Little River Inn, Family-owned Resort on Mendocino Coast, CA

Ask fifth generation innkeeper Cally Dym what adjectives best describe Little River Inn and you are likely to hear “friendly,” “scenic” and “unpretentious.” And while these words all fit Little River Inn to a tee, I found strength in the word “family.”

Definition: Family, noun. A group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. Or in the case of the Little River Inn, a friendly, unpretentious group consisting of parents, grandparents, children, gardeners, chefs, cooks, bartenders, bus boys, waiters and housekeepers. Everyone at the Little River Inn, from guests to grounds keepers, is treated like a member of the family.

In fact, when you step inside the Little River Inn, you are stepping into a piece of living history. Cally’s great-great-grandfather, Silas Coombs, built the original California home in 1863. Her grandparents, Ole and Cora Hervilla, converted the house into the Inn seven decades ago and the place is still going strong.

Situated on the old Coombs homestead, Little River Inn features 66 ocean-view rooms, 2 one bedroom suites and a two bedroom suite, in addition to a restaurant and bar, 9-hole golf course, tennis courts and day spa.

Romance at Little River Inn

From decks with hot tubs to fireplace rooms, there are plenty of ways to ignite romantic sparks at the Little River Inn. I was traveling with a couple of girlfriends, so no romance this trip, but we all enjoyed our ocean view rooms, gigantic bathtubs and the camaraderie of dining together over Chef Marc Dym’s California cuisine – order the crab cakes!

Coombs Cottage

I was fortunate to have landed at the Coomb’s Cottage, a one bedroom, ocean view house, off property, with a fireplace, Jacuzzi bathtub, private deck and outdoor hot tub. My room #245, rented for $329 off season and $369 in the high season. All weekend stays require a two night minimum, except Thanksgiving single Saturday. Check the website for package deals and current pricing.

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All rooms come with alarm clocks, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron and ironing board, mini fridge, robes and television, as well as complimentary internet access (that actually works fast!)

"Coombs Cottage" Little River Inn — Take in the ocean view of the Mendocino coast on the Coombs Cottage porch at Little River Inn.

Family-friendly and pet-friendly Little River Inn

Children under the age of 16 stay free in a shared room at Little River Inn. Child-friendly menus are offered in the dining room and via room service. There are kid-friendly activities offered on property throughout any given month – check the Little River Inn website for calendar.

Pets are allowed (and welcomed with a doggie goodie bag) at $25 per night, per pet, with a maximum of two pets per room.

"BeeKind Little River Inn" — BeeKind bath and body products are environmentally-friendly, as is the Little River Inn located in Northern California.

Be kind to the environment

Little River Inn offers BeeKind bath and body products from Gilchrist & Soames. The BeeKind paper bottle is a 59% reduction in packaging material and 92% reduction in waste space compared to plastic shampoo bottles. The BeeKind Collection does not contain parabens, or propylene glycol and are free of artificial dyes and colors.

What’s with the bees? Proceeds of the net sales of BeeKind support honey bee research at the University of California at Davis.

Need to know:

Check in: 4 p.m.

Check out: 12 p.m.

Insider tip

Like golf? Families staying on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day receive a free round of golf for the family.

For additional insider tips follow Luxury Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown on Twitter and follow Little River Inn on Twitter.

If You Go:

Little River Inn (888) Inn Love

7901 N. Highway 1

Little River, California 95456

Article written by, photos and video courtesy of Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip, Travels from Northern California. I was a guest of Little River Inn.