Little River Inn
Welcome to the
Lodging Information
Dining, Shopping,
& Activities
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The Little River Inn
At Little River Inn, we’ve always had a special appreciation for family. After all, the original house that has since become the iconic Little River Inn was built in the 1850s by Silas Coombs and has remained in our family ever since. Our grandfather, Ole, turned the original building into the Inn some eight decades ago and we’re still happily on the job, doing what it takes to make you feel more than welcome.
Like every family living in an old house we’ve made changes over the years, but at Little River Inn we pretty much like to keep things just the way they are and always have been. That means having lots of family around, watching the sunset with our neighbors, and turning travelers into friends.
So, whether you’ve come on a romantic getaway or an executive retreat, you will be met with our genuine warmth. When we say five generations of hospitality, we mean it. We hope this guide provides you with information and ideas of activities in the area. If there is anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Cally Coombs Dym
Fifth Generation Innkeeper
Little River Inn
7901 N. Highway 1
Little River, CA 95456
707-937-5942
Property Layout
click image for larger view
Air Conditioning
It is a rare day indeed when an open window is not enough to cool us down here on the Coast. If you have joined us on such a day, fans are available by calling the Front Desk.
ATMs & Banks
Short on cash? It happens to the best of us. The closest ATMs are on Lansing Street in Mendocino Village at the Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Patterson’s Pub, and Harvest Market at Mendosa’s.
Baggage Service
Please contact the Front Desk for assistance with the handling or storage of your luggage. Emotional baggage is best handled in the bar.
Breakfast
Served daily as room service or cafe style in our restaurant.
Click Here for Little River Inn Breakfast Menu
Business Services
Our guest computer is located under the stairs off the parlor and is available 24/7. We’re happy to make black and white copies at the front desk. If you need to go old school, Little River Inn’s main fax number is 707-937-3944. To send a fax, please bring your document to the Front Desk. The rates for outgoing and incoming faxes are the same, $2 for the first page, 50¢ each additional page.
ADA Accommodations
Little River Inn is committed to providing accessible facilities for guests with disabilities. If you encounter barriers during your stay, please contact the Front Desk. If in the future you require an accessible room, please request one when making a reservation. We can assist you better if you let us know your individual needs in advance.
Check-In/Check-Out
Check-in is anytime after 4:00 pm. We know sometimes you just can’t wait to see us, so we will make every effort to accommodate early arrivals. Check-out time is 10:00 am.
Children
Children under the age of 17 stay free when they share a room with an adult. We offer child-friendly options, please ask your server for details.
Cocktails
Libations are served in Ole’s Whale Watch Bar and the main Dining Room, and are available through Room Service on the main property. We are happy to bring unopened bottles of beer and wine to our off-property locations. Pick your poison.
Coffee & Coffee Maker
We proudly offer Big River Coffee in our guest rooms. And the K-cup is 100% recyclable! Grappling with the pod technology? Yeah, it took us a while, too. We’ll walk you through it:
- Turn the machine ON.
- Press the front to open.
- Place a K-cup in the pod holder.
- Lower the handle and close firmly (the water tank lid will open automatically).
- Fill the water tank up to the “FILL LEVEL” indicator.
- Close the water tank cover. The “PLACE CUP” light will flash, place a 10oz coffee mug in the dispense area on the drip tray.
- Press “BREW” button. The heating light will be illuminated. When the water reaches temperature, the “HEATING” light will go off. The coffee or tea will dispense in under 3 minutes.
- Still not working? You probably didn’t turn the machine on before you started. You’ll have to start over.
- You made 2 cups, no problem, but now the machine won’t work? The machines get a little worked up – give it a few minutes to rest and cool down.
- Still not working? Call us, we’re here for you!
Conference Rooms
The Abalone Room is available for business meetings, weddings and other events. For information or to make reservations, please contact our Event Coordinator at events@littleriverinn.com.
Credit Cards
For your convenience we accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover credit cards.
Cribs
A limited number of cribs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact the Front Desk to request one. A one time charge of $10.00 will apply.
Drought
Okay, if it’s pouring down rain right now, you’re welcome to laugh. Water conservation is always important in California. Please help by using water wisely.
DVD Library
Please ask Front Desk for a current list of DVD’s you may borrow during your stay.
Electricity
Yes, it’s true: all our rooms come with free electricity. Thanks to solar energy, some of that electricity is even free to us. Your guest room is equipped with 110V outlets.
