Heritage House lost; gets no bailout - Mendocino Beacon

It's more than simply ironic that just as the national economy was hitting a new bottom last week, Little River's Heritage House was having the worst days in its 60-year history.

[Jim]

What as shame that GREED leads to this. Realtors are just as much to blame as everyone else especially the broker who won't idenify him/herself

[Bryan Lovsness]

How sad that this "Grand Inn" should be locked up and how duped we all were by David Wilks and his "Music Man" sales pitch. I can remember him calling us all together - the entire staff to tell us, when he first became the owner, of the GREAT things we had in store because basically "money was no object." He used to tell patrons that the place worked because of the staff and then within weeks had Miami waiters here trying to train US how to deal with locals. I am heartbroken - once again the "Dennons" get revenge however.

[Russel Brant]

How many people were employed there when it closed???

[Jim]

Russel, I believe at least 40 people

[Georgia]

For many years I have written about Heritage House for newspapers and magazines. It's always been among my favorites. I know some of the principals in the most recent ownership and I much regret this closing. I'm sorry not to be able to find the stories about that. Can anybody help in my finding them? Thank you.

[Cheryl]

We were given a gift certificate to Heritage House in Mendocino for 3 nights and now cannot use it or get a refund. What recourse do we have? Are they eventually planning on opening after renovations?

[Mike]

as a former employee of Heritage House inn, I can tell you what the lawyers told us..."get in line"
when they closed my final paycheck bounced not to mention they still owed me 4 weeks of vacation that I am sure I will never get back.
David wilk is a snake..I would gladly give up any money owed me if i could have five minutes alone with that thief

[Same Time Next Year]

Mike wrote:

as a former employee of Heritage House inn, I can tell you what the lawyers told us..."get in line"
when they closed my final paycheck bounced not to mention they still owed me 4 weeks of vacation that I am sure I will never get back.
David wilk is a snake..I would gladly give up any money owed me if i could have five minutes alone with that thief

So sorry to see it closed..many memories there!

Alan Alda

[Richard Miller]

My wife and I love "Same Time Next Year" (we must have seen it a dozen times over the years)and were thrilled to have stayed in the very suite where it was filmed. On my 1-2 times yearly visits to Mendocino I never passed up an opportunity to visit Heritage House, and have a wonderful meal there. Its demise is a real loss.

[Gene Brown]

I told them two years agd the program would fail. My wife and I stayed ther ever year for the past 20 years and it so sad to see this wonderfel plase to close due to pure greed.

[Monroe]

My wife and I honeymooned at Heritage House in 1976 and returned on our anniversary (or close to it) every five years thereafter. We loved that place. On our last visit, in 2006, I did not like the planned rennovations about which I heard: telephones and televisions in the rooms among other things. One of the elements that appealed so much to me about Heritage House was the seclusion, the separation from the outside world. It was a winning formula; the new owners should have left it alone.

[Frustrated By The System]

Do any of you former guests realize how much money this former owner owes the HH employees and vendors? He is living a protected life back East.

The threatended DA charges have yet to materialize. He will ultimately find protection though some BS business clause that will allow his "company" to take the heat, and he will walk away, albeit a little less sucessful. This man will not do time nor will he pay a dime back to the people he has ripped off.

That's the real shame. Not the closing of the hotel or the misguided renovation, although these are contributiong factors to the end result.

I hope I am wrong, and hopefully, one day the HH will recover, but it is what it is and we all have to pick up the pieces for the damage that was caused.

So sad

[John M]

Like you, we returned every five years. Same Time was our favorite. We're due for our 30th this summer. I check to see if there is a possibility that HH will reopen but so far nothing. Lots of other location in the Mendocino area but it will be hard to find anything as special.

[rock n roll]

Frustrated By The System wrote:

Do any of you former guests realize how much money this former owner owes the HH employees and vendors? He is living a protected life back East.
The threatended DA charges have yet to materialize. He will ultimately find protection though some BS business clause that will allow his "company" to take the heat, and he will walk away, albeit a little less sucessful. This man will not do time nor will he pay a dime back to the people he has ripped off.
That's the real shame. Not the closing of the hotel or the misguided renovation, although these are contributiong factors to the end result.
I hope I am wrong, and hopefully, one day the HH will recover, but it is what it is and we all have to pick up the pieces for the damage that was caused.
So sad

He is due in court in the next month or so.
Charges have been filed.

[Dr Gator]

I know Wilk. I worked with him while all of the business with the HH was going on but didnt know any of this until about 3 months after he got fired. I have to say that me and everyone who worked with him thought of him as a very shady character. In retrospect this whole thing does not surprise any of us at all. He would stroll in an out of his work "responsibilites" as if he were indespensable yet, he did NOTHING except try to take credit for the work of others. He was unreliable and interferred with the good things the rest of us were trying to accomplish.

[Not Likely]

Cheryl - even if they re open new owners not likely to honor. It's a shame. It was a wonderful place. And the site is world class.

Cheryl wrote:

We were given a gift certificate to Heritage House in Mendocino for 3 nights and now cannot use it or get a refund. What recourse do we have? Are they eventually planning on opening after renovations?

[Darryl Lonsdale]

sad to hear of the demise of the heritage inn, and the circumstances that have occured. i fell in love with same time next year many years ago and living in australia i have never had the opportunity to visit the west coast of the states. it is always a shame to see the demise of any well known locations and buildings that have offered so much joy to so many over the years in any place around the world. or am i too nostalgic?. my thoughts go out to all the employees.

[P Crawford Lancaster TX]

OMG...I am sitting here reading with tears in my eyes the trail of comments and had no idea that HH is no longer. My husband and I were married there Oct. 7, 2005 by Bryan Fairlee at the little white gazebo near the cliff and we spent part of our honeymoon there at HH. The people and service was outstanding. Our private reception couldn't have been any more perfect and the food was awesome. It was one of the best few days of my life and I will never forget it as long as I live. The property was amazing...I love HH and I relive the moments of our stay often. In fact my screen saver is pictures of the Inn. This news is very, very unsetting, as I so looked forward to returning, time and time again. How very sad and heartbreaking. I'm speechless...

[MagicJoe]

This is truly sad! My wife and I would make our annual trip to the Heritage House, staying in either the "Next Year" or "Same Time" units. Many fond memories of the jacuzzi loudly shooting water out (only to be finally fixed a couple of years later), sitting in front the fireplace, relaxing on the back deck in the adirondack chairs, and reading the journals (I certainly hope these journals are stored away and did not get tossed as it would be waste of history who poured their hearts and soul in them regarding their stay there). We will miss this awesome property and the super staff (i.e. Sean, Erica, Lauren, Holly, to name a few) that took care of us during our stay each year.

[John C]

I worked there for almost two years from 2005 to 2007. I worked with some very talented people who have since moved on to much greater endeavors.
I remember David Wilke and his obviously fake smile and hollow promises. Three of my paychecks bounced, one of them twice in a row. I abandoned ship more than a year before it sank but several of my friends remined. They have since lost their jobs and final paychecks, holiday pay etc.
I hate David Wilke and would love to see him, metaphorically and literally, strung up by his nether bits.