Napa vs Sonoma - Need Advice
 

Next October will be our first trip to northern California. We are considering one night on the coast north of SF, five nights in Napa or Sonoma followed by three nights in SF. Is five nights in wine country too many? We are thinking of the Mission Sonoma Inn or the Harvest Inn. Is it crazy to stay two nights in one and three in the other. I like the idea of staying put for five nights in one place. If you stay in one place, are all the other areas accessible for day trips or is it too much driving? Also, can someone suggest a quaint, pretty town for one night north of SF on the way to Napa/Sonoma?
Thanks so much for any advice!

Personally, I'd pick one place and use it as your base of operations. I like Healdsburg. Its about 1 hr. north of the Golden Gate Bridge on Hwy #101. From there you can easily tour the remainder of the wine country. To drive to Napa, you could go through the Alexander Valley to Calistoga, down through Napa Valley to the town of Napa, and then West through the town of Sonoma and back to Hbg. That's an all day drive. But to do a round trip Hbg-Napa on one day, and a Hbg-Sonoma town on another is easy. You might also want to visit the Armstrong Woods State Park in Guerneville. Beautiful Redwood trees, with few tourists. Then there is the drive to the Pacific Ocean, and Bodega bay and the Russian River...Check out www.sonomacountyvacations.com for some interesting places to stay.

You don't really need an additional place to stay between SF and Napa as it is less than an hour's drive. But if you want to do something different, you could stay in Sausalito and enjoy an incredible view of the Bay and the City. Petaluma is also a charming town. But, if I were you I'd enjoy those places during the day on my way to Napa or Sonoma.

I've never seen the Redwoods - sounds perfect. Is one hotel that I've suggested better situated than the other? We're flying from NY, so I thought one night in a pretty place to just relax would be nice after the long first travel day.
How far is Yountville from Healdsburg?

I'm partial to Sonoma & since you have sufficient time I'll suggest what we typically do. We stay on the coast, usually in or around Jenner & hit the wineries from there...Napa has become a bit too pretentious (& pricey), when most tastings in Sonoma are free. Occidental is a cool little town & the Osmosis Spa is nearby as well.

We prefer Sonoma Co also. Our favorite town there is Healdsburg - by far. I would not stay in the Sonoma Mission Inn - unless you plan to spend a lot of time using their spa facilities. The area immediatly outside the hotel is a little gritty & run down - you really won't want to take walks in the neighborhood. You can't walk to the Sonoma Square from the hotel. Stay in the Healdsburg Hotel instead. In my opinion, and in the opinion of the local food critics and the Michelin people, there are better restaurants in Healdsburg than in Sonoma.

keroux gave you an excellent driving itinerary.

Stu Dudley

PS

5 nights in Napa or Sonoma is a little too much, IMO. I would do 5 nights in SF, 3 in Healdsburg, and 1 on the Coast.

A while back I posted a scenic driving itinerary for the route up the coast, over to hHealdsburg, then Napa valley, etc. Do a search on "Stu Dudley" on the USA forum to try to find it. If you can't, post here again & I'll re-post it to this thread.

Stu Dudley

Stu - I already have your itinerary printed and on my desk - looks great. I first came across your suggestions when doing research on Italy (we were there in Sept). In fact, your drive through southern Tuscany sounds so wonderful that we will follow it the next time we're back there (only got as far south as Siena this time). It was funny to see your name again and learn where you're from when doing research for this trip.
About the # of nights in each place, we're from NYC and although I've never been to SF, I so appreciate getting out of the city and seeing beautiful countryside. I thought we could also see the Redwoods and the Petrified Forest. What do you think?

Five days is still a lot of time to spend in the wine country. Drive up the coast as far as Mendicino & spend a day there & 1 less in the Wine country.

SF & a bit different from NYC.

Stu Dudley

"Is five nights in wine country too many? We are thinking of the Mission Sonoma Inn or the Harvest Inn. Is it crazy to stay two nights in one and three in the other."

Five nights is not too long if you are seriously interested in wine and food. If you have a more casual interest, it may be too much. For outstanding scenery, the coast might be a better option especially in October.

Both the Sonoma Mission Inn and the Harvest Inn are excellent places to stay. The Harvest Inn is in a wonderful location just south of St. Helena. There are a number of excellent restaurants nearby and you are right in the center of the finest wine region in the US.

The Sonoma Mission Inn is a great place if you are into Spa treatments and/or golf. If you are more interested in wine and food, then Healdsburg (as others have stated) may be a better choice.

Other towns to consider staying in include Calistoga and Yountville. Yountville has many fine eateries that you can walk to from your inn and Calistoga has a great small town ambiance to it along with lively restaurants and nightlife.

