Bed and Breakfast (with your dog!)
A few weeks ago, my friend texted me and asked me, “What you up to this weekend?”
I said “I’m actually at a Bed and Breakfast”, and her response was, “What, are you engaged now?”
Haha! Is that what engaged and married people do?
Well, long story short, my company gave their employees an extra day off to recharge, and the boyfriend decided that this time we would try out a Bed and Breakfast. I had also hurt my back recently, so we didn’t want to do strenuous hiking or outdoor activities.
4 miles north of Gualala on Highway 1 sits the BnB now named Rendezvous Menocino (formally known as North Coast Country Inn). Although we typically rent out a cabin in Sea Ranch this time of year, this time we thought to try something different. Right off the ocean coast and nestled next to some beautiful redwoods, we spent a weekend relaxing.
There are only 6 individual rooms at this BnB, each as its own cabin with private dects and fireplaces. Brian chose this room because of this particular piece of artwork that he knew I would enjoy:
Kano quite enjoyed the electric fireplace as well.
The room was immaculately clean, cozy, and relaxing. Another favorite from this room is this retro looking fridge:
And the reclining armchairs! Perfect to sit in while I watched Netflix off my Ipad. I decided to watch Zodiac :) There was a small kitchenette in one corner of the room next to the fridge, complete with pots/pans, utensils, and a coffee machine. It’s fully loaded!
Aside from the room, the top of the property has a small meadow and gazebo, and a hot tub. On our first night, we stargazed at the meadow and heard sea lions talking to each other in the distance. I am so glad went stargazing the first night, because the next day it was raining so hard there were no stars to be seen!
Ok. Let’s talk food. What is really cool about the system they have in place is text ordering. For any breakfast orders, you put in your order before 9pm the night before via a text message and they deliver your warm breakfast around 9-9:30a the next morning.
This shot was from our second night — we had brought home thai takeout, and staring at the breakfast menu for the next day.
For dinnertime, they only have one option — calzone. It’s a pretty damn good calzone though, and you can order Damien’s calzone to be delivered between 6-9pm. We ordered a cheese and tomato calzone, but there is also a cheese pineapple and jalapeno option too. Definitely would go back to try this second option. Look at the sheer size of this calzone!
For breakfast, one pastry item is complimentary per person per day. Any extras and/or coffee will be an additional charge. While only 1 item is complimentary, the portion size of these home-baked goodies are very generous. For example, on the first day we got ginger scones and buttermilk biscuits with honey and jam. It came with 2 big biscuits and 2 decently sized scones. Since the weather was still pretty nice on our first morning there, we decided to have our breakfast out on our patio:
I really enjoyed the scones! Ginger flavor was definitely strong on this one, but I appreciated it. I don’t normally like scones over buttermilk biscuits but this one was a winner.
Our second breakfast the next day — Homemade Pecan Cranberry Granola and Sunrise muffins (Oats blended with veggies, walnuts, and fruits) with applesauce.
Nearby to-dos:
Gualala Seafood Shack for Fish and Chips. We’ve been eyeing this place for a while every time we came to Sea Ranch but every time we were either too full or they were closed. Definitely give it a try if you are in the area and don’t know what you want to eat! I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures, but we ordered their clam chowder, fish and chips, and calamari. All were good!
Gualala Market - an extensive supermarket for all your cooking, snacking, and drinking needs. We bought some marinated olives here. Random, but I was craving them. A couple years back I bought a very nice smelling candle from here.
Hiking at Point Area Lighthouse - this is the tallest lighthouse on the Pacific Coast. You can pay a small fee to visit the area, but we decided to just take pictures from a distance instead. You are not able to take the stairs to the top, though pre-covid I believe you were able to.
Last but not least — BnBs and Pet Policies
Rendezvous Mendocino is a pet friendly BnB, which I later found was a rare thing for BnBs to have. The only rules they had were that dogs are not allowed on the furniture, and they have to be at least 2 years old and housebroken. Dogs are also not allowed to be left alone in the rooms. All very sensible and fair rules.
Kano took a while to settle down in the BnB, but once he found a warm spot next to the fireplace, he eased up a little. The first night he also walked around a little bit in the middle of the night, but by the second night he was passed out on his bed. I think he enjoyed his weekend out as well.
And there you have it. My first bnb experience.
