The Lodge at Sonoma,
a Renaissance Resort & Spa
1325 Broadway
Sonoma, CA 95476
707-935-6600, 888-710-8008
www.thelodgeatsonoma.com

At Home in Wine Country

Chances are your home isn't surrounded by rolling valleys of grapes and blessed by near-daily sunshine. Yet somehow it's possible to feel at home in such a setting when staying at The Lodge at Sonoma, a Renaissance Resort & Spa in Northern California. The Sonoma Valley is located a stone's throw from the famed Napa Valley and a short, pleasant drive from San Francisco. Its newest luxury accommodations consist of private guest cottages forming a little village on property, in addition to a main lodge building, bringing the total guest rooms to 182.

Renting one of the cottages is highly advised…who can resist a private patio or deck on which to sip local wines and wave to friendly staff and "neighbors"? Most rooms also feature a fireplace and a luxurious, shuttered bathing area with in-room therapeutic bath treatments. Other amenities include individual climate control,a two-line phone, data port and voice mail, cable TV with in-room pay movies, alarm clock radio, coffee and tea. For those who are in wine country on business (be sure to thank your boss), 22,000 square feet of meeting space is available, as well as high-speed Internet service in meeting rooms, a business center and professional staff to assist you with your needs. A 3,080-square-foot ballroom may be rented, as can a separate wine building and lawn, garden and patio facilities.

For those who showed up to this idyllic countryside to simply relax, you picked the right place. Indulge in the services of Raindance Spa, a haven of rest available to guests and locals alike, which is as pretty as it is soothing. A spa garden is home to an outdoor, natural mineral-water soaking pool; Watsu aquatic therapy pools; a cold dip pool; hot tub; outdoor cabanas for treatments; and tables at which you can dine on a café menu. The spa also features a sauna and misting rooms, but of course the best it has to offer are the treatments. Especially notable are the Watsu therapy, a new kind of underwater treatment designed to release inner tension, and grapeseed treatments. Perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself on this trip is a treatment package of a crushed grapeseed body polish, warm grapeseed oil massage and a grapeseed facial.

Wine tasting will likely be on every guest's agenda and the vineyards are a short drive around the valley. Purchase bottles in one of the shops in Sonoma Plaza, then stroll around the historic square. Other activities in the valley include golf, bicycling, hot-air ballooning, limousine tours and horseback riding.

Work up an appetite because you'll need it for Carneros, The Lodge's California cuisine restaurant. Freshness is the rule here, as evidenced by a 480-square-foot garden on the side of the restaurant, grown and tended to by sous chef Mark Sandoval. Executive chef Ercolino Crugnale offers the finest local products, such as Petaluma eggs for breakfast, organic peach salad for lunch and Niman Ranch lamb with sunburst squash for dinner. Sommelier Kim Fallon will assist you with the wine list.

A running trail can be found near The Lodge and an exercise room features treadmills, stationery bicycles, an elliptical machine, step machines and weights. Whether you take advantage of the exercise opportunities or not, the sight of happy guests sipping local wines by the swimming pool invites you to remember why some visitors prefer The Lodge to their own homes...it's all of the comforts and none of the concerns.