Stayed in the Cabernet Room in the farmhouse the first night. Very comfy and quiet–nice fireplace and view. Moved to the Stickney suite in the lodge the second night–outstanding. Upscale decor, huge room with ocean and forest views. Great spa, excellent dinner, wonderful breakfast. Will stay here again.
February 2, 2012
Stevenswood Spa Resort in its continuing effort in supporting environmental conservation, restoration and protection projects, and using eco-friendly and green products is excited about the award that the CleanFlame fire logs which we proudly use, was recognized for its green initiatives.
In December, The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) announced recipients of this year’s waste reduction awards. CleanFlame was recognized through the Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) for their environmentally friendly business strategies. CleanFlame’s efforts have resulted in a WRAP award for the third consecutive year.
CleanFlame makes eco-friendly fire logs and firestarter products from non-recyclable wax boxes that would normally go to a landfill. CleanFlame diverts the wax boxes to their facility and turns them into a clean-burning fuel source using a patented extrusion process. The products burn cleaner, hotter and more consistently than oak firewood and offer more uses than traditional wax-sawdust fire logs. Tests revealed that, when compared to a seasoned oak log (which is the best firewood) a CleanFlame firelog provides 50 % more BTU’s and emits 86% less creosote, 80% less carbon monoxide, and 30% less particulate matter.
Congratulations CleanFlame
For dinner phone 707-937-2810 or online at urban spoon.
For lodging phone 707-937-2810 or online at reservations.
For spa reservations phone 707-937-2810 or online at Indigo Eco-Spa.
My husband and I dined here on New Year’s Eve. They had a prix fixe menu that included: pumpkin bisque, a palate cleanser of sparkling wine and some berry sorbet, a choice of entrees (my husband chose cornish game hen, and I chose a seafood risotto; there was also red snapper and sirloin steak I believe), and tarte tatin or chocolate beignets as dessert. Everything was wonderful, and our servers were warm and welcoming. It was a beautiful evening in a beautiful setting.
I’d recommend this place if you’re looking for a classy, romantic meal.
1/4/2012
2012 AAA Four Diamond Award
Congratulations Stevenswood Spa Resort for achieving the coveted AAA Four Diamond Award for 2012. This makes 21 consecutive Four Diamond Awards that Stevenswood has been awarded since 1992.
AAA’s professionally trained inspectors use published guidelines to evaluate and rate lodgings and restaurants as a service to members. AAA rates more properties than any other rating entity — with a current inventory of more than 59,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated lodgings and restaurants. AAA’s Diamond Rating System is the only rating system that covers the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean and is one of only two that conduct physical, on-site evaluations.
What It Means to Be AAA Approved and Diamond Rated
To be eligible for evaluation, establishments meet basic requirements for cleanliness, comfort and security (lodgings) or cleanliness, food preparation and service (restaurants). Evaluations are unannounced to ensure that AAA’s professional inspectors experience a hotel or restaurant just as a guest would.
Establishments that demonstrate these requirements during an unannounced inspection are designated as AAA/CAA Approved. Every hotel or restaurant that achieves the AAA Approved designation offers an acceptable level of quality for members; AAA does not distinguish any degrees of quality.
After establishments are designated as AAA/CAA Approved, inspectors assign a rating of One to Five Diamonds based on the extensiveness of services, facilities and amenities typical of each rating level. The Diamond Ratings guide members in selecting establishments appropriately matched to their needs and expectations.
AAA/CAA FOUR DIAMOND LODGINGS AND RESTAURANTS
2012 FACT SHEET
Data provided Jan. 20, 2012 – Valid through Dec. 31, 2012
Continuing a 75-year tradition, AAA’s professionally trained inspectors use published guidelines to conduct unannounced lodging and restaurant evaluations, assigning Approved establishments a rating of One to Five AAA Diamonds.
¨ For 2012, 241 establishments (190 lodgings and 51 restaurants) were added to the AAA/CAA Four Diamond Award® list.
¨ A total of 2,245 establishments (1,491 lodgings and 754 restaurants) throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean received the Four Diamond Rating.
¨ The net addition of 139 Four Diamond establishments (all lodgings) represents a 7 percent increase, compared to the total 2,106 last year.
¨ Collectively, Four Diamond establishments represent just 3.8 percent of the current 59,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated establishments.
¨ Four Diamond lodgings account for 4.8 percent of the total 31,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated lodgings; Four Diamond restaurants account for 2.7 percent of the total 28,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated restaurants.
