oblivious

My husband and I are spending 1week in san fran (with a family member).
We are headsing to wine country for one night- Thursday (maybe two night) for our 10 year anniversary.
I was recommended sonoma near the square... macarthur place for one night or el dorado. considering best western sonoma valley inn. Also we are considering spa treatment. We are not set on Sonoma, although the idea of the sqaure sounds good. Also looking for recommendation on how to make the best of the 2 days in wine country.
In addition any recommendations outside the ordinary for san fran?.

JerseySue

I would recommend 1 night in Frisco and 5 in Napa !!

Ike

Oblivious I'm from a long way off in Mississippi but I love CA and I have been to SFO 4 times. Spend 3/4 nights in SFO and 3/4 in Napa. I really like Napa better than Sonoma. You can land at the a/p in SF from Memphis, TN and be in Napa before 4 PM. I love Auberge Du Soleil. It's in Rutherford and has a sister property Calistoga Ranch near Calistoga.

http://www.aubergedusoleil.com/

http://www.calistogaranch.com/

Napa is a fine place. Don't worry about touring wineries just visit one/two then tour the towns of Rutherford, St. Helena, Calistoga, Napa, et al. The food is outstanding.

SFO is a nice great city and they have great hotels and restaurants. I love the Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton and Restaurant Gary Danko.

Good luck.

LoveItaly

May I just mention that SFO is the code for the San Francisco Airport (which is not in San Francisco) The abbreviation for San Francisco is SF. Just mentioning this as there are hotels located at SFO and I don't want those who know the difference to think posters are suggesting staying at a hotel outside of SF. Best regards.

oblivious

actually the reason 5 nights in san fran is there is not hotel expense there. we would like one or 2 nights in wine country and are willing to spend a little more. I appreciate the comments thus far. I will look into napa! thanks

rungirl2002

My first time to Napa, we just drove through and stopped one or two places...my second time there we stayed 3 nights which was totally worth it (always combining with a tript to SF.) It is so beautiful, relaxing and decadent so stay for 2 nights in Napa if you can.

StuDudley

>>I would recommend 1 night in Frisco and 5 in Napa <<

Obviously, not a resident of California. Frisco is in Kansas.

oblivious
I think you would find the town of Healdsburg to be more appealing than the town of Sonoma. It also has a square, with the Healdsburg Inn & Spa at one end. The winecountry adjacent to Healdsburg is much more interesting, IMO, than the winegrowing area around Sonoma. Parts of Sonoma & surrounding towns are quite trashy.

Cyrus restaurant next to the Healdsburg Inn is considered by the new Michelin SF Bay Area Guide, to be one of the Bay Area's top 5 restaurants. It also has the highest rating from the SF Chronicle. There are many more "top rated" restaurants in Healdsburg than in Sonoma.

My wife thinks the shopping in Healdsburg is much better than in Sonoma.

Stu Dudley

TrvlMaven

If you only have one night for the wine country and it's a "splurge"--either Auberge in Napa or Sonoma Mission Inn or Kenwood Inn & Spa in Sonoma/Kenwood.

annieladd

Actually, there's a Frisco in almost every state surrounding Kansas, but not a one inside the state. And, definitely not in CA! annieladd

razzledazzle

I second Stu's advice-go with Healdsburg. Healdsburg has a lovely square as well. A good website for planning a visit to the area is
www.wineroad.com

Stu~I didn't know there was a Frisco in Kansas-only knew of the one in Colorado.


R5

clelbong

I don't live in San Francisco, but have visited a few times, since no one has mentioned anything regarding what to do in San Francisco in no particular order:

1) Golden Gate Bridge/Golden Gate Park
2) Alcatraz Island
3) Chinatown
4) Fisherman's Wharf- fun shopping, go to Ghiradelli Choclate factory for some ice cream
5) Visit Berkley or Stanford
6) Take a ride on the cable cars
7) Lombard street

Restaurants:

Yank Sing Restaurant - dim sum
Tadich Grill- choppino
Chez Panisse- Berkeley (need to make reservations months in advance)
Marrakech Moroccan Restuarant Downtown- great honey chicken

StuDudley

My tow favorite spots for dinner right now are:

Bushi-Tei - French, although it's located in Japantown, and the chef is Japanese
www.bushi-tei.com

Aziza - Moraccan/California food
www.aziza-sf.com

Incanto - Italian - but not your normal red sauce North Beach type.
www.incanto.biz

Stu Dudley

oblivious

WOW, Thanks, I will definitely look into Heraldsburg! Thanks for the facts on San FRan too.
THis site is great! Who needs a treavel agent??

TerryLFred

My husband and I just celebrated our 20th year anniversary in Napa. We actually stayed in Yountville at the nicest B&B called Lavender. It is part of the Four Sisters Inns (www.foursisters.com). We had a fantastic dinner at The French Laundry. It's very expensive but worth every penny. We also liked the restaurants Redd and Hurley's.

I highly recommend staying in Yountville. It's very quaint with great restaurants and wineries nearby. It isn't too far from Calistoga either, if you want to go for spa treatments.

LLindaC

Gotta agree with Stu Dudley about Healdsburg. Yountville quaint? Is that when you're bumper to bumper behind limos and semis trying to move 10 ft? I'm sure parts of are- the bachroads of Napa are lovely, but alsost all of Sonoma is pretty and spread out a bit, so you don't spend your time in traffic and crowds. I would also prefer the drive on 101 back to the city. Alsways worked best for us.

elnap29

I love Healdsburg but I also love Napa Valley. I live here. Disagree about the traffic here, or at least, feel it is overstated and exaggerated. While there is a greater concentration of cars on the main highway on weekends, it does flow well most of the time, unless there is a traffic accident. Besides, if it slows a bit, you have time to enjoy the spectacular scenery. Really, we have no problem getting to work or driving up and down the valley as a matter of course. It can be 30 minutes north to south or 45 (Napa to Calistoga).
Oblivious, have a great time on your wine country escapade. You will enjoy Sonoma Wine Country. And someday you might like to visit Napa Valley, too.

trippinkpj

My advice is 2 nights in the wine country, and the other nights (is it 4 or 5?) in San Francisco.

kimamom

I would stay at the Sonoma Mission Inn in Boyes Hot Springs, about a 5 minute drive to Sonoma, their spa is amazing there.

We just returned from Napa Valley, our stay at the Villagio was amazing, you are right across the street from Ad Hoc and Redd where we enjoyed excellent meals.

We also enjoyed Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena, and then ended up in Healdsburg with an amazing dinner at Cyrus. Loved Napa Valley and want to return again in a couple of months to hit some things we missed. ***kim***

jeffpo

Along the same lines...we are celebrating 25th anniversary in late June, want to spend 4-5 days between SF and Napa or Sonoma. We prefer small hotels/B&Bs if possible...plus outdoor activity, yofa, etc. Any thoughts on how long in each location, where to stay, etc.?

kleroux

I too vote for Healdsburg. Wonderful pricey hotels if thats what you want..Hotel Mars or Hotel Healdsburg, lots of B&B's and many private homes and guest houses for rent by the day, week or month (www.sonomacountyvacations.com). Less traffic than in any town in Napa, fewer limo's and fewer drunken wedding parties on the roads.