Farmhouse Inn, Sonoma County, California Resort Assessment

I stuffed the large soaking tub and tipped in a ramekin of lavender-scented bathtub 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 bathtub accoutrements from the foyer’s lovely marble cart with physique scrubs and brightly coloured soaps. Now was my likelihood to make use of them, whereas my son and husband had been sleeping. I grabbed the 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 appeared out onto my huge personal 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 resorts 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., an area 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. 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 principle restaurant, although it now not has a Michelin star, is well-known for its decadent seven-course meals. And there is a rooster coop within the again backyard, which my six-month-old son cherished, probably as a result of it lastly contextualized Previous MacDonald and his cluck-cluck-clucking brood. 

Past the lodge’s Sonoma ethos — luxurious, however in an unfussy, Blundstone-and-Carhartt sort of means — Farmhouse provides guests entry to wineries that few different resorts provide. Certain, Sonoma has a semi-crunchy, unpretentious high quality, nevertheless it’s nonetheless one of the vital coveted wine areas on the 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, choosing 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 associate 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 had been amongst his favourite guests.

Right here, my full evaluation of Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, California.

The Rooms

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, personal balcony. The barn is on the very again of the property, which made our suite really feel out of the way in which. It was greater than sufficient house for 2 adults and a child — and eating within the room didn’t really feel in any respect crowded.

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 principle 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 fine-dining restaurant. Transparently, I didn’t have dinner on the primary restaurant as a result of youngsters aren’t allowed within the night. Nevertheless, I attempted the tasting menu in 2021 and nonetheless keep in mind the meal fondly. Most locals I do know are huge followers of the restaurant, the place the lodge typically hosts wine dinners with associate wineries that promote out.

My husband and I loved an abridged tasting menu on our first evening, although — in our bathrobes, no much less. Farmhouse serves an outstanding 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 need 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 phenomenal outside 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

The associate vineyard program at Farmhouse Inn is a compelling motive to ebook. The lodge grants company entry to personal complimentary tastings at 25 Sonoma County vineyards. Farmhouse additionally hosts day by day wine tastings — at 4:30 p.m. by the firepits — adopted by nightly s’mores at 6 p.m. with marshmallows made by the restaurant’s pastry chef.

The lodge has a big primary pool and a steaming scorching tub, pretty lawns the place company can put their ft up and revel in a glass of wine, a gurgling fountain, and, in fact, a rooster coop. Amongst my favourite facilities had been the tub cart — the place I restocked twice on fragrant bubble bathtub, lavender bathtub salts, and brown-sugar scrub — and the chocolate chip cookies dropped off each evening at turndown.

The Spa

Farmhouse Inn has a stunning wellness barn with a roaring hearth and a cart the place any visitor could make a crystal–infused oil curler ball to take residence. On provide: massages, facials, personal yoga, and natural baths. After a 90-minute therapeutic massage the place my therapist, Lindsey, kneaded my again into submission, I curled up underneath 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 out of doors actions, it ought to be. Farmhouse Inn is a couple of 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 may help households arrange actions like kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding — 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) youngsters visiting throughout our keep. The lodge offered a pack-and-play, and certainly one of our servers burst out in track 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 automobile to get round; Farmhouse lets company use their home Volvos when obtainable, although many company select to hire their very own automobiles. 

The lodge is a 20-minute drive from Healdsburg: go to my favourite Northern California tasting room, Flowers Vineyard & Vineyards, should 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 newest idea from celebrated native chef Dustin Valette, who additionally owns fine-dining spot Valette; Dry Creek Kitchen on 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 price a go to for the meals and tasting rooms on provide. Attempt 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 very best meal I’ve had in years. 

Guerneville, additionally a 15-minute drive from the lodge, 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 provide — the lodge companions with Sonoma County Open House Conservation. The founding companions of the lodge donated a grove of native oak timber 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 group makes use of components farmed on property and sources primarily from native, sustainable farms.

Easy methods to Get the Most of Worth Out of Your Keep

Farmhouse Inn is a part of the Most well-liked Inns portfolio and participates within the iPrefer loyalty program. It is also an American Categorical Fantastic Inns and Resorts property; vacationers who ebook 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 ebook your keep at farmhouseinn.com.