¨ Thirteen lodgings have maintained the Four Diamond Rating for 36 consecutive years, since 1976 when the Diamond Ratings were first introduced for lodgings.
¨ Ninety-five lodgings have maintained the Four Diamond Rating for 25 or more consecutive years.
¨ Sixty restaurants have maintained the Four Diamond Rating for 20 or more consecutive years.
¨ The Green Room in Wilmington, Del., is the longest tenured Four Diamond Restaurant, since 1985 when AAA began rolling out Diamond Ratings for restaurants.
¨ States/provinces with the most Four Diamond lodgings: California (178), Florida (131), Texas (85), New York (60), Ontario (56), Massachusetts (46) and Arizona (45).
¨ Cities with the most Four Diamond lodgings: New York (37), Chicago (28), Boston (26), San Francisco (24), Toronto (23), New Orleans (19), Seattle (17) and Montréal (17).
¨ States/provinces with the most Four Diamond restaurants: California (72), Florida (60), Ontario (54), New York (47), Texas (38), Nevada (30) and Arizona (29).
¨ Cities with the most Four Diamond restaurants: New York (38), Las Vegas (27), Toronto (24), Chicago (16), San Francisco (13), Boston (13) and Atlanta (12).
¨ States/provinces with the most Four Diamond establishments: California (250) – 178 lodgings/72 restaurants, Florida (191) – 131 lodgings/60 restaurants, Texas (123) – 85 lodgings/38 restaurants, Ontario (110) – 56 lodgings/54 restaurants, and New York (107) – 60 lodgings/47 restaurants.
ABOUT AAA/CAA DIAMOND RATINGS
AAA rates more properties than any other rating entity and is the only rating system that covers the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. It is one of only two that conduct physical, on-site evaluations.
For dinner phone 707-937-2810 or online at urban spoon.
For lodging phone 707-937-2810 or online at reservations.
For spa reservations phone 707-937-2810 or online at Indigo Eco-Spa.
Wow, I loved it. i have some dietary restrictions, so I called ahead to see if they could accommodate my needs, and boy did they ever..
My ( free) breakfast both days , was yummo.
But the dinner.. Holy MouthGasm.
So good.
Arugula salad, so delish.. I ordered a double the next day. And the chicken.. whooooo hoo.
My husband ordered the beef, and it was melt in your mouth yummy, and I’m NOT a huge fan of beef. Well worth the price.
Wait staff was excellent as well.
Our first night we had a very funny guy, in the am both mornings a very sweet young man with a 2 year old.. And the second evening a gorgeous woman who was also very, very kind and accommodating.. I can be a real pain in the a$$ when it comes to ordering food, and they got it right every time. Kuddos.
San Jose, CA
12/20/2011
My husband and I just returned from a delightful stay at Stevenswood Resort and Spa. The staff was very friendly and helpful. My husband had a great massage at the Indigo Eco-Spa. Our dinner and breakfast were delicious. We cannot say enough about our stay. My husband’s comment was that he anticipated the long drive to get to Stevenswood would skew our feelings about the inn. Quite the contrary. We both felt it was well worth the drive!
Michal and Seth, the owners, were very gracious and one or the other was always available at all times, even for emergencies at night. We did not need to take advantage of their availability, but knowing we could reach them was comforting.
We would recommend Stevenswood to anyone who would like a quiet getaway. We cannot believe the experiences other have reported. Our experience was so opposite. How can this be the same place?
The Grahams
1/26/2012
Opus Chamber Music Series in Mendocino
The Opus Chamber Concert Series was founded in 1988 by members of the Symphony of the Redwoods to provide local and visiting musicians opportunities for small group performances. The venue for Opus Chamber Music Concerts is Preston Hall, on the grounds of landmark Mendocino Presbyterian Church. Concerts start at 3:00 pm.
The Program includes:
Johann Gottlieb Graun: Sonata for Viola and Piano
Joseph Joachim: Variations, Op. 10
Sergei Prokofiev arr. by Vadim Borisovsky: Selected pieces from the ballet, Romeo and Juliet.
Johannes Brahms: Sonata for Piano and Viola in F-minor, Op. 120 No. 1
Contact: Kris Stuart, 707-964-0898. Showtime is from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Tickets $21.
Local favorite, Carolyn Steinbuck, piano, and Don Ehrlich, viola, from the bay aea, but also well known to local audiences are together again for a Sunday afternoon concert. They have been performing together since the second season of the Mendocino Music Festival in 1988.
