I stuffed the large soaking tub and tipped in a ramekin of lavender-scented tub salts, then slipped into the steaming water. It was 6:30 a.m. on the Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, California.
The day earlier than, I had picked out tub accoutrements from the foyer’s lovely marble cart with physique scrubs and brightly coloured soaps. Now was my probability to make use of them whereas my son and husband have been sleeping. I grabbed the herb-scented bar of yellow-and-beige striped cleaning soap — made with mustard seeds for exfoliation — and scrubbed up. Then, I leaned again to soak beneath tall tub-to-ceiling home windows that seemed out onto my large non-public second-floor deck. By the point my husband and son woke, espresso and breakfast had arrived, and I used to be wrapped in a gown, consuming tacky scrambled eggs in entrance of our double-sided fire.
Of the seven Napa and Sonoma motels I’ve reported on, Farmhouse Inn stands out because the one which feels quintessentially Sonoma. There are wine lists hanging in every of the 25 rooms. Each afternoon at 4:30 p.m., a neighborhood winemaker hosts a complimentary wine tasting by the firepits. Once I went, I tasted Croix Property’s Ruxton Sands rosé subsequent to some who had come down of their robes and slippers.
Farmhouse Inn
- There’s an on-site spa, which gives massages, facials, non-public yoga periods, and therapeutic soaking baths.
- Farmhouse Inn companions with 25 Sonoma wineries, all of which supply lodge company free tastings.
- The lodge hosts day by day wine tastings by the firepits (adopted by gourmand s’mores) and delivers freshly baked cookies to your room every night time.
- The six-acre property, with solely 25 rooms, is based and managed by Sonoma locals.
- It is a quick drive to Santa Rosa Airport, Armstrong Redwoods State Pure Reserve, and downtown Healdsburg.
The lodge is based and managed by locals, who reworked a dilapidated bed-and-breakfast right into a six-acre luxurious lodge in 2001. The spa serves post-treatment tea sourced from herbs grown on the lodge. The primary restaurant, although it now not has a Michelin star, is well-known for its decadent seven-course meals. There’s a hen coop within the again backyard, which my six-month-old son beloved, probably as a result of it lastly contextualized Outdated MacDonald and his cluck-cluck-clucking brood.
Past the quintessential Sonoma really feel — luxurious, however in an unfussy, Blundstone-and-Carhartt sort of method — Farmhouse offers guests entry to wineries that few different motels supply. Positive, Sonoma has a semi-crunchy, unpretentious high quality, however it’s nonetheless one of the vital coveted wine areas on this planet. You may’t present up right here with out tasting room reservations — and with 19 American Viticultural Areas (or AVAs) in Sonoma County alone, selecting simply a few wineries is a tall order. The lodge has 25 vineyard companions, all of which supply complimentary tastings to lodge company and might accommodate last-minute guests who’re staying at Farmhouse. Once I arrived, I requested to go to a accomplice vineyard — and 24 hours later, my husband, son, and I pulled as much as Chalk Hill Vineyards and Vineyard, the place our server, Raj, greeted us with a Chalk Hill AVA property chardonnay and a promise that Farmhouse company have been amongst his favourite guests.
Right here, my full evaluate of Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, California.
The Rooms
Courtesy of Farmhouse Inn
Farmhouse Inn has 25 rooms, together with cozy 200-square-foot rooms, standalone cottage suites towards the entrance of the property, and the bigger barn suites, which stand up to 850 sq. ft. I stayed within the one-bedroom barn suite with a see-through wood-burning fire, a separate hallway, an enormous toilet with a soaking tub and marble bathe, and an expansive balcony. The barn is on the very again of the property, which made our suite really feel non-public and out of the best way. It was greater than sufficient area for 2 adults and a child — and eating within the room didn’t really feel in any respect crowded.
Courtesy of Farmhouse Inn
The one draw back to the barn suites, which really feel like a world of their very own within the coronary heart of wine nation, is that they’re up a steep set of stairs, which meant my husband and I functioned as a human escalator for our son’s stroller.
Meals and Drink
The primary eating room serves day by day breakfast — fresh-squeezed orange juice by the roaring fire was a spotlight for me. It doubles because the property’s advantageous eating restaurant. Transparently, I didn’t have dinner on the most important restaurant as a result of children aren’t allowed within the night. Nonetheless, I attempted the tasting menu in 2021 and nonetheless bear in mind the meal fondly. Most locals I do know are massive followers of the restaurant, the place the lodge usually hosts wine dinners with accomplice wineries that promote out.
Maya Kachroo-Levine/Journey + Leisure
My husband and I loved an abridged tasting menu on our first night time, although — in our bathrobes, no much less. Farmhouse serves an exceptional in-room three-course dinner, which company can pre-order and have delivered (coursed out) at no matter time fits their schedule. I stumbled in from a wine occasion simply in time to affix my husband for our son’s bedtime routine. Then, with our son snoozing in his pack-and-play, we cracked a Banshee Wines brut and began in on a fragile pasta with mushrooms and radicchio, adopted by black cod in a sweet-and-sour sauce (or, aigre-douce, if we wish to get French about it) and lamb chops. For dessert in mattress, we shared a matcha and chamomile tart as our fire warmed the room.
