Pelican Inn 10 Pacific Way • Muir Beach • California 94965

The two-story Tudor-style inn, made of rough-hewn timbers and stucco, is patterned after Shakespearean-era country inns. Set in West Marin’s rolling, chaparral-covered hills, which look like the heather and gorse-swathed hills of Britain, the inn seems an apparition from the English countryside. Vines grow up the chimney and first story, and there are flower boxes on the second-story windows. There’s not a straight line in the place. Nooks, crannies and twists are everywhere, and stairways run hither and yon. Memorabilia and bric-a-brac from 400 years of British history adorn all the walls: entering here is like walking into a favorite old story from childhood.

All the guestrooms, different from one another, feature queen beds, bathrooms, and little sitting spaces that seem designed for wine and conversation. The period construction details are authentic, including short doors, odd door widths, late medieval-style hinges, timbers and floor planks. Room Seven, atop a flight of stairs, has a king-size bed, bookcase, dormer window with a seat, and the only bathtub in the place. Great little touches abound: one room’s ceiling beam was recycled from another building, probably a barn. The beam has scores of names and initials carved on it over the years by lovers.

The Pelican Inn’s restaurant’s constantly updated menu has a wide range of options including vegetarian, British, continental and California-style dishes. A superb selection of British brews and California wines is also available.