This is probably one of the most beautfully situated places I have stayed in. The view are simply amazing- and at night all of the pathways are lit up, the sky is pitch black and the stars are bright white, and all you can hear on your balcony is the sound of crickets and the ocean hitting the cliffs. I would definitely recommend staying here if you can afford to. The breakfast was fabulous, watch out for the Seagull who like to steal ramekins of butter- he was really fast, but I guess he is a "regular". Our room was not part of the newly renovated rooms so its looked at bit 70's but the scenery outside of the window made up for it. The cookies delieverd in the afternoon were tasty- I ate each type they delivered and they were all good.

Stayed in one of the renovated, contemporary rooms. The good stuff: I thought the room was superb with one of the most stunning views (ocean below lavender bushes and - I think - sea pines) I've ever seen. The property has the most stunning location. I liked the slightly overgrown, lost feel of the place (I should say I arrived on a Sunday and left Wednesday so the quiet shift). I wandered about very peacefully and really appreciated the opportunity to listen to the ocean, see the hummingbirds and the grazing deer, etc. etc.

I did get a 3 nights for 2 deal, but the list price is $500. The room and the location are worth that. The "management" of the property is not - really not - in that league. I spent 2 days at the Four Seasons in SF just before at a similar price, and the comparison is embarrassing. Restaurant closed two nights out of three. Even the bar is closed. Nobody even awake (other than very nice kitchen staff) at 7.30 when I was checking out. I thought Californians got up early! I am also a little shocked at the fact that the website clearly says there are state of the art fitness facilities. There aren't - they are sitting in their wrappings. I really don't mind jogging around the amazing property (dodging holes in the ground etc.) and should be glad I did that instead, but .... it's just not true.

So ... a five star price, five star location, in my case a five star room. (Maison 4). A three star service (albeit from very friendly folk). Severely under-managed for the price. However, I didn't really mind. Four Seasons would probably take all the romance out of the place. Ideal for a romantic break. Just get used to driving into town (where many places also close in the evening!) for your dinner.

This was our second time to Heritage House, after enjoying it immensely last August. First, we were quite surprised to see the same unfinished construction on the property as last time. We were surprised that no progress had been made on the spa, and we felt that overall maintenance of the property was really lacking.

We stayed again in one of the Carousel rooms, which we do enjoy. The view of the ocean, and the sound of the waves is fantastic. Here's what annoyed us: no food whatsoever in the mini bar, in spite of the write up in the room suggesting chocolates and biscuits, to name a few. There was a lonely package of chips, which were not replenished until I asked several times. The fireplace clearly hadn't been cleaned in ages, because when we lit it, the whole room smoked up and was quite awful.

Based on other reviews, we avoided the restaurant at night, though did enjoy the breakfast buffet. We heard a couple of guests complain about the breakfast that they ordered from the menu, but we chose to stick with the lovely bread, cheese, yogurt and pastries. And, the cappucinos, while expensive, were delicious.

We ate in Mendocino twice, at Cafe Beaujolais, which is just terrific, and restaurant 955, which, though not as good as its neighbor, was still enjoyable. We had a good lunch at Moose the last time we were there.

We did have very good massages, which were administered in the Water Tower.

We do think that we'll not likely return for some time unless we hear that there has been some major spiffing up. We're likely to try another place at this point, though the view cannot be beat.

Too bad we've reached this conclusion, but hopefully management will realize they risk losing guests and will take action.

The hotel service is great. Turndown service twice daily, complementary drinks, replenished daily. the cottages have began to deteriorate a bit. They do need to start renovation on the cottages. Which are the cheapest of all available rooms. The views are amazing, the front desk service is average.