Wine Country Breather
More than ever the desire to explore my neck of the woods, this region called San Francisco Bay Area is very strong. This region comprising 9 counties with diverse landscape, quirky citizens, outstanding food, most wonderful weather is what one writer referred to as Adult Disneyland, with many available outdoor activities catering to "adults" like biking, hiking, boating, sailing, wine tasting and many many more.
Thus when Travelzoo (yap that again!) came out with a not-to-be-missed deal (aren't they all that?) we grabbed the plastic from my purse and hit buy.
The deal consisted of a one-night stay in a 4-diamond, 44-room luxury hotel location within 92 acres of vineyard, a dinner voucher for $100 dollars, and a handful of free wine tasting passes for a total price of $199. Wouldn't you have taken the deal? After all after the $100 dining voucher, the room ended up costing only $99 dollars a night, where regularly it is in the 200-300 range. The wine country is a pretty expensive area to have a staycation.
We began our staycation by driving one hour to Santa Rose in the North Bay. For some reason I have always thought Sta. Rosa was farther. We wanted to see the downtown first, before we go to the hotel.
We stopped at the Railroad district where we walked the 2-3 blocks of restaurants, hotels, and shops. Sta. Rosa is synonymous (to me) Charles Shulz, the cartoonist who created Peanuts. Scattered around the street corners are sculptures of Peanuts characters. His museum is located here and one of the major tourist stops, we did not stop there. I must admit, I have not read a single Peanuts cartoon, even though I could recognize Snoopy anywhere.
Next on our list of must-see (after the Railroad District) is the St. Rose Historic District where historic homes are located. The hubs wasn't in the mood to do a walking tour (especially since we don't have a map of the walking tour), but we did stop at the St. Rose Catholic church, whose stone structure in Gothic Revival style is pretty impressive. The church was closed.
We then thought it was time to go check in.
I must say that even though I'm used to budget accommodations, I didn't feel like a fish out of water in this 4-diamond hotel/inn. The front desk clerk was friendly and helpful and informative. The place was quiet, soothing and the word bliss comes to mind when I think of our short stay there. The room we were assigned was a garden room (downstairs) with a little enclosure outside our room for outdoor seating.
The conference and party/wedding area.
The front desk area.
The courtyard. Three houses/structures around the fountain, the fourth one housed the front desk and dining room.
Our room.
Free half a bottle of wine.
Are you like me, I love hotel toiletries.
Their philosophy.
This is what we called home for one night.
The compound is next to a vineyard. The grapes vines are still dormant.
..............to be continued
Thus when Travelzoo (yap that again!) came out with a not-to-be-missed deal (aren't they all that?) we grabbed the plastic from my purse and hit buy.
The deal consisted of a one-night stay in a 4-diamond, 44-room luxury hotel location within 92 acres of vineyard, a dinner voucher for $100 dollars, and a handful of free wine tasting passes for a total price of $199. Wouldn't you have taken the deal? After all after the $100 dining voucher, the room ended up costing only $99 dollars a night, where regularly it is in the 200-300 range. The wine country is a pretty expensive area to have a staycation.
We began our staycation by driving one hour to Santa Rose in the North Bay. For some reason I have always thought Sta. Rosa was farther. We wanted to see the downtown first, before we go to the hotel.
We stopped at the Railroad district where we walked the 2-3 blocks of restaurants, hotels, and shops. Sta. Rosa is synonymous (to me) Charles Shulz, the cartoonist who created Peanuts. Scattered around the street corners are sculptures of Peanuts characters. His museum is located here and one of the major tourist stops, we did not stop there. I must admit, I have not read a single Peanuts cartoon, even though I could recognize Snoopy anywhere.
Next on our list of must-see (after the Railroad District) is the St. Rose Historic District where historic homes are located. The hubs wasn't in the mood to do a walking tour (especially since we don't have a map of the walking tour), but we did stop at the St. Rose Catholic church, whose stone structure in Gothic Revival style is pretty impressive. The church was closed.
We then thought it was time to go check in.
I must say that even though I'm used to budget accommodations, I didn't feel like a fish out of water in this 4-diamond hotel/inn. The front desk clerk was friendly and helpful and informative. The place was quiet, soothing and the word bliss comes to mind when I think of our short stay there. The room we were assigned was a garden room (downstairs) with a little enclosure outside our room for outdoor seating.
The conference and party/wedding area.
The front desk area.
The courtyard. Three houses/structures around the fountain, the fourth one housed the front desk and dining room.
Our room.
Free half a bottle of wine.
Are you like me, I love hotel toiletries.
Their philosophy.
This is what we called home for one night.
The compound is next to a vineyard. The grapes vines are still dormant.
..............to be continued
wow, ang sarap ng staycation nyo! the hotel is beautiful, i like its rustic elegance. the last photo is my favorite.:p
ReplyDeleteSimply divine! I love your good deals, which you seem to be finding ALL THE TIME. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I'm sure you had a wonderful stay in this rustic setting.
ReplyDeleteI love the rows of almost dead-like grape vines. And the beautiful photos made me envious of that stay. If i were there, i am just like you, hiking, travels, photos, dine, haha! That love for toiletries is the common thing you have with us, i read it somewhere, we are like that as a people. Even the considered "rich and famous" here are like that too!
ReplyDeleteOnly a half bottle of complementary wine? Maybe they could increase the price a bit and give you an unopened bottle of vino. Nevertheless, you got a super deal.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of my visit to Stellenbosch in South Africa. Wine tasting at 10am... Do I need to say more? :-)))
ReplyDeletewow! that is vacation at its best alright. ^-^
ReplyDeletecozy reception, lovely terrace/courtyard, and what a charming room. ^0^
It is just amazing as i would like to tell from the photographs of the hotel. Here the amenities of the hotels and services are great. Keep posting such kind of information always with us.
ReplyDeletecabin yosemite