Electric Car Charging Stations
Your green machine can be charged in the southeast parking lot, near rooms 111 and 112. Tesla drivers can charge up near the tree across from the Pro Shop.
Emergencies
In case of a police, fire or ambulance emergency, please dial 911 directly. The Front Desk will automatically be alerted.
Exercise/Fitness
Guests are invited to explore the nearby Van Damme State Park which includes some of the last remaining protected stands of pygmy forest. The park includes beach access and hiking trails. There is a fitness course at the Community Center in Mendocino at the top of Evergreen Street.
Fireplaces
Your gas fireplace is controlled by a thermostat or timer on the wall. If you need further assistance, please contact the Front Desk; do not tamper with the fireplace unit itself.
If you are staying in a room with a wood-burning fireplace, your fireplace will be set and ready for use -— just light ‘er up. The flue is permanently open. To keep the flame going, extra wood is located outside your door.
Front Desk
You may contact the Front Desk from your room by dialing “0” or you can send a text message to 707-348-0704. The Front Desk doors are open from 7:30 am to 11:00 pm, and we are available onsite 24/7 by phone.
Gift Cards
Share the love! Gift cards are a convenient and delightful way to surprise someone with an overnight stay, dinner, a round of golf, or a spa treatment. Gift cards may be purchased at the Front Desk, online at littleriverinn.com, or by telephone when you get back home. We guarantee they will love us as much as you do.
Heat & Climate Control
If you’re not completely cozy, give us a call.
Housekeeping
While daily housekeeping is not available, our staff is always more than happy to bring you any extras, odds and ends you may need during your stay. Please just send a text message to 707-348-0704 or dial from room phone “0” and we will deliver requested items to your door. For stays of 4 nights or more, housekeeping service is available on a mutually agreeable day.
Ice Machine
Please refer to the Property Layout in this directory for the location of the nearest ice machine.
In-Room Amenities
All of our guest rooms include Ocean Views, Shared or Individual Decks, Refrigerators (except antique rooms), Robes, Coffee Makers, Televisions, Iron/Ironing Board, Hair Dryers, Individual Guest Room Voicemail, and Complimentary Parking. Some rooms also include Wood or Gas Fireplaces, Jacuzzi Bathtubs, Hot Tubs, and CD Players. Please feel free to call the Front Desk for assistance.
Internet Access
Surf away. Complimentary Wi-Fi service is available in every room. The current password is Abalone1.
Lost & Found
Please dial 0 to contact the Front Desk regarding any items you may have lost or found. Little River Inn is not responsible for lost items.
Mail, Messages, Postage Stamps
Mail may be dropped off or picked up at the Front Desk, and postage stamps may be purchased there at the current postal rate. The Front Desk will also notify you if any messages have been left for you. A blinking light on your phone indicates that a voice message is waiting for you.
Newspapers
Available at Little River Market, across the street.
Ole’s Bench
Before Ole’s Bench (as we call it) was here, an enormous cypress tree had grown on the site. In 2001, after fierce winter storms, the tree had to be taken down. What then do we do with a 12’x12’x8’ tree stump? Ole’s family had the perfect solution: a bench to honor Little River Inn’s founder. Situated at one of the most beautiful vista points on the coast, Ole’s Bench is a favorite Little River Inn photo op.
Parking
Isn’t free stuff great? Some guest rooms have designated parking spaces. If you need more room, there are many extra parking spaces in front of the main building and between the Pro Shop and the Traditional Ocean View rooms.
Pets
We love to travel with our dogs, too! That’s why about 1/3 of our rooms are pet-friendly. Up to two pets are $30 each per night and we do not have a size restriction. Please inquire at the Front Desk to learn about our designated pet rooms, doggie dining, and other fur-friendly activities on the coast.
Rental Car
Contact Air Galore at 707-972-4498 to arrange a rental car from the airport.
Repair/Maintenance
Should your room need attention, please contact the Front Desk immediately.
Reservations
Please contact the Front Desk for future individual or group reservations, or to reserve conference rooms.
Restaurant – Little River Inn Restaurant
photo by Alina Tyulyu
Dial 0 to contact the restaurant. Our dinner hours change throughout the year and are listed below. There will be a pop quiz later.
- Labor Day through 3rd Weekend in October
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm Daily - Fourth Week of October through Daylight Savings
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Weekdays
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm Weekends - Daylight Savings until July 4th Weekend
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm Daily - July 4th Weekend through Labor Day Weekend
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Daily.
