We rarely visit a hotel twice, preferring to explore new places all the time.
So when we name one hotel our favorite romantic getaway on the planet, it’s because there’s something so special about Albion River Inn that makes us return again and again.
Redwood forests, eucalyptus groves welcome visitors to Mendocino coast. (Hadi Dadashian photo)
We’ve gone back so many times since our first visit a decade ago — when we lived on the East Coast — we just wanted to share the place with readers searching for unique, romantic retreats.
How many hotels boast hummingbirds every season? Osprey? Wild rabbits?
It was the deer that did it.
We were having breakfast at Table 4 — best table at the clifftop restaurant — just watching the Pacific foaming against the rocks. Looked up, and a family of deer was carefully edging down a cliff across the water.
Morning clouds were pink and fluffy white, and edged with gold. Albion’s fabulous flower gardens were spilling over emerald lawns and stone, to entice hummingbirds by the dozen to our little corner.
We watched deer in the distance, and hummingbirds up close, in amazement. There were dozens of hummingbirds, of several species, feeding on the riot of flowers there. Everyone in the dining room was amused by their aerial combat.
Albion River Inn is always like that.
Full-time gardener at Albion River Inn keeps bluffside flowers blooming all year above Pacific Ocean. (Hadi Dadashian photo)
We’ve spent many afternoons on those decks, catching a few rays, and watching fishing boats or ocean kayakers. It feels secluded, amid redwood forests, white-sand beaches and protected coves.
Inn’s private decks allow for watching the colors of the Pacific change. (Hadi Dadashian photo)
Sunsets are spectacular at Albion River Inn, with nothing to block the view.
We’ve seen osprey, falcons, turkey vultures and more from those ocean-facing decks. This is guaranteed: There are Nikon binoculars in every room.
Other guests report seeing foxes, so we’re always watchful.
We’ve seen whale spouts from the decks, and from the panoramic windows in the dining room. This stretch of the California coast is part of the annual migration of whales from their feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to breeding grounds in Baha.
(Along the California-Oregon coast, whales come so close to shore in this season that we’ve seen their entire bodies from clifftops and whale watching tour boats.)
Most of Albion River Inn’s 22 rooms have wood-burning fireplaces, with wood and kindling expertly stacked for easy lighting. These are so popular, each cottage has its own stack of firewood at the front door, to keep the fire going for hours. (Only a few rooms have gas-burning fireplaces.)
A bottle of California wine and San Francisco chocolates await every guest. On our many visits, we’ve enjoyed romantic evenings in big, cosy chairs by the fireplace, sometimes with moonlight spilling in the windows, across the Pacific.
This is a luxury hotel with understated elegance: Some rooms have four-poster beds with ocean views; some suites have whirlpool tubs and showers-for-two. All have the most luxurious, comfortable beds for couples (king or queen, with high-thread-count sheets and big pillows.)
Room 5 is highly recommended for its tub-for-two facing the ocean, with soft lighting and lots of ledges for champagne glasses. The view from those big windows is remarkable.
Going to sleep with a muffled foghorn bobbing in the waves below is such a delight, we often leave the windows open just to hear it. We love waking to the waves — it’s such a perfect way to celebrate romance.
Albion River Inn is so precious, most of the staff of 60 has stayed for years. Staffers here are so welcoming and helpful, we’ve come to know many by their first name, and learned about some of the other talents they have besides tending bar, serving meals, and first-class hospitality. (Many are artists; nearby Mendocino is one of California’s best-known havens for artists.)
We’ve been serenaded by an opera singer at Charlie Tetoni’s piano here. Music and camaraderie around that piano have led to long-lasting friendships.
There aren’t many places on the planet that offer that, at any price.
NEXT: Meet the owners of this perfect romantic hotel
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