Are you saying that you can walk to restaurants in Yountville from the Harvest Inn?

you can for sure walk to most restaurants in Healdsburg from most of the hotels, B&B's and motels....

"Are you saying that you can walk to restaurants in Yountville from the Harvest Inn?"

No. What I said is if you stay in Yountville (for example: Villagio), you can walk to the restaurants. St. Helena is 7 or 8 miles away.

Stu Dudley and I are usually on the same track. Have you considered Mendocino? We've been 4 times and cannot go 18 months without scheduling a couple days there. Amazing place. Incredible scenery, people, sights, hiking, food...just all good. We've used www.luxurylink to book 2 weekday stays. Please look at www.tripadvisor and read my golist about Mendocino. I think it says "Mendocino for a second, third honeymoon".

We have stayed at the Sonoma Mission Inn 3 times now and love the place! It is very nice with an amazing spa and only a 5 minute drive to the plaza. :)

This past March we really enjoyed the Villagio in Yountville, walking distance to Ad Hoc, REDD and Bistro Jeanty.

We have also stayed at the Harvest Inn in St. Helena and the Hotel Healdsburg, let me know if you further questions on these places, both were wonderful. ***kim*** ((*))

Another vote for Healdsburg as a base! We would visit for 5 nights each Spring. Feel their town square is charming, less touristy but with good restaurants and winetasting opportunities. Stop into Oakville Grocery for great deli lunch, Rosenblum tasting room almost next door for great red zins, Seghesio is down the street! Accomodations include beautiful B & B's, high end Hotel Healdsburg on the square, moderate Best Western off 101. This area easily connects so well to all the routes to Napa, Sonoma, Calistoga, Dry Creek and Alexander Valley wineries which we would visit. Using Healdsburg as a base, we would also explore Bodega Bay and Mendocino too. I think Wine Spectator featured Healdsburg area recently.

The Wine Spectator issue that featured Healdsburg and referred to it as the 'New Sonoma' was June 15, 2007.

Healdsburg as the new SONOMA ?
It's already IN Sonoma.
:)

R5
Yowzur Here come the tourisits !

I think they were referring to the county - not the city.

Stu Dudley

I think I got that, Stu.

R5

More marketing silliness:
We are now Sonoma CountRy

http://tinyurl.com/2d58at

R5

Thank you all - you've given me a lots of good stuff to consider and I will check out Mendocino and Healdsburg as suggested. Have any of you stayed at the Harvest Inn?

In Healdsburg, we stayed at the Grape Leaf Inn and the Camellia Inn. Two great places, Camellia being a good bargain and Grape Leaf being a splurge. You can walk to town from there to great restaurants such as Willi's or Cyrus and lots of tasting rooms. You can spend an entire day doing that. One time, we stayed at the Best Western Dry Creek to save some $$. It was nice...about a mile to the center of town. However, for a first timer nothing compares to the personal touch and help of good innkeepers.

bookmarking!

LindaC - I have always wanted to go to Mendicino... someday we will get there and I will have to ask you about where to stay!

Okay Dawno! I have a special column on www.tripadvisor.com called "Mendocino for a second and third honeymoon"

It has some great ideas and links!

just got an email from Travelzoo that sonoma mission inn is having a rate sale. go on travelzoo.com and look at this week's top 20

Start out with a "search" on this site--with
"Napa-Sonoma" in search box,,,

We stayed at Harvest Inn for 4 nights last summer. The close proximity to a wedding at V. Sattui was the main reason.
On the good side: The grounds are lovely to walk through. The location was good for wine tasting.
On the bad side: We found the rooms to be a bit dark with a slightly dated feel. It was definitely pricey (though we were staying at peak wedding season).
My conclusion: I wouldn't build an itinerary around it.

We stayed at the Harvest Inn last fall and the facility and grounds are very nice, but we enjoyed the Camelia Inn in Healdsburg much better! We like Sonoma much better than Napa and Healdsburg is our favorite place to stay. And 5 night is NOT too many!!!! But by all means drive to the redwoods and do some hiking.

