Farmhouse Inn in Forestville. Anyone know about this place. Great looking amenities for the price. We are a couple in our late 40's looking for a special week away from the teenagers. We would like to explore Wine Country and yet don't mind being "away from the maddening crowd" of Napa in the "crush" season. Honor Mansion and Madrona Manor are on our list as well.

Any experiences?

Can anyone answer dj's questions?

Sorry to be pedantic, but you have committed one of my "favorite" misquotes (meaning that it drives me nuts). Thomas Hardy's novel is "Far From the Madding Crowd," and the line comes from Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." One of my textbooks has a footnote on the word "madding," defining it as "frenzied."

Yes! We LOVED the Farmhouse Inn. The breakfast was wonderful, dinner was great we ate their two nights. The owners are fansatic people. We had a whirlpool tub and sauna in our room. Go, you will have a wonderful experience.We will be back!!!

Sorry Diane. I'm not as illiterate as I seem. Just nervous about posting.

One more question: How careful should we be about drinking and driving? Do people hire drivers/cabs to go to dinner in Napa when their hotel is in Sonoma? Sounds like driving after "tasting" for an afternoon could get dangerous.

Thanks for the answer!

Hi,
We spend 3 days in Napa and then drove to Sonoma and spend 3 more days. We would go wine tasting after a really good lunch. I am not much of a wine taster, but I am the Champagne lover of the family. So, we traded off as DD driver. Always stayed close to the hotel for dinner so we could enjoy.
Let us know how your trip goes.
Take care

It will take you one hour to drive from the Farmhouse to Napa. I suggest that if you stay at the Farmhouse that you eat in downtown Sebastopol (15 minutes) at Alice's Restaurant, or Lucy's Restaurant or B and K Bistro, all very very supurb and all near the corner of Hwy 116 (main street) and Hwy 12 (Bogega Avenue). Or go to downtown Santa Rosa to Cafe Lolo, world class food. The wineries in the Valley of the Moon (Hwy 12 between Santa Rosa and Sonoma, are great. See March 2002 Gourmet magazine for article on Sonoma area. The crush season is over and the crowds in the Napa Valley have thinned. One advantage of Farmhouse Inn is that you can take a day trip to Point Reyes, or drive to the Russian River and Guerneville's Armstrong Woods (primal redwood forest), ending up at Jenner to eat at River's End, with a view to beat any I've seen in the world of the Russian River meeting the sea with the seals basking on the far shore. Skip Bodega Bay unless you want to hike on Bodega Head with the wind in your hair and sea on three sides and seals barking. No good restaurant there (nor in Occidental despite what you've heard; I live there so I know) but again, head to Sebastopol, or to Graton to the Willowwood market, casual good food. Enjoy!

It will take you one hour to drive from the Farmhouse to Napa. I suggest that if you stay at the Farmhouse that you eat in downtown Sebastopol (15 minutes) at Alice's Restaurant, or Lucy's Restaurant or B and K Bistro, all very very supurb and all near the corner of Hwy 116 (main street) and Hwy 12 (Bogega Avenue). Or go to downtown Santa Rosa to Cafe Lolo, world class food. The wineries in the Valley of the Moon (Hwy 12 between Santa Rosa and Sonoma, are great. See March 2002 Gourmet magazine for article on Sonoma area. The crush season is over and the crowds in the Napa Valley have thinned. One advantage of Farmhouse Inn is that you can take a day trip to Point Reyes, or drive to the Russian River and Guerneville's Armstrong Woods (primal redwood forest), ending up at Jenner to eat at River's End, with a view to beat any I've seen in the world of the Russian River meeting the sea with the seals basking on the far shore. Skip Bodega Bay unless you want to hike on Bodega Head with the wind in your hair and sea on three sides and seals barking. No good restaurant there (nor in Occidental despite what you've heard; I live there so I know) but again, head to Sebastopol, or to Graton to the Willowwood market, casual good food. Madrona Manor is very upscale compared to Farmhouse (but Farmhouse has spas I think), in a grand Victorian house. Healdsburg is a very chic dining and shopping town; wineries nearby are good. Go on Westside road to Hop Kiln winery. I have no comment on the wine, but the building is so interesting, an giant old hop kiln.

Why are people who are "sorry" to be pedantic" can't wait to be so?