B&B REVIEW : REVELING IN A ROOM WITH A VIEW AT 1905 COASTAL INN.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

The view is to die for.

The vast picture window of my room at the Old Milano Hotel reveals a splendid scene: a boiling Pacific Ocean, its giant, frothy waves beating against a tall, jagged spire of granite called Castle Rock. Beyond, on the horizon, the sun is starting to set, spreading deep coral rays across the sky.

For long minutes, I stand at the window, staring at the ever-changing scene. It is a welcome bonus after some grueling driving along the corkscrew Highway 1 that leads to Gualala, a village about 100 miles north of San Francisco. Finally, I get a chance to absorb the wild beauty of this coastline.

It's the main pleasure of this 1905 rambling bed-and-breakfast inn tucked away in an evergreen forest that opens onto the sea, but not the only one.

``The view, the quiet and the privacy people remark on,'' says innkeeper Tracy Waldie.

The old house has been a haven for guests since the early years of this century, when Batiste Luchinetti built it as a hotel for the loggers who passed through the area, Waldie tells me. It was redone a few decades ago by costume designer Theodora Van Runkle and photographer Bruce McBroom before being sold to current owner Leslie Linscheid in 1984. Now, in addition to the seven rooms in the house, guests can opt to stay in a small garden cottage or a converted caboose (you can climb up a ladder in the latter and watch the sunset from two brakemen's seats).

My room is Room 2, a cozy upstairs abode with modest antiques, a white iron bed that nearly demands a step stool to reach it, a batten-board ceiling and floral wallpaper. The bathroom, which features a shower for two, is across the hall, a real inconvenience. But my solace is that view.

Downstairs, a fire snaps in the fireplace of the dining room, which is furnished with antiques that harken back to the days of the Luchinettis.

The hotel serves dinner to the public in this room and, Gualala being an eyeblink of a town, I decide to eat here rather than try and find another diner. A good choice. It's Italian night and the pasta dishes are plentiful and tasty, old oil lamps cast a gentle glow about the room and Enrico Caruso is singing opera (on tape, of course). Who could ask for anything more?

Sated, I make my way back to my room, which is warmed by a portable heater and well-lighted enough to read a good book. Then, it's to sleep to the lullaby of the crashing sea.

Next morning, I'm up early enough before my appointed breakfast time to stroll down to the cliff's edge, where a weathered bench awaits me. The salty scent of the sea is invigorating, the air bracing, the view extraordinary. From here, I can see houses dotting the clifftop across the way. Smoke drifts from a chimney. Below, small birds ride the waves rolling onto shore. A gull cries, a bird chirps. This is, I think, nature at its most beguiling.

Breakfast is served in the little wine parlor next to the dining room. I sit at a table for two with a window on the ocean. At a nearby table, another woman is breakfasting.

We chat over a substantial, but unimaginative, breakfast (juice, coffee or tea, scrambled eggs and toast). She is, I discover, a gardener from Marin.

``I think we are the only two people here,'' she says.

She's stayed at the Old Milano a few times; it's homey and comfortable, she says.

Comfortable enough that she has come down for breakfast in her nightgown, a short, green satin affair topped with a black jeans jacket.

``Well, it's just you, me and Tracy,'' she says.

And a view that is to die for.

B&B Basics

Address: Old Milano Hotel, 38300 Highway 1, Gualala, Calif. 95445.

Phone: [phone].

Price range: $88-$178 per night, double. Winter rates available Monday through Thursday after January.

Number of rooms: nine, three with private bath.

House rules: No smoking indoors; no pets.

Money matters (credit cards, cancellation policy): Visa, MasterCard, personal checks, cash. First night's deposit not refunded if cancellation is less than 72 hours before stay; $10 fee if canceled earlier.

Check in/check out: 2 p.m. / noon

Telephones, television, etc.: Telephone in dining room. No televisions. Hot tub available.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) The best feature of the Old Milan o Hotel in Gualala: picture windows with fabulous ocean views.

(2) The rooms at the Old Milano Inn aren't fancy, but the views of the Pacific Ocean are splendid.

Susanne Hopkins/Daily News

Box: B&B Basics (See Text)