Hi Centralparkgirl. Seems like you have gotten lots of great advice! I will add my two cents in the for what it's worth category. While I don't mean to argue, I actually really like the Sonoma Mission Inn - particularly the Mission Suites - though the comment that it is in a rundown part of town is semi accurate - it's sort of a small town area. Having said that the grounds are nice, the hotel has a shuttle service to Sonoma until 7pm and a taxi can bring you back for about maximum $10... Another nice place in Sonoma is "The Lodge at Sonoma" though it has gone downhill a bit and is under newish management. Also, there are some great places to eat in Sonoma town - el Dorado Kitchen; Cafe le Haye; Ledson, etc. Having said that, Healdsburg is also nice - and while some people have reacted aghast! that tourists will show up if Healdsburg becomes known, believe me, it already is - in fact, this is just my opinion, we stopped going to Healdsburg because it has taken over as the "snob appeal" center of Wine Country. I have written before on this forum about Hotel Healdsburg - I would not stay there - they definitely have a service problem - I gave them several chances and the service is just awful. Les Mars Hotel is beautiful, but extremely pricey. One place people seem to have left out is the Hotel DuChamp - it is a wonderful little place in a modern art, cubist sort of way. And, the food in Healdsburg is nice. As for Napa - it is a nice place as well. I agree with the assessment of the Harvest Inn as a little dark and dated but there are numerous other places depending upon what you're looking for. Napa town is now "the" place to be - the Oxbow Public Market has just opened and is a great place to visit; several new restaurants have opened in Napa as well - Ubuntu is wonderful; Pillar is just great; Bounty Hunter is good as well. And, if you can deal with construction - the Napa River Inn is a good base to stay - if you get one of the "Historic Deluxe Rooms." So, to answer your original question, five nights is not too much, depending upon what you're looking for. Though I agree with one other writer who said perhaps five nights in SF and three in Sonoma/Napa or four in each place? Have you decided where you will stay in the City? Hope above helps - I know it's long but wanted to give you a flavor for Wine Country. Please ask if you have an questions!

Thanks Perigrinator - my planning has evolved since I first posted (also have a different thread going). This is what I'm thinking:

Fri - arrive SFO at night - pickup rental car and stay overnight near airport.
Sat - early am drive taking Stu Dudley's scenic route north of SF - visit Muir Woods, Pt Reyes and stay one night in the area maybe near the water.
Sun - Tues stay in Napa three nights - since hotel check-in is late after noon, we would drive thru some of Sonoma and have lunch in Healdsburg on the way.
Wed - Sat stay in SF 4 nights - leave Napa on Wed and drive thru either Berkley or Sausalito and have lunch.
Sun - take redeye to NYC - gives us another full day in SF

I'm considering Vintage Inn in Napa and Huntington Hotel in SF (could use reward points). Are you familiar with either?

I've read what so many have posted favoring Sonoma, but looking at the new hotels in Healdsburg, I'll bet that town is undergoing a gentrification - seems to happen everywhere. Also, as far as Napa wineries charging fees, we will probably visit not more than three or four so I'm not too concerned about paying. We also want scenic drives, natural sights, visiting little towns and great eating - and I must admit, the choice of restaurants in Napa is fantastic. I have never heard of the ones you mentioned, but will now check into them.
One of the things that I've been trying to discern on line is what type of grounds the wine country inns have. I was avoiding inns on the main street of a town because I thought it would be nice to stay in a place that overlooked a vinyard (on the other hand, it could be argued that we'll be driving around and see plenty of vinyards - maybe I'm thinking about Tuscany which is not a fair comparison).
So, what do you think?

BTW, the views about Sonoma vs Napa remind me of NYers discussing the various Hamptons on the east end - a lot of different views.

Forgot to ask - after picking up a car at SFO is there any EASY place to drop off in SF? Thanks so much!

FYI for All:
Pilar Restaurant in Napa town is closed as the building they are in is being seismically retrofitted. Do look to dine there when they re-open.

R5

Unless you get WAY off the 2 main drags in Napa (29 and Silverado Trail) most of your scenic views will include semi trucks and stalled traffic. If you love gorgeous scenery and beautiful drives, Sonoma wins hands down.

Centralparkgirl: Your plan sounds ambitious! As for the Huntington Hotel, yes, it is nice if you can get one of the remodled rooms or suites. The Harvest Inn is another of the "bit run down" types, but is, nevertheless, nice. Also forgot to mention "The Carneros Inn" in "Carneros." It is a bit removed from Napa town and is in the southern area of Napa County bordering Sonoma - but they do have rooms practically in the vineyards... However, the complaint has been that it it so far removed from everything in the middle of nowhere.

As for car drop offs, I know Hertz has drop offs all over SF - in fact there is one just down the street from the Huntington Hotel.

And to dwell on the Napa vs. Sonoma thing - yes, sometimes Napa is crowded and if you are in Napa town you will get traffic! Sonoma is more bucolic but both have their negatives and positives.

Hope this helps! If any other questions occur, please ask!

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ONE more place to check out is madrona manor as an alterntive. It is outside healdsburg and is an elegant step back in time.