Guest User
October 21, 2024
As I was researching and planning our first trip to Napa, I learned early on that our wine adventure would be very expensive! It’s not a secret that the Napa Valley is the most prized destination in California. That being said, we were all in on the extravagant family trip because we were delighted to be celebrating our son’s wedding engagement to his beautiful fiancée along with her parents and lovely sisters. I was excited because while visiting the best wineries in the Napa region we would also be enjoying delicious gourmet cuisine. I thought The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn would be luxurious, pretentious and boujee; surprisingly it was quite the opposite. The Spanish Mission-style lobby is welcoming with an exposed-beam ceiling and a large fireplace. It has a mountain lodge appeal with lots of cozy couches. The grounds have majestic redwood trees and tranquil gardens. The villas with specialty room suites are scattered throughout the west side of the main property. It was charming, relaxing, and peaceful. There are also many areas throughout the property that have fire pits and couches scattered around which are a wonderful place to relax. Our vineyard suite was spacious with all the bells and whistles. The patio terrace was perfect to relax and enjoy the cool mornings. The best day was when we encountered two gingerly-brown fawns walking about the courtyard right outside our patio. It was breathtaking for sure. The charming Mission Inn is worth exploring. There’s a lot to do. It was interesting to learn that native Americans discovered the natural underground hot mineral waters. Next visit, I will definitely explore the thermal spa. It is said that ghosts haunt where they were happiest. I would have loved to of encountered a ghost . The Sonoma location is perfect with easy driving distances into town. We found a great deli that had delicious ham sandwiches. Even the wineries hours away were worth visiting because the scenic drive was spectacular. We want to shout out the excellent staff who went out of their way to accommodate us ; our waitress Ana at the Sante’ restaurant; (do splurge on Pastry Chef Melissa's signature Banana Bread and delicious omelettes); Jane at the Spa has a beautiful personality; Lorena our housekeeper made sure our bed was free of spiders after we found one crawling on bedsheets ), and Emerson was always very gracious when we saw him around the grounds. Staff is limited but mostly everyone was attentive. On our first night, we ate at The 38° North Wine Bar. We ordered a delicious BBQ spiced flank steak panini with awesome beer battered onion rings and for dessert, we splurged on a lavender crème brûlée. The bartender made us spectacular Old Fashioned cocktails ! We took part in several wine tastings in the Napa valley. The top notch wineries we loved are: The Quintessa, Accendo, Heitz Cellars and Anderson’s in Conn Valley. We splurged each evening on amazing culinary experiences at amazing restaurants. (Valett