Brewery Gulch Inn

Hidden gem just outside Mendo. Immaculate boutique hotel with spectacular ocean views and five star dining!!❤️❤️❤️

The Brewery Gulch in is a gorgeous building in a fine setting. Acorn woodpeckers and hummingbirds cavort around the patio. We saw whales spouting in a distance from the patio too. My wife had an excellent massage. I enjoyed that fact that from the inn I could walk to the Spring Ranch Unit of Van Damme State Park or the Big River Viewpoint/Overlook on Brewery Gulch Road. My wife and I were there for our anniversary and were greeted in the room by a wonderful fruit plate with chocolate-dipped strawberries. But there were issues too. The place changed hands a few years ago. We were there in 2021. Comparing then and now, the handoff is showing for the worse. That fruit plate notwithstanding, meal quality doesn’t match what you see on the website. We only had the “Mendo-box” dinner/snack once on this trip. While the website shows a dinner snack with small servings of multiple, interesting items, what found in the box were two plates, each with a pile of angel hair pasta in cream sauce and some rather dry chicken breast on top. All room temperature, of course. Not a fruit, vegetable, or a color other than white in sight. Nothing else except the cans of LaCroix sparkling water we fished out of the inn’s fridge. Nothing that fancy on the breakfasts: they have a fixed menu with a choice of six fairly basic things. We sampled four in the course of the three nights we stayed. The egg/meat/potato/toast breakfast was just what you would expect. Solid diner food, although my wife wasn’t sure whether the scrambled eggs were made fresh out of the shell or from a carton of egg stuff. My over-easy eggs were fine. The French toast was a little fancier with its raspberry-nut butter, if maybe covered with a bit too much (rather flaccid) whipping cream. My wife had a granola/fruit/yogurt bowl that she liked. I had a breakfast burrito that was leaden: dense with pork chunks (carnitas) with some cheese and a few beans. No egg that I saw. Potatoes on the side. We saw none of the “flaky pastries” or “freshly-squeezed juices” the website talks about. The freshly-thawed OJ still had flecks of ice in it. The only pastries in sight were little slabs of what looked like pound cake in a cabinet. The grounds are getting only basic maintenance and in places are a mess. The area below the inn building, which once had some nice little paths, is now littered with a great deal of pruning debris. The paths themselves are still there, mostly, as are the rustic “trail” signs pointing them out. Split firewood, some stacked but some just in in heaps, lies around one side of parking lot. Some of the garden beds, especially the “Secret Garden” (with a great big sign to that effect), seem unkempt. In 2021, this was a high-end, high-price, but still high-value stay. It’s still pricey, but only high-end in some ways (yes for the location, building, and patio, no for the dining and grounds).

We've been coming to Brewery Gulch Inn for almost 15 years! What happened to brewery Gulch Inn??? I don't have the time to write the review that our horrible stay at BGI warrants. And so, following is a quick list of things we observed and experience during our stay at brewery gulch. Please indicate what (a card maybe) the food was under the bento box so we know what we're eating. And believe me, at times, we didn't know what we were eating. Please go back to pre-pandemic gourmet food that was once a trademark of brewery Gulch in!!! "Sorry we're out of"...cups, water glasses, yogurt, herbal tea, granola, orange juice, french toast, sourdough bread, beer. Servers offered no substitutions for missing items and seemed bothered or blamed the chef when substitutions were requested. Please go back to pre-pandemic hospitality that was once a trademark of brewery Gulch inn. How about a little professional courtesy with the guests; say "hello", make a little eye contact, dress the part, "how was your food", "can I get you anything else"? Have a little pride in your job...Crystal, please!? Some things should not be pre-pandemic: the mattress in the osprey room, the 1970s Green carpet, the throw blankets on the furniture, the furniture. Summary: Definitely not worth a discounted rate and the full rack rate is highway robbery! Is anybody from guest services actually reading TripAdvisor reviews? If they were, I wouldn't be writing this review and would most likely be looking forward to our next getaway to brewery Gulch Inn instead of finding another place to stay. Today's BGI will promise you a diamond ring, but regrettably you'll get a cheap cubic zirconium. We've gotten better attention and service at Best Western. At least at Best Western they appreciate you, make you feel welcomed, and appreciate that you've taken the time to book with them. Please, bring back the Brewery Gulch Inn of old! Guests deserve to experience true gourmet food, exemplary service, and hospitality that keeps you coming back for more.

The location is right off Hwy 1 but feels secluded; the vibe is really cozy, friendly, and charming. Light dinner (more than appetizers) and wine and gourmet breakfast are included, and we got an extra treat for mentioning our anniversary. Our room was Smuggler's Cove, a King upstairs (no elevator) with a great view of the ocean (no balcony) and the windows open for the fantastic ocean breeze. There's outdoor seating on the first floor deck and another outdoor area with a firepit. I wish we could have stayed longer! It is pricey, but we deserve to treat ourselves well, right? It was a special treat and a lovely experience. (There are additional dining and spa services, but we didn't book those.)

We were extremely pleased with our stay. Place is immaculate. Service was terrific. Everyone we encountered was very nice from wait staff to front desk. Breakfast options were strong. The wine hour and accompanying tray was quite good. We had read other reviews questioning quality and portion but we were very happy with both! They have new cooks/ chefs and all I can say is all the food was quite good. No need to go to dinner after eating what was provided. We had a chicken dish one night and salmon the next . Both very good. The rooms are a bit dated but they are also extremely clean and view was amazing! Given that breakfast and “ dinner” are both provided, we thought the value was quite reasonable. Would definitely go back. Mendocino area is very special.