Team behind Mendocino Grove opens new boutique hotel near Fort Bragg

MENDOCINO CO., 10/27/25 — The old Pine Beach Inn site just south of Fort Bragg is getting a fresh start after sitting vacant for years. Now reimagined by the team behind popular glamping resort Mendocino Grove, Teresa Raffo and Chris Hougie are ready to debut the revamped property as Mendocino Cove, a resort that will incorporate Mendocino’s natural beauty with modern comfort and amenities. 

The new project is a 50-room boutique hotel that quietly began welcoming guests last week, with a full opening planned for November. The property will include a restaurant with a large deck overlooking a French-style garden with a water feature, a fire pit in a common area for people to gather around, eight pickleball courts, bocce ball and direct access to Pine Beach, where Hougie said they’re considering including hammocks. The resort will also feature a sauna, hot tub and cold plunge.  

Raffo and Hougie are best known locally for Mendocino Grove, which opened in 2017. Before that, they lived and worked in the Napa and Sonoma area, where they ran ventures that mixed art, community and landscape design, such as Cornerstone Sonoma, an event venue and marketplace. Hougie comes from a creative background in product design, and early in his career he made glow-in-the-dark stars that decorated countless bedrooms across the nation..  

At Mendocino Grove, the couple became known for blending tourism with community by hosting dinners, concerts and fundraisers. Raffo and Hougie said they’re excited to use Mendocino Cove as another place where visitors and locals can meet each other. 

“Watching those two groups mix is such a sweet piece of why our guests at the Grove love being here, because they actually get to meet locals and probably make friendships that they can come back to,” Raffo said. “There’s no way we could do a project like this without the community.” 

She described plans for a community labyrinth-building day in April, where people will be invited to help create a walking path near the ocean. She also said the restaurant will source from area farms, although the couple is still looking for a chef that can bring their vision for the restaurant to life.  

Both Raffo and Hougie said that events, like the ones hosted at Mendocino Grove, are part of the plans for the new property.  

Raffo has been active in local organizations for years. She serves as board president of the Noyo Food Forest, a nonprofit that connects Fort Bragg students with farming and food systems. She said her involvement there has shaped the way she approaches hospitality. 

“For me, the community piece is why I do these projects,” she said. “It’s always been about bringing people together.” 

Mendocino Cove sits between Fort Bragg and the town of Mendocino on U.S. Highway 1, a location Raffo said feels symbolic of how the project connects the two towns. The property’s design emphasizes open space and thoughtful landscaping, featuring native plants and multiple places for people to gather, recreate and make new friends.  

Neighbor Kathryn Nelson said that long before it became the Pine Beach Inn, the land was part of a 100-acre homestead owned by her family, who settled there in the late 1800s. Her grandmother sold a small portion of it in 1934, and a few fishing cottages were built on what then became Pine Beach.  

“There was a cookhouse and a dance hall, and my grandma used to cook there while my uncle played music,” Nelson said.  

By the 1960s, the property had grown into what locals remember as the Pine Beach Inn, later run by the Swales family, according to Nelson. She said she remembers visiting often as a child and riding her horse through what’s now the main part of the property. She also recalled a caretaker named Mitch who kept a flower garden near the bluff and said the beach below was a gathering spot for families and group bonfires. 

Today, Nelson still lives part-time just across the road and said she’s thrilled to see the site renewed.  

“Our family could never have done what they’ve done, it’s just gorgeous,” she said. “Chris and Teresa have been wonderful neighbors. They’ve really integrated into the community and brought so much energy and care to the place.”  

Nelson said her husband is excited for the pickleball courts, and she hopes resort passes will be available so that she and her family can use the sauna, cold plunge and hot tub. Raffo said they haven’t made a decision yet on whether non-guests will be able to buy passes for the spa. 

Hougie said that he and Raffo wanted to preserve the natural feel of the land while adding modern comforts. 

 “We wanted it to be a place that feels relaxed and connected to the coast,” he said. 

The project adds to the growing hospitality industry on the Mendocino Coast, where several old hotels have been purchased and are being renovated, including the Grey Whale Inn in Fort Bragg and the Hill House and Mendocino Hotel in Mendocino.  

Hougie said the project is a continuation of their work at Mendocino Grove, but on a different scale.  

“It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done, but it’s still about the same thing — people, place and connection,” he said.