Fodor's Expert Review Swiss Hotel

Sonoma Plaza views unfold from the redwood-plank balcony of this 1909 two-story hotel, part of which dates to 1836, during California’s period of Mexican rule. Don’t expect anything fancy or modern, but the price is right, the location convenient, and the frozen-in-time bar is a fun hangout. The same Swiss-Italian family has run the five-room hotel and adjoining restaurant and bar since the 1920s; if you catch current owner Hank Marioni in a garrulous mood, he'll regale you with stories of his family’s interactions with the Sebastiani wine family and other famous locals.

YOU SHOULD KNOW All the rooms are above Swiss Hotel’s restaurant or bar, something light sleepers may find a deal-breaker.

room

Up a steep staircase from the the hotel’s small lobby lie five rooms with inventive configurations befitting an oft-remodeled 19th-century structure. The aesthetic in the rooms is more granny’s guestroom than chic boutique, but with the exception of a few pieces that definitely need replacing the furniture is serviceable if not inspiring. The two king rooms facing Sonoma Plaza have direct access to the wide balcony; one room in back with a pull-out sofa works well for families with small children.

Room 4, a streetside king with a sunny sitting area and balcony access, is perhaps the nicest room, but because it’s directly above the bar and can be noisy, the other streetside king, Room 5, is the better choice.

bathroom

The bathrooms here are nothing special—think suburban bathroom circa 1988 (make that 1978)—but clean. Jolly floral wallpaper wins Room 4 the prize for spiffiest of the lot.

lobby

Poised between the restaurant and bar, the small old-timey lobby has dark-stained wainscoting. The walls above it hold images of historic Sonoma and four generations of the hotel’s current owners.

dining

Diners nostalgic for the decor and menus of mid-20th-century Italian-American trattorias find the hotel’s restaurant a delight. More sophisticated dining can be found less than a minute to the west, but the Swiss’s restaurant isn’t bad for a lunchtime salad, sandwich, or pizza.

Grab one of the few streetside tables for excellent people-watching.

drinking

The Swiss’s wood-paneled watering hole seems frozen in time. A relation of Ernest Hemingway supposedly had a hand in the creation of the bar’s signature drink, Glariffee, a frosty variation on the Irish-coffee theme. Only one person knows the recipe, which she keeps locked in a safe deposit box. For more Sonoma tidbits, chat up the friendly bartending crew.