter Nick. The in-room breakfast was successful, with hot dishes hot. We do look forward to resumption of restaurant service at breakfast. Ole's hotcakes and their scones are the best. We look forward to our next visit.
I am a local and wanted to experience the Inn. I told the clerk my daughter was disabled and we were put into room 228. I was looking foward to a nice hot bath but instead there was only a shower with no safety rails, not even a shower chair. The phone for room service was not working. Fish and chips was awful!! oh my gosh you guys I know you can serve better. Two appetizers and a fish and chips totaled $60...the room $240+ for a 13hr stay. Advice to locals..not worth sending your family and friends to stay.
This review is only for the restaurant. Do not come here…. Run! Came here alone for dinner, as I stayed in another place nearby. It was horrible. Hostess was okay, thus 1 star rating. Waitress is something else. She was not attentive. No where to be seen and charged me 20% tips. To catch her with her 40+ min of visit intervals was impossible. I didn’t bother and paid for the tips. Food was also horrible. I ordered sole with veggies. Sole was a bit dry. The only veggie available that evening was green beans. It sounds healthy, right? Think again! The entire dish was swimming in grease. Uneatable. I had to rinse the green beans. It was the worst dinner I ever had in the last 10 years. Yes. It made a record. I talked to a few locals after. This is a failing business that has clearly given up. Business that runs in family is difficult to keep up and I think their time is up.…
The ocean views are terrific, no doubt about it. Whoever decorated the rooms, and we had a newly done one, should return to the Motel 6 where they trained. Reading in bed? Impossible. Decor . . .as I said, Motel 6 or worse. But the worst thing here, and the reason why we'll never return, is the horrible food. On one occasion, both meals featured "seasonal" veggies which included reconstituted dried mushrooms. What was worse was that they hadn't been fully reconstituted so that they were still dry and impossible to chew. In our most recent visit we figured "how can they screw up a burger?" We found out. They arrived rare (we had asked for medium), they had sat quite some time before delivery to the table and they arrived close to room temperature. Same with the fries, room temperature. We sent it all back and finally got new fries but they weren't able to save the burgers. We brought a special Cabernet. The lady acting as sommelier brings us small white wine glasses knowing full well we had a Cab sitting on the table. We had to ask for proper Bordeaux glasses, which we finally got. As for the sauces, be sure to get the gloppy additions on the side. The only bright light was our nice waitress Tea and the other waitstaff. If you think paying big bucks for the view is fine, then this is your place, but the rest is pretty much not good at all. Staff generally are very nice and friendly.…
Little River Inn has epic views but outdated rooms and an overall tired appearance that starts with the first impression when arriving. I get the inn probably gets pounded by storms, which probably does a number on the buildings. But when I arrived there was trash and litter on the grounds and most of the painted wood needed a good repainting. At check-in I was never addressed by name nor thanked for staying. I also wasn't asked if I needed any local area info. My room was spacious and had a nice closet and nice bathroom, including the separate tub and separate walk-in shower, but it was a good 10 years outdated. There were ZERO accessible outlets for USB devices. I counted two electrical outlets; neither were convenient to plug in a computer. I had to move furniture around and unplug things to charge basic devices, like my phone. That's just unacceptable in the year 2021. The TV was very small and old (from 2010). 11 years ago. So old that there was a VCR player with the TV. Who watches VCR? The TV remote control didn't work well. I had to manually control it with the buttons. There was no channel guide. The HVAC system. I didn't have a fancy fireplace. I had a gas stove that was controlled by the wall thermostat. Simply pushing buttons and arrow to raise or lower the temperature didn't work. You had to override the system. I've never had to do that before. You shouldn't need to be a HVAC engineer to figure out how to heat your room. Also, when the gas stove's thermostat on the wall senses it has reached the desired temperature, it shuts off. So you can't just keep the gas stove running all night like you could with a fireplace. The bed, a king-sized bed, had lower quality linen on par with an airport Courtyard. The bed had no backboard. Instead, three very hard foam pillows were standing up as a makeshift backboard. I was given two pillows for sleeping. They felt like they had been filled with oversized cottonballs. They certainly weren't down pillows. Getting into the room was a pain because the entrance is a sliding glass door with an old-fashioned metal key. It's not easy to open and close nor lock and unlock. It's one of those things that is great in concept but poor in execution. Zero privacy. You have to keep the shades closed if you're thinking of changing clothes, going to bed or having a romantic