HotelChatter

Though we were a bit taken aback by the hefty $525 per night price tag of the Barn rooms when we first reported the story, after a quick tour, we can see why the Inn sets a premium on them. Not only are the rooms palatial with huge beds, flat screens and cozy sitting areas, but they also have romantic indoor-outdoor fireplaces that provide a warm glow whether you’re lounging on the inside loveseat, or enjoying the rooms’ individual outdoor terraces.

All the rooms are done up in farmhouse chic with antique farming tools on the walls, nature prints, saloon-style desk lamps, and even a weather vein or two. The white marble bathrooms are also enormous by any standards, with his and hers sinks, glassed-in showers, jetted tubs, and separate WC’s.

However, it was in the luxurious cottage suites, which go for anywhere between $295-535 a night depending on the season, that we found our favorite amenity: a redwood sauna perfect for sweating out all the wine you’ll be tasting during the day. Just a note, only six of the eight cottage rooms have saunas, so if this is the selling point for you, be sure to ask whether the room has one when booking a reservation.

As for the rest of the hotel, there is a little herb garden whose lemon verbena plants scent the grounds, a small pool for those hot Russian River Valley days, and, of course, the Michelin-rated restaurant (which we’ll be telling you about later this week).

Though outside the Russian River Valley’s hub, Healdsburg, the Farmhouse Inn is close to many well known wineries, including Iron Horse and Copain. For more information on things to do nearby, check out the Wine Road of Northern Sonoma County’s web site.