|
|
LODGINGS
The Mission Inn / 3*
3649 MISSION INN AVE, RIVERSIDE; 909/784-0300 OR 800/843.7755
A National Historic Landmark built in stages between 1902 and 1931 by
hotelier Frank Miller, the Mission Inn began life as a two-story adobe
home and gradually evolved into one of the West's grandest resort hotels.
Architect Arthur B. Benton played off Miller's love of the dramatic, and
the Mission Inn developed into a fantastical conglomeration of architectural
themes—all hand-crafted by an army of artisans who made the Inn
part church, part castle, part Mission-style. The finest of the 235 lodgings
are located high up along "Spanish Row" or flanking an upper
patio (numbers 420 through 431). If cost is no object, this "suites"
region of the huge structure is the place to stay. Each room is different,
and some have extraordinary architectural elements such as 13-foot-tall
arched leaded windows, coffered ceilings, and window seats, plus balconies,
patios, views, and fine furnishings and fabrics. Even the more modest
rooms have a sense of drama, beginning with the hallways themselves—
which were built wide enough to handle the enormous steamer trunks of
guests arriving to spend much of the winter. Bonuses include a good-sized
pool as well as a hydro-spa, set in a spectacular courtyard beside the
front
entry walk and gardens. The Mission Inn Restaurant and Duane's Prime Steaks
& Seafood are located within the hotel (see reviews in Restaurants,
above). In all, this is a classic monument hotel that must be experienced
at least once in one's traveling life. $$-$$$$; AE, DC, DIS, MC,
V; checks OK; www.missioninn.com; exit Mission Ave offHwy 91 and go west.
|