moment. Even if you're just sleeping, a pervert or creeper to could just look into your room. The inn is right off the highway. There's nothing stopping someone from walking the hundred yards to look into your room or even break the sliding glass and steal your valuables. I also thought it was unusual that the inn has golf and even a spa but no gym. Would it be that hard t have a small room with treadmills and other fitness equipment since you already have a spa? What the hotel lacked in rooms it made up for in the restaurant at dinner. The service was good, the wine list was extensive and reasonably priced, and the food was good, although the food was a little limited and the menu was pretty heavy on dishes with carbs. I would have liked to seen some healthier options like simply grilled fish. It seemed like most of the menu options included potatoes, bread, croutons, baguettes, or sauces. From a service standpoint, two things could be improved: 1) Replace forks and knifes between courses - don't ask customers to keep them. 2) A sommelier would be nice given the extensive wine list. Or at least recommend pairings on the menu if the restaurant can't hire a full-time sommelier. I can't say the same thing about breakfast. Breakfast is delivered to your room, which in theory is nice. But it doesn't start until 8 am, which is absurdly late. It's also not ideal when there is less than desirable weather. If the inn can't start breakfast at a more reasonable 7 am, it should offer a grab-and-go selection in the lobby with yogurt, granola, etc. for guests who want something first thing in the morning. Overall, my room had epic views that partially made up for the outdated decor and features. Some higher quality bedding, fresh paint, power strips and a new TV would help things feel modern. Also, the breakfast has to be improved. Would I stay again? Mendocino has lots of inns. I would probably look elsewhere because I don't think this property is worth $250-$300+ per night.…
We were driving north from San Francisco on a little impromptu road trip. Long story short, we ended up quite by "accident" at the Little River Inn. They were fully booked but managed to find us a room at about 9:30pm as we could not find anywhere else to stay. We stayed in a room that is not normally reserved as it is part of the old homestead that was originally there. The room was spotless, everything was comfortable and we were actually upset that we didn't plan to just overnight here! The check in and check out process was smooth and painless and even though the room seemed a bit pricey it was a pleasant stay. To top it off, I actually left my watch in the room by accident and when I called them and left a message two days later (I finally realized where I had left my watch) when I got home they had mailed it to me at no cost. The staff were extremely friendly and concerned even at 10pm at night and they even gave the kids some biscuits as we had not eaten that evening. I definitely want to plan a trip here next time I am in California and stay for a couple of days to enjoy the beautiful view and other amenities. Thank you and keep it up!…
This inn is quite extensive with many types of rooms or cottages. Most have ocean view rooms with decks off of the rooms. There is a spa (not open due to COVID), tennis courts and golf. Rooms are very clean and staff is friendly. Breakfast is served in your room at this time due to COVID but dinner is served nightly in the main dining room or outside, which is lovely setting.
We stayed at the Little River Inn in May 2021 on our honeymoon - we wanted something on the water when we were in the area to visit a favorite winery in Philo. The Little River Inn delivered on everything we wanted and more. The website was so helpful in helping us choose exactly the right room - a little bit of a walk back from dinner (which was great after the filling meal!) and wonderful ocean sounds that we could fall asleep to. Our "obstructed" view was a perfect blend of forest and ocean - kind of like a tree house. The room was clean, safe, spacious and featured all the COVID protections we wanted. It even had a fireplace! The hotel staff were friendly and obliging - we were even treated to some snacks and wine as we were visiting while on our honeymoon. We also had one meal at the hotel, which was delicious - the outdoor setting was beautiful and the heat lamps helped with the chill. We would recommend the Little River Inn to anyone and are thrilled we found it.…
Thank you very much to the wonderful Little River Inn for another amazing anniversary celebration! Your staff is wonderful and all safety precautions at check in, in the room and dining areas were all well done and appreciated. The James Dean Suite was incredible and the ocean views are stunning! The hotel and gardens look as beautiful as ever. Your passion is appreciated and obvious. We’ll be back and continue to tell friends in the meantime. PS: Don’t miss Wild Fish across the street too! Special places!
The inn offers a range of rooms. We stayed in the least expensive with a “filtered” view of Van Damm beach and out to sea. It was very nice! From our balcony we saw whales spouting. Many accommodations in the area cost much more, but could not offer better comfort and service.
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Listing