Camelia N.
Yelp
Every time I stay here, it's like walking into a Sundance Catalogue. I almost expect to see Robert Redford himself emerge early one morning from the Casita guesthouse and ask how I am enjoying my visit to Anderson Valley. Especially in midsummer, the action shifts outdoors to the gardens, the orange trumpet vine encrusted pagoda, and the courtyard, where you can dine on expertly prepared paella every Sunday starting at 6:30pm (bar service begins at 5:30pm with small plates like oysters available) The paella is cooked using a traditional pan placed over an almond wood and oak fire. You can pair your meal with either local or European wines, or craft beer, hard cider, or non-alcoholic beverages. Wood fired pizzas and other delectable dishes are prepared Thursday through Monday and are open to all by prior reservations, not just to hotel guests.
The current chef, Perry H., comes with Michelin star credentials earned in South Korea and Napa Valley - at Domain Chandon - before the restaurant was closed in 2014. He also was in charge of the kitchen at Headsburg's much adored locavore-centric cafe, The Shed, for several years before it, too, shuttered its doors to the public. Yes, the fine dining business can be excessively and destructively competitive at times and stressful to its staff, who burn out at rates far too high for people of such talent, drive, and passion. Sometimes a Michelin star means "stay away!" and not "eat here, no matter what it might cost."
Fortunately, personal connections led Chef Perry and his small but growing family back to Anderson Valley, where things happen at a slower pace and there are fewer covers to turn over in any given night. This translates into more freedom to cook what is fresh and local and mix things up on short notice when an appealing seasonal food item becomes available. In addition to sourcing fish, shellfish, pastured meats, eggs, and mushrooms from local Mendocino purveyors of top-quality products, Table 128, as the hotel's restaurant is called (after the highway, CA-128, that runs through town), also makes ample use of the fragrant herbs, edible flowers, ripe fruits, and organic vegetables grown on the hotel's lushly landscaped grounds. The multi-course menus (typical meals range from about $35 to $65 per person depending on the number and type of dishes being served) are inspired and intellectual without being too precious or pretentious about them. They are posted online about a week ahead of time, so you can plan ahead if you'd like to dine here or at another Anderson Valley farm-to-table favorite, such as The Bewildered Pig.
Breakfast service for guests starts around 8:30am. Self service, it is a leisurely way to start the morning and invites you to linger over fresh farm eggs, warm scones, sliced local strawberries, and granola with yogurt made on site. Coffee is from Black Oak Coffee Roasters in Ukiah and loose leaf teas are from the Jasmine Pearl Tea Company, in Portland, Oregon.
While it isn't a luxury resort like those in Sonoma or Napa, you would be hard pressed to find somewhere to spend the night that is as quietly and radiantly rapturous as the Boonville Hotel. It may not roll off the tongue with a foreign sounding flair like Auberge de Soleil, or sound as nice to pronounce as "Sundance," but that's the way things work around these parts. The best places are always hidden in plain sight at the exact spot where you least expect to find them. If you want to do Anderson Valley right, I recommend that you plan ahead and reserve a room and dinner table here before you leave. The paella will taste better that way, too, because you will have earned it!