Hopland’s Thatcher Hotel has had plenty of updates, but old bones preserve history

Old has become new again in downtown Hopland, an unlikely development that is transforming this once-sleepy little town in southern Mendocino County into a budding tourist destination.

At the heart of this change is the Thatcher Hotel, which reopened after a long renovation in late 2019.

The facility dates to 1890 and today exemplifies boutique luxury. It boasts 18 spacious rooms, a lobby with the original bar, a small café and a backyard patio with a small pool and conversation pits large enough to comfortably entertain the entire San Francisco 49ers roster.

The hotel is open from Thursday to Sunday until the end of spring, at which point it will be open to accommodate guests all week.

“We like to think of this place as more than just an inn or hotel — staying here really is a historical experience,” said General Manager Amy Pardini. “You come, you relax, you unwind and you appreciate the little things. For us that’s what being in Mendocino County is all about.”

Long history, bright future

To call the Thatcher an icon would be an understatement — the Victorian-style inn has graced the center of downtown Hopland since the late 1800s.

Back then, the train from San Francisco stopped at the Depot right behind the hotel, which meant the stately building was one of the first things they saw before they disembarked. Thatcher spared no expense in building the original, outfitting the structure with a copper steeple, tin ceilings and other ornate details.

Over the years the hotel changed as Hopland did — popularity ebbing and flowing as visitors came through town. At one point, the name switched from the Thatcher to the Hopland Hotel, which stuck until very recently.

The lobby bar, an inviting space with a hulking wooden façade, remained a popular gathering spot.

Finally, after years of neglect, the hotel shuttered its doors in the early part of last decade. Local entrepreneur Gary Breen teamed with Mark Rogero to purchase the property in 2017 and began renovating it immediately. Almost $5 million and two years later, it reopened in October 2019.

Breen and his team are known in the area for having a sort of Midas touch with the properties they create. Breen himself is a bit of a local mover and shaker. He owns the Stock Farm inn and restaurant to the south, as well as Campovida, a small family farm and winery on the site of the old Valley Oaks property to the east. He is a developer and does most construction work himself.

When he stepped in on the Thatcher, locals were excited about the future.

Built with good bones

The resulting renovations, designed by Oakland-based Medium Plenty, did not disappoint. The current iteration of the hotel is an exhilarating mix of new and old.

Design fans love the color — a deep and slightly purple grey dubbed Kendall Charcoal.

Guest rooms — there are 18 in all — are spacious and decorated with minimalist style. One room has a clawfoot tub, other rooms on the third floor have built-in window seats. Upstairs, the hotel feels much larger than it seems, almost like it is defying the time/space continuum with secret square footage.

The lobby bar has been restored to its original grandeur and remains a hotspot on weekend nights; it is currently the only place in downtown Hopland that serves mixed drinks. The library, just behind the bar, is a throwback, too — the room is ringed with built-in bookcases, and original oil paintings hang on the walls. There’s a small eatery in the front named the Poppy Café that serves coffees, baked goods and sandwiches.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the new Thatcher Hotel is the patio — a tremendous space that is divided into smaller “rooms” by benches and greenery. Two individual conversation areas ring spacious fire pits. A small pool provides relief from the blazing summertime heat.

There’s even a small microbrewery out back, a gravel-lined event space and a bocce court.

“People often joke that they could spend their entire visit back here and never get bored,” Pardini said. “There’s really nothing like it anywhere else here in Hopland.”

Lots of visitors roll through town

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the new-and-improved Thatcher Hotel has had a significant impact on the local economy.

Business owners up and down Highway 101 said they have seen more tourism dollars coming into town, and noted they are expecting a big summer after enduring two years of sagging interest in visitation and travel.

Many noted the Thatcher and other recently opened businesses such as Stock Farm, the Golden Pig, and the MendoCann cannabis dispensary at the center of an ongoing renaissance for the town.

Rebecca Robinson, executive director Zinfandel Advocates & Producers, said there are more than a half-dozen wineries with tasting rooms in downtown Hopland —wineries that are all part of a new “Zinfandel Trail” that encourages visitors to get out and support those who make that variety of wine. She added that many visitors following this trail end up at the Thatcher.

“The California Zinfandel Trail was conceived to encourage wine lovers to fine great Zinfandel and explore California's varied growing regions,” Robinson said. “Mendocino County is a perfect destination for finding delicious Zinfandel and one great launchpad-town is Hopland.”

Jameson McFadden agreed.

McFadden’s family has made wine in the nearby Potter Valley for years, and the family opened a tasting room just down the street from the Thatcher late last year. McFadden said that a decent number of visitors are guests of the Thatcher, and those who aren’t staying overnight at the hotel usually ask about it.

“In Hopland, Highway 101 shrinks to a single lane and traffic slows to 35 mph, allowing drivers to easily pull over and stop into many of the town’s great attractions,” he said.

Always ready for guests

As the weather warms up, Hopland businesses are bracing for busy times. Until then, they’re working together to do what they can to attract visitors and maintain a buzz around town.

This weekend wineries and tasting rooms are hosting Destination Hopland: Barrel Tasting. It’s an annual barrel-tasting event where visitors sample local wines straight from the barrels. The Thatcher Hotel supports this event by offering promotion through which guests who book for one night get the second night at half-price.

Pardini said the thinking behind this promo is to make it easy for guests to come up and stay a while.

“We want people to come and stay with us here at the Thatcher,” she said. “At the same time, we want people to explore town and support all of the local businesses. That way, everybody wins.”

The Thatcher Hotel is also available for large and small private gatherings. According to their website, they offer a range of venues to accommodate celebrations as well as full onsite food and beverage catering services.