MacCallum House Inn

This was our first time in the small town of Mendocino and MacCallum House was perfectly located among the restaurants, market and short walk to the coastal trail. We stayed in the Water Tower and it's perfect for two couples, the 3-stories makes it perfect to be separated. We appreciated all the Covid precautions throughout the hotel, such as sanitizer, and masked staff. This was also our first trip with our 7-mo puppy and loved all the amenities that were provided (dog bed, bowels, towel and extra sheet for furniture covering). Despite the hotel restaurant being closed, an organic market was steps from our room and other restaurants.

Unfortunately, I fell down some stairs and sprained my ankle and broke my camera right before I arrived so that was a bummer. The bavette steak dinner was cooked perfectly and the warm chocolate budino with huckleberry mousse was to die for! The Panthea Pinot Noir was perfect with both. The bed was comfortable and the sheets were super soft--and had it not been for the pain of my sprained ankle and bruised body I would have slept through the night. It was pleasantly quiet over night and the television was easy to operate and the correct height for viewing. Everyone was super careful about masks, social distancing, gloves, handwashing and sanitizing. I felt comfortable and safe. I hope to have the opportunity to come again soon.

We had 4 couples in our group and stayed in the village suites. Due to Covid, The Mac House is not serving breakfast and there is only one cafe in town serving breakfast. The top ranked restaurant at The Mac House has dining available in Garden only and is not taking reservations so you wait. The accommodations are charming, and we would stay there again but not until Covid restrictions are lifted. Everything is within walking distance and there are plenty of options for lunch and dinner dining, but would not recommend dining at The Mac House at this time.

The town of Mendocino and many inns, including MacCallum House, are not advertising the fact that many services tourists expect are not available. There is no place in town to get morning coffee except a bakery on Lansing Street that opens at 8:30, The line outside for food is a half block long. MacCallum House has a breakfast menu on their website, but when patrons arrive they are informed nothing in available from the kitchen until 3:30 in the afternoon. MacCallum house offers dinner outdoors, but the service was poor and the food over-priced. The coffee maker in our room did not work. The blinds were broken. Noise from neighboring rooms was quite loud. The odor of smoke (cigs or MJ) entered our room through channels around a door separating the rooms. The lack of breakfast, coffee, etc. make the $350 per night price tag not worth the effort to drive to Mendocino.

Our group of 5 came to celebrate a birthday in early October 2020. We stayed in two MacCallum units on the bluff above town. Ours was a spacious 2 bdm/1 bath house (Rm 34) that suited a couple and a single friend served as our main gathering space, while our other couple had nearby #27, a large handicapped accessible hotel room that was advertised with an ocean view. Our first impression of the property was a big disappointment, especially when we considered how much we were paying for each night. It may be a covid casualty, but the grounds, buildings and garden have obviously been neglected for a while. The promised outdoor area with picnic tables and a BBQ outside our room, for example, was actually a gopher ridden dry lawn that has zero charm and no view. Though the house is advertised as ok for up to 6 people, the one bathroom is on the small side and was an issue for just 3 of us. In addition, the first night we discovered that 2 lamps were broken and our toilet overflowed. We tried to call but the front drat is only staffed after 9:30 am and there was no information in the room about how to contact the resident manager who is allegedly on call when the regular staff goes home. It did get better, and, in the end, #34 was a good though expensive choice for our group. Credit goes to the attentive staff, who came right away and fixed everything. We enjoyed the rest of our visit and came to appreciate the house’s large living room, full kitchen and hot tub, and the very efficient heated chimney that kept things toasty. The other couple were disappointed at the only partial ocean view but were otherwise satisfied with their room. We did have one truly memorable dinner the night of the birthday on the porch of the original MacAllum house property. We splurged on the Chefs Tasting Menu, and, while pricey, every course was delicious, and the servers and our host Molly were great. We all agreed that we’d return again for the amazing food. Our only issue was that the overhead electric heaters were on the blink so the staff offered blankets to ward off the nighttime chill. Another case of deferred maintenance that the owner should rectify if he/she continues to charge such high room prices. I would have rated this 4 stars but think that the owner needs to attend to the deferred maintenance issues to bring the property up to the advertised standards.