Mill Valley’s Mountain Home Inn — 100 Years of Hospitality

A cozy room at the Mountain Home Inn.This past November, one of my favorite Northern California retreats celebrated a landmark occasion.

 

Mill Valley’s Mountain Home Inn

I’ve been staying at the Mountain Home Inn for more than a decade. The first time was before I was married. I was invited by the owner to spend the night when I was in the process of updating my first travel book — Insight Guide Northern California. Years later, my husband and I brought our baby daughter and set up a pack ‘n’ play in one of the bigger rooms. The vigilant parents of a firstborn, we had packed the intercom to keep tabs on her while we dined upstairs by the cozy fireplace. Over the years, I’ve stayed in more than half of the inn’s 10 “rustic romantic” rooms.

Most recently, our family (now four of us) spent a couple of nights there for my birthday which happened to land on the numerically auspicious date of 11/11/11. Dan and I slept late while our kids roamed around the property sipping hot chocolate proffered by the gracious innkeeper. The room, the decks, the fireplaces, and the multiple levels built into Mount Tamalpais left an indelible impression on my little guy. He still talks about it.

For the MHI’s centennial, guests enjoyed live music and a salute to the inn’s culinary past with a special German roadhouse menu of sausage, beer, sauerkraut, and mulled wine as well as a hike led my Marin County naturalist, John Benus.

Life is sublime at the top of Mt. Tam. The air is perfumed with the earthy scent of pine, redwood, and ocean.  On clear days the view is staggering —the mountain slopes toward the glittering bay, a thousand feet below. At night, out on a private deck,  you feel like you can touch the stars in the inky black sky.

In rain or fog, the inn is comfortable, cozy, and blissfully serene. Many rooms and common areas have fireplaces. Some are equipped with Jacuzzi tubs. Redwood decks and interior supports made from massive tree trunks epitomize rustic chic. Many of the areas most beautiful trails start from just outside the inn.

Rooms at the Mountain Home Inn range from $195-$345.

Insider Tip

Down the hill from the Mountain Home Inn is the Tourist Club, a private German club that opens to the public on the first, third, and fourth weekend of each month, Saturday and Sunday, from 1pm to 5pm. It’s a perfect, tucked away spot to kick back with a pitcher of brew after a rigorous mountain hike.

 

Mountain Home Inn
810 Panoramic Highway
Mill Valley, California 94941

415.381.9000

Contributed by Lisa Dion of Friscomama