Road Conditions
We love the drama of our winter storms, but not the drama of stormy roads. For up to the minute road information call Caltrans at 1-800-GAS-ROAD or roads.dot.ca.gov.
Rollaway Beds/Cots
A limited number of cots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact the Front Desk to request one. A one time charge of $20.00 will apply.
Room Service
Room service is currently available for breakfast or dinner as delivery to room door. Use the QR code located in your room to place your order. Breakfast is serviced from 8:00 – 9:30 am and dinner from 5 – 8 pm.
Room Trash
There are trash receptacles located in the ice machine areas. Feel free to put any room trash in these trash receptacles. You may also leave your room trash outside the room and send a text message to 707-348-0704 or dial us from your room phone “0” to let us know and someone will come and pick it up. If you leave your trash outside of room, just make sure it is not after 7:00 pm, otherwise it may not be picked up until next morning and can attract ants and other critters.
Safe Deposit Box
Please register your valuables at the Front Desk for storage in our safe. Little River Inn is not responsible for valuables not stored in our safe.
Smoking Areas
The Little River Inn and its environs are smoke-free with the exception of a smoking bench located outside the bar. Ask us where else you may light up without incurring a scowl. Please be considerate of your neighbors and refrain from smoking in your room to avoid a $150 penalty.
Snacks & Drinks
A variety of snacks and drinks are available at the Pro Shop. Beverages are available in vending machines located by the ice machines (see the Property Layout for locations). The Little River Market across the street has an expansive selection of treats and snacks.
Spa
Our spa offers massage and body treatments. For appointments, please email spa@littleriverinn.com.
Telephone
- Your Direct Dial Number: 707-937-5942 ext (your room number)
- Local Phone Call (707 area code): Dial 9 + 7-digit number
- Long Distance (outside 707 area code): Dial 9 + 1 + area code + 7-digit number
- Front Desk/Reservations: Dial 0
- Dining Reservations/Orders: Dial 0
- Golf & Tennis: Dial 400
- To Call a Room: Dial Room # + Send Soft-Key
- Emergency: Dial 911
Tennis
Use of our two lighted championship tennis courts is free to Inn guests and non-marking shoes are the only uniform required. Ask us if you need a racquet or for the key if you’d like to play after dark. Outsiders and interlopers: Singles $10.00/hour and Doubles $20.00/hour.
Tennis lessons are available with Certified Tennis Professional Shannon Noelle Smith. Call 707-513-7736 or 707-964-5045 for more information.
Toiletries
We’ve got you covered. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, and razors are available at the Front Desk. Other necessities are available across the street from the main property at the Little River Market.
Wake up!
Please call the Front Desk to schedule a wakeup call. We’ll try to be gentle.
Whale Totem
Located on the front lawn “Playing with Auntie” Whale Totem is part of “The Whale Project,” a series of pieces carved by sculptor Warren Arnold, each depicting a different aspect of whale life as envisioned by the artist. There are six sites in Arnold’s Whale Totem Series, from Big Sur to Trinidad, that parallel the grey whale’s migration up the California coast.
Here are a few things we are so proud of:
- Property-wide recycling
- Biodegradable containers and utensils and pet cleanup bags
- Frying oil is collected from the kitchen and sent to a rendering plant
- Making compost from clippings and grass cuttings, wood chips, coffee grounds and citrus peels and office paper
- Conserving water by the homemade compost the groundskeepers are using
- Copper is collected from remodeling sites
- Support for our beach & neighboring Van Damme State Park with the help and generosity of our wonderful guests
Golf
In 2013, our golf course was awarded the California Golf Course Owners Association’s Community Environmental Award. In 2009, our Greens Superintendent, Terry Stratton, not only won the Golf Digest and GCSAA Environmental Leader in Golf Awards for his class, but he also won the national-OVERALL award! The award recognizes excellence and innovation in “green” golf course management. Terry and his crew pay their way to the GCSAA education conference with money collected from recycling bottles and cans. No ground water is used for course irrigation because the course captures winter rain in reservoirs. Siphons and gravity move irrigation water between reservoirs, using no electricity. Wildlife corridors link the golf course, undeveloped property and the adjacent Van Damme State Park. Runoff from the course is filtered by 20-foot untreated buffer zones, silt fences and riprap, before draining to the Pacific Ocean or the Little River, a protected spawning stream for the endangered Coho salmon. The judges noted Little River Inn Golf & Tennis facility’s commitment to energy conservation (solar panels provide 10% of the resource power), participation in ACSP and their Green Golfer Pledge Program, hosting high school student eco-tours, pesticide reduction and a vigorous recycling program.
