Discovering hardwoods in the redwoods ataHumboldt County inn

By Gage McKinney

One treasure of the house, tucked in a lobby corner, is a rosewood table with a carved elephant head on erch leg. I presume that the tusks predate the ivory ban by at least 100 years.

In the lobby and hallways, English tapestie.s add exnre and warmth. And the display of exotic woods continues into a new wing of the horcl with king-size beds, rooms

THE fntouiftout the hotel the hallways feature cherry wainscotings, rails and balustrades, and the balustrades are inlaid with walnut. The cherry-an echo of the redwood tones in a different key-continues into the mouldings and door and window casings in the rooms. Our bathroom mirror had a wide cherry frame.

Tudor architecture of the Benbow lnn rises above I. the Eel River and beside the ancient groves of Humboldt County, Ca. It has attracted building product professionals for generations as they have traveled Highway 101, calling on sawmills and lumber plants of the redwood region.

Clear redwood features prominently in the hotel, furnishing the dark beams of the lobby, bar and Elizabethan dining room. Just as prominent, however, are woods from different climates and faraway forests.

The hardwoods of the Benbow Inn are, in their ways, as remarkable as the giant Sequoias. During a recent stay to celebrate our anniversary, my wife and I were impressed by the grand walnut buffet, topped with a hand-carved sunburst that is the focal center of the dining room.

In the lobby, we worked with other guests in assembling the communal jigsaw puzzles that spread on English walnut tables with solid, book-matched tops. Tea and scones are served every afternoon on one of these tables.

Other antiques in the house, including a tall lobby clock, feature quarter-sawn oak with a heavy flake that suggests timber sawn long ago. The flooring is evenly colored Appalachian red oak that probably dates to 1926 when the hotel was built. The inn is on the National Register of Historic places.

In our petite queen-size room we had an anrique red oak cabinet with a marble top and a sherry decanter. Even the drawer sides and bottom were solid oak, suggesting manufacture before the Great War.

Sleuthing for rare woods might not be everyone's idea of fun, but I could hardly help it. I beat my wife at checkers on a board of red oak and American walnut. (On the terrace

(Please turn to next page) she trounced me at Scrabble.) I sampled single nralt scotches at the broad Central American maho-san1' bar

I set my hardwood obsession aside to hike u'ith m1'uife in the nearby Richardson Gror,e State Park. u'ade in the river, and swim in the hotel pool. On another hike. ue crossed the stone Benborv Bridge and climbed through a mixed tbrest of redwoods. conif-ers and a larietv of deciduous trees. especially black oaks-rny obsession ugain.

For those with other obsessions. the Benbou propert) includes a nine-hole golf course with alternate tees so that it plays like eighteen. There are also spa and nrassage services. bicycles for -{uests. nearby tennis courts. and (in summer) boat rentals.

A man with an obsession ofien misses the broader stclrl I haven't mentioned dining al fiesco on the terrace abor,e the river and the mastery of executive chef Carl Olson. We enjoyed three nights of exploring the menu of savory fish. steaks and cutlets and would have done so tbr three rnore

Nights Had Time Alloned

The ertensive uine list has earned the Benbo* lnn honcrrs fronr llrine Spectakrr ma-eazine tbr "one of the most outstanding restaurant s ine lists in the u orld." Beer drinkers uill enjored a limited but excellent assortment tiom local breueries.

It's a tribute to John and Teresa Portc'r and their staff that thou-eh the hotel has 55 rooms. it retains the intimacr of a smallcr place. \{r uit'e lores Lcstrechard Manor. an inn in the Dartmoor counln of Devon. England. Benbou is a Leu,trenchard in the reduoods-a high conrpliment.

The allure of the Benbou Inn is seclusion and European elegance in a rustic setting. It is one of the t-es hotcls rrith a Four-Dianrond ratin-c tiom AAA.

Our lires rrould be diminished rrithout an occasional fclral intt'l the reds oodsand hardu oodsof Bc'nbou countr\'. We'll be back tor our ne\t anniversan.. and pcrhaps in the meantime for a star during the month-long Christmas cel!-bration or to see thc- hotel gardens in sprinr:. You'll find the Benbou lnn along Highrvar l0l near Garberr ille. about 200 miles north of San Francisco. Ty'pical driring times are three hours l-5 minutes lionr San Francisco. fire hours frclm Sacramento. and 70 nrinutes from Eureka. The Web site. u ith photos of rooms. ratcs and local links. is su s.benborr inn.eom.

- Gu.qc .l[cKirtttt't .qr(\'up in tlte lurdxtxxl husirtt'ss urtd llras tontributed ro The \lerchant \{agazine und BPD litr nutre thun -10 teur.s. Hc cun ltc rcuLhatl ut .guqentLkirtrtt'r@shcqloltul.net.