Beautiful coastal Valentine's Day getaways

<p>Sometimes it's important to get away. The coast along Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino is dotted with some of the most breathtakingly beautiful rooms and restaurants this side of anywhere. So this time of year, head to the shoreline that's particularly well suited to winter and early spring, when the fog is less present and whale-watching begins.</p><p>Plan your getaway for the middle of the week and you'll also enjoy some impressive deals on rooms and amenities, from spa treatments to free wine to live music and martinis. Some of our favorites include:</p><p>Brewery Gulch Inn: A very romantic Arts & Crafts-style, 10-room B&B right on the coast overlooking Smuggler's Cove south of the town of Mendocino. The uber-luxurious rooms here include a cooked-to-order breakfast and light buffet dinner with local wines and beers. Every room has a view of the ocean and private deck. The Robb Report called Brewery Gulch "the world's most exquisite treehouse." Rates $210-$495/night.</p><p>9401 North Highway One, Mendocino, (800) 578-4454, www.brewerygulchinn.com.</p><p>Howard Creek Ranch: A tiny bit north of Fort Bragg on the way to the Lost Coast, Howard Creek is a historic, 60-acre, oceanfront farm with miles of beach and mountains all around, a family-owned ranch and registered historic site, settled as it was in 1867. It has animals (llamas, sheep, horses and pygmy goats), gardens, fireplaces in the rooms, a swinging 75-foot footbridge, hot tubs, saunas and 1,000-year-old redwoods. Book a cabin, suite or room and enjoy a hearty ranch breakfast each morning. Horseback riding on the beach, only 300 yards away, can be arranged. Rates $90-$198/night.</p><p>40501 North Highway One, Westport, 964-6725, www.howardcreekranch.com.</p><p>Little River Inn: If the delectable crab cakes from the ocean-view restaurant aren't enough, the classically Victorian Little River Inn has everything else to offer the modern traveler, including golf and tennis. Fireplaces and private decks add to the nature-soaked atmosphere, run by fifth-generation innkeeper and her hubby chef, Cally and Marc Dym. Rates $145-$290/night.</p><p>7901 N. Highway One, Little River, (888) INN-LOVE, www.littleriverinn.com.</p><p>MacCallum House Inn and Restaurant: One of the must-stay places in Mendocino, book any two nights Sunday through Thursday for just $169 a night and included are a bottle of wine, gourmet breakfast for two and $14 in restaurant credit. Rates otherwise $179-$399/night.</p><p>45020 Albion St., Mendocino, 937-0289, www.maccallumhouse.com.</p><p>Mankas Inverness Lodge:</CF> Mankas has been a foodie destination for years, but suffered a setback in 2006 when its main building and restaurant (where Prince Charles himself had recently dined) burned down in a fire begun when a tree crashed down during a storm. But Manka's is back, its peacefully set, private rooms and cabins still rustically luxurious in every way, some with private hot tub and fireplace. The food is still beyond gourmet - the best of what can be found locally, from spring onions to "parts of Mr. Pasternak's pig." Meals are now served in one's room. Rates $245-$495/night.</p><p>30 Callender Way, Inverness, (415) 669-1034, www.mankas.com</p><p>River's End Restaurant & Inn: Cabins and fine dining with an ocean view, set where the Russian River ends in the Pacific Ocean at Jenner. The restaurant highlights seasonal, local fare - including a five-course Dungeness crab dinner at the moment, and plenty of oysters - while the Redwood Bar within the restaurant, which includes an outdoor deck, features mostly Sonoma wines. The inn's five cabins encourage getting away from the hassles of modern life, with no phones, no cell service, no TVs, no data ports and no kids. (There are, however, iPhone and iPod sound systems.) Some of the private decks look out on the restaurant's edible flower garden. Rates $120-$200/night.</p><p>11048 Highway One, Jenner-by-the-Sea, 865-2484, www.ilovesunsets.com.</p><p>Sea Rock Inn: A popular stay for anniversaries, honeymoons and other romantic rendezvous and retreats, Sea Rock is a sea-viewing luxury stay just outside of Mendocino with spa services to boot, including massage and sauna treatments. All rooms have private decks with full ocean views, two-person tubs, fireplaces/wood stoves and private entrances. With a choice of suite, junior suite or cottage, two of the inn's rooms have kitchen/kitchenettes. Rates $179-$385/night.</p><p>1101 Lansing St., Mendocino, 937-0926, www.searock.com</p><p>Timber Cove Inn:Newly renovated and under new management, Timber Cove is a coastal getaway tucked between Fort Ross and Salt Point state parks just north of Jenner. The inn's 40 rooms have fireplaces and spa tubs, with a choice of ocean or forest views and on-site restaurant and lounge. Some nights feature jazz and martinis; Test Kitchen Tuesdays offer a three-course tasting in the restaurant for only $29. For the month of February, Sundays through Thursdays, a full ocean-view room with Champagne and chocolates in addition to a hot breakfast for two will cost $199/night. Weekend wine tastings in the inn's Sonoma Coast Wine Tasting Room feature the wines of Flowers, Hirsch, Failla, Fort Ross, Hartford Court, Roessler and Peay, with monthly winemaker dinners honoring the same theme. Rates $165-$350/night.</p><p>21780 Highway One, Timber Cove, 847-3231, www.timbercoveinn.com.</p><p>Virginie Boone is a freelance wine writer based in Sonoma County. She can be reached at virginieboone@yahoo.com.</p>