CAROLYN STEINBUCK has been active in the musical life of the Mendocino community as a pianist, conductor and teacher for over 35 years. Her piano teachers include her mother, Marion James (through high school); Robert Dix Lincoln at Douglass College in New Jersey (B.A. ’67); Gunnar Johansen and Tait Sanford Barrows at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (M.M. ’69); Barbara Shearer of Berkeley; and Karl Ulrich Schnabel, with whom she studied for over 20 years. She was a part-time music instructor at College of the Redwoods from 1976 through 2007 and at Santa Rosa Junior College from 1982 through 2007. From 1986 to 1996, she was Executive Director of the Mendocino Music Festival. Over the past 25 years, she has performed with the Mendocino Music Festival as a chamber player, chorus master, piano soloist and conductor. For 24 years, she directed the College of the Redwoods Community Chorus and the South Coast Community Chorus/Hwy 1 Jazz Choir, and was a regular guest conductor of Symphony of the Redwoods, retiring in 2007. She recently returned to conducting as director of the Coastal Singers in Point Arena, and she continues as Chorus Master of the Mendocino Music Festival Chorus. In October 2010, she performed a solo piano recital for Concerts Grand in Ukiah and Opus in Mendocino.
For dinner phone 707-937-2810 or online at urban spoon.
For lodging phone 707-937-2810 or online at reservations.
For spa reservations phone 707-937-2810 or online at Indigo Eco-Spa.
Photo: Oregon State University Marine Mammal Program
There are over 70 species of whales. But we are going to talk about the gray whale.
At one time there were three gray whale populations; a north Atlantic population, now extinct, possibly the victims of over-hunting; a Korean or western north pacific stock now very depleted, also possibly from over-hunting; and the eastern north pacific population, the largest surviving population. Hunted to the edge of extinction in the 1850′s after the discovery of calving lagoons, and again in the early 1900′s with the introduction of floating factories, the gray whale was given partial protection in 1937 and full protection in 1947 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Since that time the eastern north Pacific gray whale population has made a remarkable recovery and now numbers between 19,000 – 23,000, probably close to their original population size.
The gray whale is a “coastal’ whale that migrates along the North American Pacific Coast between arctic seas and lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. Frequently visible from shore, gray whales provide a unique opportunity for land and boat observation, and commercial whale watching has become a major industry along its migration route. Visitors to the calving and breeding lagoons sometimes encounter the phenomenon of the “friendlies” gray whales that closely approach small boats and allow themselves to be touched by humans.
As Mendocino, Little River and Fort Bragg are getting ready for the upcoming 30th Annual Whale Festivals on March 3 & 4, and March 10, 11 and March 19 & 20, 2012, little is known about how the whale wars before the Whale Festivals were started. Back in 1976, the cause was saving the remaining great whales from slaughter from Japanese and Russian commercial whale fleets. The inspiration started in June 1975, when a Greenpeace Foundation patrol boat located a Russian whaling fleet killing sperm whales off Cape Mendocino. They captured dramatic film footage of a canon-fired explosive harpoon flying over their heads and striking a whale. When the film was broadcast on national TV news, some Mendocino locals were inspired to get involved in stopping the whale slaughter off our shores. Byrd Baker, a local wood sculpture, was probably the one who came up with the name “Mendocino Whale War”. Byrd and friends began campaigning to save whales, and many other locals joined in on the effort. Byrd with other locals formed the Mendocino Whale War Association in December 1975, with Byrd as one of the founding trustees.
Major coverage began early in 1976 with a big feature in the Detroit Free Press which hyped the idea of Mendocino, a small coastal town in California declaring war on Japan and the Soviet Union. This was especially important since this was the height of the Cold War. The Mendocino Whale War Association organized the 1st Whale Festival in Mendocino in March 1976. The goal was to make the public aware that the whales were still being hunted.
Several years after the first whale festival, it was decided to continue on the efforts of the founding members to educate and keep the public informed on the ongoing situation of the whales.
Here is a list of activities of the upcoming whale festivals:
Mendocino (March 3, 4)
Taste some of Mendocino county’s finest varietals!
Sample chowder from some of the best chefs on the coast!
Experience the talent of a variety of artists in one room!
See artists in their natural habitat and in action!
Learn about the coastal history and marine wildlife!
