CA wine country/25th anniversary
 

We are planning a trip to Sonoma/Napa area in May to celebrate 25th anniversary. We are looking for a nice hotel $250- 350/night budget. Any suggestions? We will be in the area 7-8 days. What about also staying somewhere on the ocean? I've looked to rent a home, but am a little nervous about doing so. Any suggestions appreciated.

In the Sonoma area our favorite place to stay is The Grape Leaf Inn. If you are really tall (like me and my hubbie) you need to ask for the new rooms that have had the bathrooms completely redone (including jacuzzi tub for 2 in your room with a skylight over it). The older house rooms are charming but the sinks are about at my kneecaps!

The breakfasts are out of this world. The owners are nice and very helpful re: wineries, restaurants, other activities. Each afternoon they have a private wine tasting from a local winery with cheese and fruit down in their "speakeasy". We enjoy visiting with others at that time and usually get good tips on wineries to visit. At bkfst you can sit at your own table or choose to be social with others. At night there is always a plate of cookies sitting out along with coffee or tea. The last benefit is that you can walk the couple of blocks to the great Healdsburg restaurants (Dry Creek Kitchen, Manzanita, Charcuterie, Zin and others) and not have to worry about driving back to a hotel.

A posh alternative is Madrona Manor, where the dinner's are amazing. Dine outside on the pretty terrace and admire the gorgeous flowers during the day.

If you are in Sonoma over Mother's Day weekend you'll be there for the Celebrate Healdsburg festival. Bands play in the central square and there is a bbq contest around the perimeter along with food stands and winery stands selling by the glass. We put a blanket on the grass, bring bubbles for our kids, and relax with vino.

Point Reyes area is gorgeous, you could easily do a couple of days over there too. Personally I can only taste wine for a couple of days in a row anyhow.

BMarieL

Check out Bodega Bay Lodge for your on the coast accommodations. The Duck Club Restaurant there is quite good.

On the coast, we stayed at the Timber Cove Inn, 12 miles north of Jenner. A stunning location with nice rooms and very good food. Check out the pics on their website: www.timbercoveinn.com

We can second the recommendation for the Grape Leaf Inn in Healdsburg. Great place and great location. In the country near the Russian River is the Farmhouse Inn. Not only a great Inn, but an outstanding restaurant as well. On the coast, the Bodega Bay Lodge has good views and very nice rooms.

We have rented three different homes in Napa through www.vrbo.com and were very pleased with them all. One we have returned to several times because it was large and quite inexpensive. You would definitely want something a little more posh for your anniversary, but there are many options available.

We stayed at the Inn @ the Plaza in Healdsburg this past March, it is a very nice property, you can walk to Cyrus from this property. ***kim*** ((#))

Thanks for the input!

I love the town of Healdsburg. The wineries along the Russian River Valley are wonderful. Healdsburg has great restaurants and tasting rooms right in the town square.

I stayed at the Honor Mansion. It was nice but in my opinion is over-priced. The next time I would stay at the Hotel Healdsburg. Friends of mine stayed there and they loved it.

http://www.hotelhealdsburg.com/