Downtown Sonoma’s Big Hotels, Fairmont Sonoma Mission, The Lodge at Sonoma & MacArthur Place
Some people like big hotels, we certainly do. Having spent many years as professional speakers with the traveling that entails, the comfort and convenience of a full service hotel, with its own restaurant, is a great comfort at the end of the day. If you are staying near downtown there are four ‘big’ hotel choices. I’m saying big with quotations because there are single hotels in San Francisco that have more rooms than all of the hotels, inns and B&B’s in downtown Sonoma, including the nearby towns put together. Big is a relative term!
But that’s not a bad thing. That’s what makes Sonoma special. It is arguably the most historically significant town in all of California, and yet it only has about nine thousand residents, ourselves included. It welcomes visitors from all over the world, but many of them come in from San Francisco on daytrips, via buses, mini-buses and of course by car. It is a favorite stop for visitors from the bay area, in part because of its charm, great restaurants and shopping, but also as a reminder of the state’s history.
So, our ‘big’ hotels are small by some standards, but they still deliver big hotel quality. The largest is the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, located about fifteen minutes north of the Plaza. It is a major convention hotel. Today that area is a working class neighborhood, but in the 1920’s when it was built that was a popular spa known for its hot springs. Unfortunately, the 1906 earthquake shifted things around and gradually the springs receded, and Calistoga’s springs, in northern Napa gained more prominence. The hot springs are still there, just a little deeper, and they feed the Fairmont pool and very extensive spa. The place is a beautiful oasis of luxury in buildings that have that old California charm, with all of the modern conveniences, including two great restaurants.
The next largest is a Marriott Renaissance property, the Lodge at Sonoma, about a mile from the Plaza. This very convenient newer property is built in a Spanish style around a large pool area. They also sport a great spa, and extensive meeting and convention areas. Their restaurant is very much a part of the Sonoma foodie scene, and it hosts all kinds of wine events. For fans of Marriott this is a wonderful choice since it is ten minutes from the Sonoma Valley and only twenty minutes to downtown Napa, and thirty minutes to their Valley. It is luxurious, and accessible, place among the lovely Sonoma neighborhoods
The third largest is MacArthur Place, a smaller hotel built as a corporate retreat center, with a great restaurant, beautiful grounds, a pool and spa about half a mile from the Plaza. Everything in downtown Sonoma is measured in terms of the Plaza. The restaurant, Saddles, is in the old barn and it has a distinctive western theme, the wait staff wears jeans and cowboy style shirts and there is a wonderful collection of tack and saddles. This is also where they have their thoroughly interesting meeting rooms. This is a very charming, first class hotel, intimate, friendly and locally owned. I can walk to there from my house, so all of these are places that I know well.
The fourth full service hotel sits right on the corner of the Plaza, the El Dorado Hotel. They also have a wonderful restaurant, a nice pool and a very convenient location. But, I’ve written about the El Dorado multiple times (it is a favorite of ours) so we’ll leave it at that.
Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are authors of the Amicis Winery Guides (Find them on Amazon), and owners of Amicis Tours that takes people on tours of the wineries of Napa and Sonoma. They are authors of over twenty books on health, design, business and travel. Their iPhone Apps, The Napa Valley Wine Tour, and The Sonoma Winery Tour are a tour guides approach to these beautiful area, complete with 1000’s of photos and insights. Their articles and products can be found on the sites http://www.amicistours.com and http://www.spaceandtime.com
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