One other on-site eating possibility, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is the informal Farmstand. It has a wood-fired oven and a lovely out of doors patio with warmth lamps and a fire. My son, husband, and I dined right here twice; it’s a really serviceable menu, with burgers, sandwiches, salad, and a very good potato and leek soup.
Experiences and Facilities
Courtesy of Farmhouse Inn
The accomplice vineyard program at Farmhouse Inn is an excellent motive to e book a keep. The lodge grants company entry to personal complimentary tastings at 25 Sonoma vineyards. Farmhouse additionally hosts day by day wine tastings — at 4:30 p.m. on the hearth pits — adopted by nightly s’mores at 6 p.m. with marshmallows made by the restaurant’s pastry chef.
The lodge has a big most important pool and a steaming sizzling tub, beautiful lawns the place company can put their ft up and revel in a glass of wine, a gurgling fountain, and, in fact, a hen coop. Amongst my favourite facilities have been the tub cart — the place I restocked twice on fragrant bubble tub, lavender tub salts, and brown sugar scrub — and the chocolate chip cookies dropped off each night time at turndown.
The Spa
Courtesy of Farmhouse Inn
Farmhouse Inn has a stunning wellness barn with a roaring hearth and a cart the place any visitor could make a crystal–infused oil to take residence. On supply: massages, facials, non-public yoga, and natural baths. After a 90-minute therapeutic massage the place my therapist, Lindsey, kneaded my again into submission, I curled up below a fleece blanket in a wicker chair by the hearth and sipped tea — an anti-inflammatory mixture of lavender, chamomile, lemon grass, and calendula — blended by the in-house pastry chef.
Household-friendly Choices
Sonoma isn’t your traditional bring-the-kids vacation spot, however with its abundance of outside actions, it ought to be. Farmhouse Inn is a few 15-minute drive from Armstrong Redwoods State Pure Reserve, which is a superb place to hike and see Colonel Armstong, a towering redwood that’s greater than 1,400 years previous. It’s additionally near the Russian River — the Farmhouse concierge can assist households arrange actions like kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding — and downtown Healdsburg, which has loads of family-friendly eating places. One night, we popped into Roof 106, which is above The Matheson, for pizza and cocktails.
The lodge was very welcoming to my son, and there have been different (well-behaved) children visiting throughout our keep. The lodge supplied a pack-and-play, and one among our servers burst out in music for my son at breakfast one morning, which made my weekend.
The Location
Farmhouse Inn is a 10-minute drive from Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, or an hour-and-a-half drive from San Francisco Worldwide Airport. You’ll want a automotive to get round; Farmhouse lets company use their home Volvos when obtainable, although many company select to lease their very own vehicles.
The lodge is a 20-minute drive from Healdsburg: go to my favourite Northern California tasting room, Flowers Vineyard & Vineyards, in case you’re a fan of coastal chardonnay and pinot noir; J Vineyards & Vineyard for winemaker Nicole Hitchcock’s phenomenal slate of glowing wines; Little Saint for vegan fare crafted by a Noma alum; The Matheson, the most recent idea from celebrated native chef Dustin Valette, who additionally owns fine-dining spot Valette; Dry Creek Kitchen in your Charlie Palmer steakhouse repair; Michelin three-starred SingleThread, which actually doesn’t want an introduction; and Aperture Cellars for luxurious, Bordeaux-style reds.
Downtown Sonoma is farther away – about an hour’s drive — however value a go to for the meals and tasting rooms on supply. Strive Enclos, which simply opened in December 2024; chef Brian Limoges’ 10-course tasting menu, with components sourced from Sonoma County’s Stone Edge Farm, is the perfect meal I’ve had in years.
Guerneville, additionally a 15-minute drive, is true alongside the Russian River and residential to Armstrong Redwoods State Pure Reserve and an enthralling downtown.
Accessibility and Sustainability
Farmhouse Inn has one ADA-compliant room. Past the anticipated sustainability options — restricted single-use plastics, recycling, composting, EV chargers on supply — the lodge companions with Sonoma County Open House Conservation. The founding companions of the lodge donated a grove of native oak bushes in downtown Forestville “to be held untouched in perpetuity, by no means to be developed,” in accordance with a lodge spokesperson. Additional, the waste produced from the kitchen goes to the flock of 80 hens who lay eggs for Farmhouse Inn. The culinary workforce makes use of components farmed on property and sources primarily from native, sustainable farms.
Learn how to Get the Most of Worth Out of Your Keep
Farmhouse Inn shouldn’t be a part of a lodge loyalty program, however it’s within the American Specific Tremendous Resorts and Resorts portfolio. Vacationers who e book with their Amex Platinum card get assured 4 p.m. checkout, complimentary day by day breakfast for 2, and a $100 credit score to make use of on the lodge.
Nightly charges on the Farmhouse Inn begin from $919, and you may e book your keep at farmhouseinn.com.