An evening of wood and steel – former members of the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Van Morrison Band, Jesse Colin Young Band, Sons of Champlin, Moby Grape, and more… Steven Bates, Roger Fritz, David Hayes, Gene Parsons, and James Preston. Show starts at 8:00 pm and continues to 11:00 pm. $25 at the door. Crown Hall, 45285 Ukiah Street, Mendocino. 800-585-0095.
Little River (March 10, 11)
Taste Mendocino County wines paired with tasty hors d oeuvres!
Check out the art studios nestled in the redwoods!
Docent led walks to view the majestic California Gray Whale!
Explore a side of the coast most visitors don’t experience!
Learn from one of the coast’s most talented photographers!
Experience the pygmy forest and fern trails!
John Reischman and the Jaybirds fashion a stylish, elegant take on bluegrass that is at once innovative and unadorned, sophisticated and stripped-down, happily old-fashioned, yet unselfconsciously new. A genial blend of story-telling and side-show humor provides the backdrop to their studied performance of original songs. With a unique traditional sound, the mandolin master and his band are known for powerful original songs and instrumentals, soaring vocals and refreshing interpretations of songs from the old-time repertoire presented with their own bluegrass twist. $20 Proceeds benefit the Albion Little River Volunteer Fire Department
Fort Bragg (March 17 & 18)
At Town Hall, (corner of Main and Laurel Street) Saturday from 11:00 am until the chowder runs out.
At Eagles Hall, 210 N. Corry Street. Saturday from 12:00 – 5:00 pm. Local brewers are sampling some of their finest beers, and a few not yet on the market.
On Saturday, the race starts at 8:00 am at the Skunk Train parking lot.
Whale watching from a charter boat offers a once in a lifetime viewing opportunity. Because whales are close to shore, sightings usually occur within a short 5-15 minute ride.
Miles of visually stunning beach, with migrating whales on the horizon — awesome! Call Ricochet Ridge Ranch for details, 707-964-7669 or 888-873-5777 (toll free)
Cozy up and view Gray Whales from the Garden’s rustic Cliff House, nestled into the bluff along the ocean’s edge — or stroll along the large expanse of ocean-side bluffs for unobstructed views. Hours: 9am-5pm.
Docents on hand with whale watching binoculars, 10am – 4pm on Saturday March 17 and Sunday March 18. Other activities: see a tide pool aquarium, light station history presentations, a life-size gray whale jigsaw puzzle for the kids, Audubon Society-led morning bird identification walks. Hot drinks, cookies, lunch available for purchase in the lighthouse lobby.
For dinner phone 707-937-2810 or online at urban spoon.
For lodging phone 707-937-2810 or online at reservations.
For spa reservations phone 707-937-2810 or online at Indigo Eco-Spa.
A get away to the Mendocino Coast was highlighted by dining at The Restaurant at Stevenswood. Down a short tree-studded lane north of Little River, this hidden gem is a resort and spa with a first class restaurant. We sat by the fireplace and ordered the special appetizer, a crab cake which was all sweet crab drizzled with aioli. The argula, avocado, and hearts of palm salad was crisp and clean. We ordered two entrees and shared them: the lamp chops with white asparagus and the extra large prawns with lentils. Both dishes were extraordinarily executed. Our waitress was knowledgeable and friendly and the rest of the service was impeccable. Price was reasonable for such an upscale experience…..
"I have been to Stevenswood Spa and Resort on two occasions and simply loved it"
“A lovely first Mendocino Experience!”
"This place is exceptional"
Soroptimist International of Fort Bragg 2012 Quilt Show
Stevenswood Spa Resort
Via 8211 N Highway One Mendocino Coast, California
Email: guests@stevenswood.com
© 2011 Stevenswood Property Group. All Rights Reserved.... (more)
Weather forecast by WP Wunderground & Denver Snow Removal
“beautiful gardens and fantastic food”
We had a wonderful experience here. The staff was very friendly and we were upgraded to a beautiful suite in the main resort even though we expected to stay in the farmhouse as that is what our prepaid coupon specifed. The dinner was fantastic and we have eaten in some of the top rated restaurants in Paris, NYC & SF. My husband is not much for spas but I plan on going back soon with my sister and spending the day at the Spa. Instead we took a walk in the Van Damme State Park that borders the resort. We have walked the headlands in Mendocino but this park is well worth a visit as well. Perhaps the fact that we were there mid week in the winter when the hotel was not too busy helped but we loved this place and the location.
February 9, 2012