Along the Mendocino Coast, explore the Stanford Inn resort and nationally acclaimed gourmet Vegan cuisine at Ravens.
“This is our most important work,” said Jeff Stanford as his arm swept over the organic garden, the centerpiece at The Stanford Inn in Mendocino, California. A resort like no other in the United States, The Stanford Inn celebrates life and health for all beings.
From sustainable organic gardening and delicious artistic vegan meals on-site at The Ravens Restaurant to health and wellness classes, services, and activities, a retreat to this Mendocino Coast gem will profoundly impact your life.
The Stanford Inn hosted my husband and me, but all opinions are my own.
Why Ravens Restaurant is nationally acclaimed for Gourmet Vegan Cuisine
The Ravens Restaurant has won numerous awards and is well-known for creating dishes based on locally harvested products, from seaweed to mushrooms. The plant-based cuisine ingredients are organic and sustainable, and most of the produce is from regional organic growers or The Stanford Inn’s own California Certified Organic Farm.
In order to understand why the Ravens Restaurant enjoys such an outstanding reputation, you must know about the place and the players.
The Place 
The Magical Mendocino Coast
The Mendocino Coast is magical. It draws me to Northern California like no other place. Known for its rugged and stunning coastline, charming small towns, and countless outdoor activities, Mendocino County is the perfect location for a retreat like The Stanford Inn.
Mendocino County is famous for its outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, and whale watching. Mendocino Headlands State Park is a popular spot with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. The ocean here is a rich marine ecosystem and is home to various wildlife, including seals, sea lions, and numerous species of birds, and as I mentioned, whales at the right times of the year.
The Mendocino coast also boasts a vibrant arts scene with numerous galleries, festivals, and the renowned Mendocino Art Center. The artists love to talk about their work, and I love to learn about their process. Some galleries are run by the artists themselves, who take turns staffing the floors and interfacing with visitors.
If you remember the classic TV series “Murder, She Wrote” with Angela Lansbury, you might recognize Mendocino as the location of Cabot Cove, where Jessica Fletcher did her detective work.
The Weather on the Mendocino Coast
Typically, the weather on the Mendocino Coast is mild and temperate. Summers are cool and dry, with average high temperature in the 60s Fahrenheit. Winters are wet and calm, with temperatures in the 40s to 50s Fahrenheit. Winter rainfall is significant.
On our visit last fall, we experienced fog in the morning that evaporated by afternoon. Then, from our ocean-view balcony, we enjoyed a spectacular sunset that lasted more than an hour.
How To Get To Mendocino
The coastal town of Mendocino, located about three hours north of San Francisco, can be reached by driving on Highway 1 either from the north or south.
The closest airport is in Santa Rosa, about a two-hour drive from the south. Also, there is a small municipal airport at Little River, less than three miles away if you take a small plane.
Note: Traffic on Highway 1 can be slow. Consider taking an inland route for faster travel.
Inland from the coast, Highway 101 connects to Highway 128 in Cloverdale or Highway 253 in Ukiah. Both routes are narrow with many curves and are best traveled during daylight hours.
The Players
Jeff & Joan Stanford
As Innkeepers, Jeff and Joan Stanford serve the highest and best purposes of their guests. Since their quest, beginning in the late 1970s, to find a way to live an integrated life, they found innkeeping to fulfill their goals. They wanted to be in nature, raise a family, work, be in service, and continue their education.
The Stanford’s purchased Big River Lodge, a small motel, at the mouth of Big River Estuary, where it flows into the Mendocino Bay, showing great potential for a bed-and-breakfast inn and eventually a resort. The purchase included Catch a Canoe and Bicycles, Too!
The transformation from a motel to the luxury resort it is today took many years and dedication to their goals. The Stanfords continue refining their service, delivering their message of good health and inspiring others to make conscious choices that benefit the planet and themselves.
About Jeff Stanford
Jeff is an ordained minister and holds an anthropology degree. He told me that the most important work they do at The Stanford Inn, through the United Nations, is to help educate small-scale farmers in third-world countries with findings at their certified organic farm. Because every bed is numbered and studied based on the seeds and plants grown, the results inform about climate change and directly impact the world’s ecology by teaching people how to feed themselves.
About Joan Stanford
Joan offers Imagination Workshops at Mendocino Center for Living Well at The Stanford Inn. Joan is an Art Therapist, and she has a private practice delivering retreats and workshops using the power of creativity and nature to heal.
Creative (Imagination) Playshops are conducted from September through June at the resort.
Jeff and Joan raised their two children and now have three grandchildren, along with cats, dogs, rescued donkeys, horses, and a llama. Jeff told me he would have a pig if the property had more room. Certainly not to eat, but to complement the sustainability of the property. They make good pets, too.
About Sid Garza-Hillman
Certified nutritionist, health coach, speaker, and author Sid Garza-Hillman is a driving force carrying on the mission at The Stanford Inn. He is the Wellness Programs Director and Instructor at the Mendocino Center for Living Well.
Healthful Activities
Classes in Wellness include Wellness and Healthy Living, Breathwork, Mindfulness and Meditation, Tai Chi, Yoga, and Pilates can be booked with your reservation.
