October 3, 2024

Unique Inns and B&Bs in Sonoma Wine Country!

12322691_1039177626130078_4940512014535170550_o15 Unique Inns and Bed and Breakfasts in Wine Country

Sonoma County boasts a wide variety of wonderful lodging options, including many charming B&Bs. Part of the appeal of a bed-and-breakfast is the personal touches it offers, from intimate, one-of-a-kind settings, to that wonderful “B” – breakfast.

Landmark Vineyards Cottage, Kenwood
Have you ever dreamed of having your own vineyard? This is the next best thing, with two private cottages tucked on the edge of the vines of an award-winning estate. Nestled in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains, the charming guest suite bungalow offers a king-size bed, private patio, and fireplace, while the one-bedroom farmhouse features a cozy kitchen, sunny sitting room, bath, and laundry facilities. Both are detailed in rustic-luxury farm style, with amenities like continental breakfast, a bottle of Overlook Chardonnay, and an estate tour and tasting.
101 Adobe Canyon Road, Kenwood

Raford Inn, Healdsburg
The beautiful Queen Anne Victorian mansion built in 1880 sits on four acres amid Russian River Valley vineyards in a quiet residential area. It’s truly off the beaten path, and you’ll love the coziness of its five beautifully decorated guest rooms with private baths and fluffy robes, and some with fireplaces. You can also relax in the sunroom, or on wicker chairs on the wrap-around veranda overlooking the gardens and grapes. It feels like a whole other world here, surrounded by vast open spaces, peaceful quiet, and the stars at night. For a lovely ritual, start the day with complimentary breakfast like stuffed French toast soufflé or artichoke frittata, then enjoy the inn’s complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres reception every evening.
10630 Wohler Road, Healdsburg

Old Crocker Inn, Cloverdale
Budget Travel Magazine recommends this former hunting lodge turned B&B, for bonuses like child- and pet-friendly policies, plus luxuries like fine linens, gas fireplace, air conditioning, television with DVD and cable, bath amenities, robes, in-room massage, and a Passport for free tastings at 100+ Sonoma County wineries. Sprawled across five acres, the property offers five lodge rooms and five cottage rooms or suites, all with private bath and entry. The breakfasts are well worth waking up for, offering feasts like house-made scones with butter and jam, quiche with sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke heart, roasted potatoes, sautéed mini tomatoes, chicken sausage, and fresh fruit.
1126 Old Crocker Inn Road, Cloverdale

Madrona Manor Wine Country Inn & Restaurant, Healdsburg
This is luxury all the way, boasting $400 suites, five-course wine-paired Michelin Star suppers, and extravagance befitting a beautifully restored 1881 mansion set on eight acres of English gardens and wooded hillside. Manor owners Bill and Trudi Konrad pay close attention to every detail, decorating the 18 rooms/suites with fine furnishings and warming them with fireplaces, plus inviting the outdoors in with large balconies or decks. Take your gourmet buffet breakfast in the estate parlor, if you can draw yourself away from your room outfitted in stately antique furniture worthy of a royal family, pillow-top mattresses, and feather-soft linens.
1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg

Elim Grove Cottages, Cazadero
This isn’t the kind of place most people will just stumble across. It’s about a mile from downtown Cazadero, and to get there, you need to travel on Highway 116, approximately eight miles through the woods west of Guerneville or four miles east of Highway 1. Then you turn north on Cazadero Highway and continue another 5-1/2 miles until you see the lodge and bakery nestled beneath the majestic old growth redwoods that tower above Austin Creek. Yes, bakery. The five private cottages sit in a romantic compound, decorated in themes of antique knotty pine, bamboo garden, and the Baker’s Loft, finished in hardwood. They overlook the bakery garden, where Mark and Elizabeth Weiss send out a mouthwatering array of fresh-baked-daily breads, muffins, cinnamon rolls, buttermilk blueberry scones, croissants, lemon bars, apple coffeecake, cookies, fruit tarts, turnovers, fougasse, double chocolate brownies, biscotti, palmiers, Danish, and so much more.
5400 Cazadero Highway, Cazadero

Gaige House, Glen Ellen
Take a bed and breakfast, dress it up like a luxury resort, and you’ve got this delightful retreat from the posh Four Sisters group. It’s a private oasis, offering 23 private Asian-inspired guestrooms and suites, plus eight new “Zen” suites featuring granite soaking tubs and private Japanese gardens that beckon for en-suite spa treatments. This is definitely the good life, with stunning rooms that look like they’ve been plucked from a style magazine, done in simple whites and creams accented by rich wood furniture with bamboo and rattan accents. The magic continues with home-style amenities like creekside hammocks, while the B&B part comes in the personal, attentive service and the complimentary, three-course breakfast served every morning.
13540 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen

Beltane Ranch Bed & Breakfast, Glen Ellen
When most people dream of Sonoma County Wine Country, this is what they envision. Tucked on a hillside overlooking the Sonoma Valley, the historic 1892 ranch house and cottages are a virtual Eden of gardens, vineyards, and orchards. Walking trails lead past grazing horses and cattle, through the ranch’s winey estate, olive orchards, and the sustainably-farmed produce gardens that supply the kitchen for each morning’s breakfasts. Choose from five bedrooms in the main house or a cozy cottage, all with private outdoor entrances, bathrooms, and patios. Prepare to love the décor, done in family antiques and original local artwork.
11775 Sonoma Highway 12, Glen Ellen

