Headlands Inn Bed & Breakfast — Hotel in Fort Bragg

Good location in the small historic town of Mendocino among charming Victorian houses that face the gorgeous headland cliffs overlooking⁹ the ocean. ||I made a reservation for the deluxe king room - Headlands Hideaway - which I didn't know was in a different building across the street from the main bed and breakfast house. |This room was in a nondescript duplex building with no access from the street. You pass through the wooden gate that leads to a wood deck in the back and enter from this back porch. It was a little odd, but I ended up liking the quiet privacy of the cozy room. ||The room looked exactly like the photos except that there wasn't any outdoor furniture on the wooden deck. I'm assuming that's because it was a cold, rainy March and April this year. ||The Wi-Fi worked well and the gas stove heated the room like a champ! It was easily controlled by a wall thermostat. ||Though no one was present to check me in at the big house, instructions were left to help me pick up the keys and find my room. Inside, there was a binder with more apartment information, as well as local sites and restaurants. I later discovered that check in messages had been sent through Booking, but didn't have a cell signal to see them until after check in. || I thought it was a tad more expensive than it should have been given the fact that several of the amenities mentioned in the reviews did not apply to this off-site accommodation. ||I arrived at 2:15pm, but a note on the door stated the manager would return at 3pm. So I went out walking the Headlands and returned around 6, but no one was there. I guess reception is only a 2hr window... ||This apartment does not have a view. The French door entry overlooks the back deck and the neighbor's grass backyard beyond that. The bathroom window overlooks the street. ||The upscale toiletries included shampoos and soaps that were all-natural blends that smelled like... a fistful of flowers and weeds from a garden. I was not a fan; I bought a bar of generic soap in town. ||The shower and toilet were low-flow, but that is to be expected in California, a state in a state of perpetual drought. ||The king bed mattress was a bit worn with the obvious sink pattern of two people sleeping on each side of a hump in the middle. ||The delicious breakfast with the hot soufflé, French toast, bacon, etc. that the guest reviews raved about did not extend to me at the Hideaway. The welcome information left for me stated that a breakfast basket of muffins, granola bars, and fruit would be delivered in the morning. As it turned out, I left before 9am, so I was not there to receive this basket, anyway. ||I did not receive fresh flowers or chocolates in my room, either. I arrived too late to know whether or not I would've been invited to the afternoon tea... I DID have a key to the main house, but no explanation as to why. I felt it would be oddly intrusive to let myself into the bed and breakfast when my room wasn't in that house. ||The lack of these little details did not sour my stay, but I'd be lying if I said the advertised breakfast wasn't part of my decision to stay there. ||I dropped my keys off at the main house where a housekeeper answered the door, a bit annoyed that I'd interrupted her...

You should really book this lovely bed and breakfast right now! I wish we had time to stay more than just the one night. We checked in late, and the owners left us a lovely welcome note with information about where to get our keys and how to let them know about our breakfast choices. This was a mother/daughter Pacific Coast Highway 1 road trip. We specifically chose locally owned b&b and funky mom/pop retro motels for the entire trip. We researched places to stay for months, so you can be sure this review is based on high expectations! We were not disappointed about anything during our stay at The Headlands Inn! We chose the George Switzer Room because of the top floor location with village views, lots of windows, that huge king size bed with a feather mattress, and a wood burning fireplace! We loved that the host left plenty of dry, well-seasoned wood ready for us. The bed was so comfortable that I don’t even remember falling asleep. We loved being able to crank the windows open and slept with a lovely cross breeze all night. We woke up to the smell of the garden flowers wafting on the breeze. Speaking of flowers! The inn’s garden is full of beautiful blooming plants. The host even had a lovely arrangement on our morning breakfast tray. Breakfast at the inn was one of the best meals we had during the entire trip, and we ate at some amazing places! Thick cut French toast with cream cheese and cinnamon between layers of homemade bread, fresh fruit, breakfast sausage links, juice, coffee with real cream, and hot tea was served just outside our bedroom door. I have to point out that the toast was sprinkled with little, edible gold stars! Truly delightful! The details- street parking is available, we felt very safe, quiet inn and very quiet location, easy walk to every shop and restaurant in the historic district, beautiful garden, directly across from a little park with seating and swings, homemade cookies and coffee at check in were a nice touch, lovely view of the headlands, room has a private bath, there are common areas for all guests to enjoy, you can purchase the art too. Accessibility- like all historic/old houses, the stairs are narrow so if you have a large suitcase getting it up the stairs might be an issue for you. We used a carryon and totes so make accommodations by packing differently if that’s an issue for you. We 100% loved our stay and want to do a weekend just in Mendocino. We will definitely be staying at The...

We had a mixed experience staying here for 2 nights recently. I'll start with the great: Excellent location, right in the middle of Mendocino walking distance to everything you'd ever need in town, as well as the coastline. Wonderful to have a fireplace stocked with wood to use any time you please. We took full advantage of this! Very comfortable bed (we were in one of the cottages) Afternoon cookies and tea was perfection!

The not so great: While absolutely lovely to have breakfast delivered on a tray each morning, and it looked beautiful, we were disappointed with a few aspects of breakfast that would be easy fixes for the inn (especially given the price we paid for the room). Several things were extremely overcooked and dry to the point of being burnt (a muffin, which was actually blackened in several places and the baked egg dishes, which stuck terribly to the pan with dark brown all over the base and edges). Also, although they asked upon arrival if we took cream or sugar with our morning coffee and tea, neither were provided. I had to run into the main lobby area to request some, which sort of defeats the point of breakfast delivery. Lastly, the fruit salads were beautifully arranged to have one layer of nectarines and berries on top, with two stacked layers of grapes hidden beneath. If they were all mixed up it mightn't be that big a deal but it was weird how they tried to show off the fancier fruits on top, but the majority was just grapes. Our room had a distinct, almost headache-inducing smell. Possibly mold or mothballs or a weird cleaner? Smelled kind of chemical-y. We should have said something upon arrival (that's on us), but we opened all the windows in the hopes of airing it out and it never did, even after 2 days with the windows open. The tub didn't drain well. The little drain cover kept falling down and sealing it every few minutes, which was annoying. Not a biggie but again just frustrating since we rarely spend this amount on housing and were hoping it would be amazing.

Given the price, I probably wouldn't stay again. We don't get to stay at fancy bed and breakfasts often (like, ever), so maybe our expectations were high but it's tough to pay nearly $300 a night and have so many little issues. However, as I mentioned we did love the afternoon cookies, the comfy bed, and excellent location, so if these other things were fixed (or one-off problems), it could be a pretty...