Canoeing Delivered My Aha! Moment
Reservations are required at Catch-A-Canoe and Bicycles, Too! for self-guided outrigger tours. Canoeing is a must-do experience at The Stanford Inn.
We scheduled our outrigger experience in the morning because of better tides, less wind, fewer people, and more wildlife.
Imagine paddling through the emerald green water, slicing through the silence in a redwood canoe, with only harbor seals for company. This unique experience on the Big River Estuary helped me overcome my fear of water and allowed me to connect with nature unforgettably.
Bicycling
Rent a bicycle and explore the bluffs and logging roads near The Stanford Inn. All hikes and rides are on state land or state park property.
Hiking
Don your hiking boots or sturdy shoes and discover Big River Trail, Van Damme State Park, and the beach a short distance away. Lush redwood forests and the Pygmy Forest are local destinations where you can hike or forest bathe, called shinrin-yoku in Japanese.
Pet Friendly
Animals hold a revered place at The Stanford Inn. The family dog has a reserved spot in a chair by the fire in the Great Room in the Main Lodge.
It was the Halloween season when we visited, and the Main Lodge was decorated with tasteful ghouls and goblins. A black cat greeted us at check-in, and I wondered if the kitty was a prop for the season.
The Facilities
The Main Lodge houses the Reception, the Lobby, The Ravens Restaurant, and the Gift Shop on the top floor. On the Lower Level is the workout room, where Jeff personally selected the equipment for guests. The cooking classes and workshops are conducted on the Lower Level in the Big River and Mendocino Rooms.
I particularly enjoyed the Great Room (Lobby) because of the wood paneling, fireplace, couches, piano, bar, and tables to sit and look out to the ocean while enjoying Happy Hour drinks and vegan snacks. It’s a cozy room with table lamps shedding warm light in the corners and with ocean views.
The Library and Resource Center offers new books about health and wellness and those published by authors Jeff, Joan, and Sid. Snacks and a wide selection of wines are available by the bottle.
Handicapped Accessible
Ramps near the nine EV charging stations and Front Desk provide access to the two main-floor ADA-accessible suites.
The Solarium – Pool, Spa, and Sauna
The solarium is nestled amongst the trees towards the rear of the property by the nursery. The pool building had a tropical feel because of the plants outside and inside. A spa, sauna, and shower are at the rear of the building. A device to help disabled swimmers access the pool is at the shallow end.
Massage in the Forest
Reservations are required for massages, spa services, and yoga classes in the Massage in the Forest building located next to the nursery and solarium. The building is a quiet respite in the forest.
Vegan Cooking Class With Sid Garza-Hillman
Because I was researching The Stanford Inn vegan resort, Sid generously shared some typical recipes in a cooking class. He demonstrated how to prepare the recipes in an afternoon session in the classroom. It was the perfect interactive introduction, showing ingredients, techniques, and tools that a student would experience in a regular cooking class. I loved that we got to eat the product of our efforts.
We made Cashew Cheese in a powerful Vitamix blender. The ingredients included cashews, nutritional yeast, onion and garlic powder, unsweetened plant milk, agar, olive oil, miso paste, and roasted red pepper.
We made another recipe for Shiitake Bacon. The simple ingredients included mushrooms, olive oil, sea salt, and smoked paprika. Baked at 350 degrees, they were a welcome addition to the tomato, cucumber, and Cashew Ranch Dressing/Dip.
An essential fact I learned about vegan cooking is that adding essential spices makes vegan food taste like familiar meat-based foods. For example, our mushrooms tasted like bacon. But that was only because of the pieces we added to the mushrooms. Soaking almonds makes delicious milk, and blending cashews makes cheese.
Scheduled Retreats at The Stanford Inn Eco-Resort
Designed for vegans or those who are vegan-curious, retreats at The Stanford Inn dive deep into cooking and nutrition and help bring about long-term habit changes.
Here’s what’s included (shared by The Stanford Inn):
- 4-night stay
- 4 breakfasts
- 4 dinners
- 2 plant-based cooking classes
- Nutrition/healthy living class with Sid Garza-Hillman
- Small Steps Class (Stress Management and Habit Change)
- “Bringing it Home” conversation – applying what you learned
- Complimentary copies of:
- Dining at the Ravens Cookbook by Jeff & Joan Stanford
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- The Art of Play by Joan Stanford
- Approaching the Natural by Sid Garza-Hillman
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- Six Truths by Sid Garza-Hillman
- Mountain bike rental
If you can’t make the scheduled retreats, vacation packages with add-ons may be a good option.
Final Thoughts
After my weekend experience at The Stanford Inn, I came home with the Dining at The Ravens cookbook (by Jeff and Joan Stanford) I purchased, and I tried some of the simpler recipes I learned from Sid.
I was also determined to explore kayaking or canoeing close to home to extend the confidence gained from my life-changing experience on Big River at The Stanford Inn.
Excerpt from The Stanford Inn Mission Statement:
“Here, we are dedicated to creating an environment in which guests, staff, and family are able to connect and deeply appreciate the natural and, in so doing, themselves.”