His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan Stays At Benbow

The King of Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah II, his brother, and his son, Prince Hashem arrived Thursday on a motorcycle tour of the North West Coast and stayed Thursday night at the historic benbow Hotel after touring the Avenue of The Giants and Redwood State Parks.

John and Teresa Porter, Owner and Managers of the Hotel officially welcomed the King upon arrial. Secuirty was tight and special precautions were taken to protect the Royal Family. This is another historic moment for the Benbow Hotel. We have hosted Presidents, Prime Ministers, Diplomats, Dignitaries and Hollywood Royalty, but this is our first King. We are honoring the King's request not to show certain photos of him, or of him on his Harley-Davidson, but these show the security at the hotel and the King's entourage departing. There was a lot of coordinating to do prior to arrival and the staff was very excited. The secret security teams were all great to deal with. "We are honored to have King Abdullah as our guest," said John Porter, " And we are pleased the Benbow Hotel was chosen as part of their North Coast tour."

Very exciting times here this week at Benbow!

Summer is here and we had a wonderul Jazz In June with some terrific jazz musicians who entertained our guests on the hotel terrace. The experience of dining outside under the stars and listening to jazz is truly magical. If you missed Jazz In June, come for the Summer Jazz Series which begins August 17th. We have a terrific line-up and it's a wonderful venue.

Wildfires last month created smoky skies all over Northern California, but they have cleared for the most part. This photo looking northeast over the hotel terrace was taken this afternoon. Some fires are still buring south and east of us and if wind conditions shift from our normal on shore breeze, we get some light smoke, but not bad. Sadly, our local Chamber of Commerce had to cancel our Annual 4th of July Fireworks Show and Community Picnic this year due to Cal Fire's limited resources and high fire danger. However, that didn't stop us from having a great holiday weekend. We had our traditional family kids & pets bike parade at the RV Resort and guests enjoyed the swimming pool and golf course. Our guests soaked up the perfect weather which was clear, sunny skies and lots of sunshine. Everyone had a safe and fun weekend here in Benbow.

We have several wonderul exchange students working with us this summer from Russia. We continue to enjoy having these bright young people stay and work with us from all over the globe. We all laugh a lot as we try to learn their language and as they learn ours. The exchange is a wonderful, positive exerpience.

The weather today will be sunny and warm with temperatures in the high 90's. Work on your tan, go swimming, golfing, or hiking in the Redwoods...or, just relax. If you're looking for a great vacation spot come visit us.

The Hotel and Resort gardens are bright with colorful May flowers. The grounds look great. We had a hot spell for 5 days with temperatures reaching 103 degrees, but now we have cooler temps and the flowers are thriving. Over the Memorial Day weekend the weather was cooler than normal, but many guests who stayed with us enjoyed the outdoors, veiwed the gardens, went hiking and played golf...or, just relaxed.
This weekend is the Summer Arts and Music festival at the Benbow Lake State Park, - Saturday, May 31 and Sunday June 1. There will be live music, food booths and many artisans will be showing and selling their crafts.
The Benbow Hotel is ready for the Summer Season and everyone on staff is looking forward to guests visiting from near and far who come every season and who come for the first time.
We are busy getting ready for our 3rd annual Jazz In June event which runs June 22nd thru June 29th. Wonderful jazz artists from all over the country come to play jazz outside on the terrace and it's a spectacular venue where you can dine and listen to great performances. Check out our event calendar for more information.
We hope to see you soon.

Spring in Benbow brings blossoms, warm sunny days, and blooming gardens. This photo was taken on our Hotel Terrace.

Mother's day is comming and we have some special things going on that weekend. Saturday, May 10th we are having our Portalupi Winemaker Dinner, a Cookie Lee Jewelry show and on Sunday, May 11th we have a scrumptous Mother's Day Buffet planned. We will be seating for brunch from 9AM to 2:30. Call for reservations. If you need some gift ideas for Mom - take her out for a great meal or check out our hotel gift shop. We have Mimi Mouche and Holly Yashi Jewelry, plus beautiful beaded silk scarves and more.

The golf course was aerated almost 2 weeks ago and the greens have healed and it's in great shape. We are gearing-up for the summer season and hiring various postions at the Hotel and at the Resort and Golf Course. Maintenence crews are busy getting the grounds planted with flowers.

We host work/exchange students from countries all over the world. We will be welcoming students from Russia next week. We currently have students from Thailand and Moldavia. They are an absolute pleasure to have here. All of them are bright and curious to learn about our culture and hone their English skills. Our permanent staff also learns about their language and culture...the exchange is very positive. We look forward to meeting our new students and it's always sad to say farewell to them when they must head for home. The staff at Benbow looks forward to seeing you as our guest, soon.

When the owners of the Benbow Hotel & Resort decided to open it's doors year-round, part of that commitment was to purchase and install a generator the would keep the Hotel operational 365 days a year, twenty-four-seven. This week a 125 Kilowatt generator and automatic transfer switch was fully installed and is now operational. Back in the 1920's the Benbow family needed to build a dam across the Eel River to power their hotel. Today, they would be surprised to know the Inn can be powered by a 4 ft. by 10 ft. generator and the automatic transfer switch can sense power loss and have the whole Hotel back up in 10 seconds. The photo shows John Porter, Owner/Managing Partner with Neil Harris, Chief Engineer for the Hotel & Resort in front of the generator which is located in a spot that does not spoil the curb appeal of the Historic Hotel. The unit was supplied by Cummins West and installed by Kneaper Electric. We're committed to staying open and provide our guests service even during the worst storms.

We are having typical March weather, showers and sunshine. The last rain did not blow-out the Eel River. Steelhead fishing is still good. These photos were taken at the South Fork of the Eel River and Sprowel Creek today. Anglers are wading out into the riffles and some are launching drift boats and finding luck there and at Sylvandales. Check back for more fishing and river conditions.

Are you wearing green? Today is St. Patrick's Day and...as the luck of the Irish would have it...our Executive Chef has prepared a wonderful Irish dinner special with Corned Beef, Caraway Smoked Bacon Cabbage, and New Buttered Potatoes.

We are having spring-like weather and the trees are exploding with fragrant blossoms. Our golf course and hillsides are lush green and golfers are out there getting their swing in shape for the season.

Here's a fun factoid...Did you know that Humboldt County is ground zero for Big Foot? Many North Coast States claim they are, but the story of a hominid-like creature living in the Redwood forests and the name "Big Foot" was coined by the Times-Standard newspaper of Eureka California, almost 50 years ago. The famous Patterson-Gimlin film of a Big Foot sighting was shot in Bluff Creek, here in Humboldt County. The existence of Big Foot is hotly debated by experts. Most of our guests are here to relax and enjoy the many amenities Benbow has to offer, but some visitors come to see and walk among the Redwoods and decide for themselves. Are you a believer?