Kenwood Inn & Spa, Kenwood
This is truly one of Sonoma County’s best-kept secrets. It’s tucked in an unlikely place —  most of us have only seen it as a tiny Mediterranean-style property on the edge of Highway 12 and have little idea what it is. Stay here, and you’ll discover a lavish 29-room resort with a luxurious spa, multiple pools and hot tubs, and even a private, 35-seat restaurant that is open only to Inn guests. Each room is different, yet all are posh palace retreats, from the fireplace sitting area, to the castle-like ambience of polished concrete floors and plaster walls set with iron framed windows, to the baths that are nearly large enough to live in. Breakfast is a remarkable meal, from a private chef who crafts fanciful chilaquiles; Cajun-spiced jambalaya with sausage and bacon topped with chive-mascarpone scrambled eggs; or creamy soft polenta topped with poached eggs, applewood smoked bacon and red pepper coulis.
10400 Sonoma Highway 12, Kenwood

Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant, Forestville
This rural property is a ravishing mix of gorgeous guest rooms, a restaurant fed by farm-fresh food, and a seasonally inspired spa. The owners, siblings Catherine and Joe Bartolomei, come from fifth-generation farmers. Recently, the property underwent an expansion and redesign of the circa-1870 hideaway. Amid the towering redwoods of the Russian River Valley, crews added eight  guest rooms housed in an elegant new “barn,” refreshed the Inn’s original ten guest rooms, and brightened the Michelin-starred restaurant that fronts the property. Baths are gussied with large jetted tubs and saunas or steam showers, morning starts with full breakfast and fresh flowers in your room, and in the afternoon you can take wine tasting classes with Sonoma County’s only Master Sommelier, then move on to homemade cookies and milk.
7871 River Road, Forestville

Bay Hill Mansion B&B, Bodega Bay
It truly is a mansion, sitting like a white and blue-trimmed wedding cake on a coastal bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Each of the five guest rooms are individually designed, including three king suites, with restful, Victorian-inspired decor, and a choice of super-pillow-top or luxury memory-foam beds. It’s all about luxury, actually, from the deep soaking tubs in the marble baths, to 1000-thread-count linens and Turkish cotton towels, to remote-controlled infrared fireplaces, a personal concierge for kayaking, horseback riding and such, and a choice of two homemade breakfast menus daily. Note: the property is home to two friendly dogs, and also welcomes canine guests.
Bay Hill Mansion, 3919 Bay Hill Road, Bodega Bay

Sonoma Creek Inn, Sonoma
This darling, reasonably priced 16-room hideaway has been recently updated, for colorfully decorated rooms with private outdoor patios or porches, flat screen TVs, Keurig coffee makers and mini-refrigerators. The country chic décor is bright and cheerful, with amenities like chess games, a pet friendly policy, and soothing garden courtyard set with a fountain. Staying here is a deal, too, since besides reasonable rates, the hosts offer complimentary tasting passes at area wineries. Plus, they’ve partnered with Sonoma Adventures for a $5 per-person discount on bicycle rentals, perfect for touring the many terrific shops and restaurants of the nearby Sonoma Square.
239 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma

Monte Rio Vacation Cottages, Monte Rio

It really should be called Monte Rio Vacation Cottages, Suites or Cabins, since there are three types of accommodations. Cottages and suites feature luxury touches like private hot tubs on large decks, fenced and gated yards, hanging flowers pots, and cute birdhouse themes like Heron, Hummingbird and Stellar Jay. Other luxuries include premium bedding, robes, toiletries, fully equipped kitchens or kitchenettes, Smart or Apple TV’s with free Netflix, HBO streaming and Comcast cable, free Wi-Fi, daily housekeeping, phones, gas or electric fireplaces, and outdoor dining areas. For the cabins, think “glamping,” tucked into 120 square feet but hardly roughing it phones, Wi-Fi, premium bedding, robes, housekeeping, en-suite water closet, private outdoor shower, private deck, private gas grill, and umbrella dining table. For all, the secluded Russian River setting is serene, cradled amid the redwoods with Mother Nature in all her finest.
20790 Kingston Ave., Monte Rio

Ocean Cove Lodge Bar & Grill, Jenner

An intimate Cliffside retreat with 16 rooms nestled around a hot tub and picturesque gardens, the lodge is just minutes from State Parks, sandy beaches, ancient redwood forests and glittering blue ocean coves. Tip: the upstairs rooms have private sun decks, Jacuzzi tubs, and spectacular ocean views. The rest of the place is rustic but charming, and updated with 32” HDTV including Direct TV and HBO, oak furnishings and original artwork, mini-refrigerators and microwave.
23255 Coast Highway 1, Jenner

Kenwood Oaks Guest House, Kenwood

Well-behaved pets are welcome to stay in the private Cottage, and enjoy its lush gardens. There’s even on-site horse boarding available (outside, please), for access to the nearby parks boasting miles of world-class trail riding. People are welcome in all the six rooms, though, relaxing amid warm earth, rust and gold décor, country antiques, and breakfast of yogurt, breads, granola, fresh fruits, eggs, and seasonal goodies from the garden. As a new upgrade, the Guest House is now green, featuring 33 solar panels and new building insulation with recycled materials.
854 Warm Springs Road, Kenwood

Olea Hotel, Glen Ellen

The bright, cheerful retreat of eight rooms and the Lobby building with two king rooms is nestled into a hillside in the shade of oak and olive trees. It’s wine country charming, yet modern, Ask for one of the private, modern luxury cottages, and you’ll get your own private gardens, too. Goodies include complimentary in-room snacks and plush bathrobes, while pets enjoy vacations in the Hillside Queen Rooms and the Lower Garden Cottage, outfitted with dog beds and welcome baskets including treats, bowls and towels.
5131 Warm Springs Road, Glen Ellen

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