Green Golfer Challenge
Little River Inn Golf & Tennis participates annually in the Audubon Green Golfer Challenge, which is a competition to build golfers’ environmental awareness by having them pledge to become an Audubon Green Golfer and support environmental stewardship actions while playing the game.
Member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program since 2005. Certification requires implementation and documentation in the areas of environmental planning, water conservation, water quality management, wildlife habitat management, pesticide use reduction & public outreach and education.
Little River Inn Golf & Tennis has reduced water usage by 50%, reduced pesticide use by 75%, significantly increased wildlife habitat on the course, installed nesting structures for owls, osprey and ducks, established natural buffer zones around waterways to reduce runoff, and hosted local high school students for eco-tours of the course.
On behalf of The Family and Staff of the Little River Inn, thank you for choosing to stay with us.
We look forward to seeing you again very soon.
Golf Course
Open Wednesday – Monday, Closed Tuesday
The expansive feeling of coastal golf will permeate your visit as you enjoy one of Northern California’s most established and hospitable resorts, Little River Inn, which boasts the only golf course on the Mendocino Coast. Tucked among the hills and redwoods, the nine-hole course presents unexpected challenges to golfers. It may be that the stunning ocean views distract first time players, or it may be a wandering deer crossing the putting green – this is an Audubon-certified sanctuary, after all.
Like everything else at Little River Inn, the golf course has a colorful family history. Watching Arnold Palmer play on TV one day in the mid ’50s, Ole Hervilla decided a golf course would draw even more guests to his inn. The locals told him nobody would play golf on the coast.
But he was determined. He consulted three golf architects, each one more expensive than the other. After talking to the third pricey expert, he said, “Thanks, you just made a golf architect out of me.” Working with contractors on the coast, he opened the course in 1957.
Unexpected challenges and wildlife await you at Little River Inn as you play through serene woods and tee off into awe-inspiring views of the Pacific Ocean. Our Audubon-certified course is comprised of 9 holes that can play like 18 with three placements and dual greens on holes 7 and 9. To complete the picture, there is a driving range, putting green and a fully stocked Pro Shop.
For the Pro Shop/Golf Course please call 707-937-5667
Safety & Security
Fire Safety
- If you hear an alarm or smell smoke, dial 911. Be sure to give your room number. The Front Desk will automatically be notified when you dial 911 from your room. Next, go to the door. If it is hot, do not open it. Turn off the heater. Cover the crack at the bottom of the door with wet towels, fill your bathtub with water, and signal from your window. Do not break the window or jump from it. Cover your mouth and nose with a folded wet towel. Wait to be rescued.
- If the door is not hot, take your key, lock the door behind you and proceed to safety. If there is some smoke, crawl; the freshest air is near the floor. Proceed quickly but calmly. Do not panic.
Earthquake Safety
If you feel any shaking:
- Drop, cover and hold on: drop down to the floor as soon as you perceive an earthquake has started; drop down before the earthquake drops you down. Then seek shelter under a desk or table. Crouch down on your knees so that you can move with the table. Hold on to the table leg(s) so you can keep the table over you.
- If there is no nearby desk or table, sit on the floor against an inside wall, away from windows, tall furniture or bookcases. Draw up your knees, bend your head toward your knees. Protect your head and neck with your arms.
- Go outside once the shaking stops. Make sure you are wearing sturdy shoes before leaving the building. If possible take valuables and medications. Avoid touching downed power lines. If access to exit doors is blocked by earthquake damage, wait for a rescue team.
Tsunami Safety
If you are at the beach or near the ocean and you feel the ground shake or see rapidly rising or falling coastal water levels, move immediately to higher ground and stay there until local authorities say it is safe to return. DO NOT wait for a warning to be announced. If the tsunami is caused by a remote earthquake or volcanic eruption, you will be alerted by a reverse 911 call to your guest room and by Little River Inn staff.
Often the first wave may not be the largest. The danger from a tsunami can last up to 12 hours after the arrival of the first wave. Tsunamis move faster than a person can run, and can be 30 feet high or higher; sometimes much higher. Never stay near shore to watch a tsunami come in.
Little River Inn is not in a tsunami hazard zone, however, there are many tsunami hazard zones between here and Highway 101. If you choose to leave during a tsunami warning, please ask the Front Desk about the safe routes off the coast.