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Sonoma Hotel
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12 reviews for Sonoma Hotel
Sonoma Hotel was my only option when i was trying to book last minute reservations for one night only. Most hotels required 2 nights minimum... everything else was booked.
When i was making the reservation - i explained that i didn't need any frills - i was in town for a wedding and didn't need the spa/gardens/bells & whistles... just a bed and a bathroom. I asked if there were any other hotels that might have been cheaper than theirs... And she actually gave me some suggestions!
but none of the other people at the reservation desks were as nice, and since the prices were comparable, I returned my call to Sonoma Hotel and booked the room.
It's charming and old - but clean and comfortable. the funny thing about the room - we had a bathroom with a claw-foot tub... but the sink & mirror were in a corner in the bedroom, not the bathroom. I tried to draw a bath at around 2 in the afternoon, and the water barely came out tepid... however the next morning when i was showering, the water was good and hot.
I didn't have the breakfast or the complementary wine during happy hour - but it was nice to know they offered it. I'd stay here again...
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If I could give this place 0 or negative stars I would.
I stayed at the Sonoma Hotel for a wedding and was not impressed at all. The room was extremely small and felt dirty. While I can appreciate the notion of quaint ambiance and historic charm, I cannot find the smallest bit of luxury in a musky, dirty old hotel room that has not been updated for the past 100 years. Not only was the hotel dirty and antiquated, it was ridiculously priced at $260 a night with a two night minimum. No thanks!
You can have your charming bed and breakfast dust bin, I will stay at the nearest Hyatt next time.
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I'm torn on this one. While the front desk ladies we encountered during our weekend stay were pretty friendly, the overall experience left a lot to be desired.
Granted there's a bit of small town charm going on, at $545 for two nights, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to carry our luggage up three flights of stairs, have at least a queen-sized bed, enjoy a shower area that was larger than my own at home, and not have paper-thin walls.
On Sunday, I called for an hour later check-out and the woman told me that, no that probably wouldn't be possible, sort of in a smarmy tone. Not that big a deal, I suppose, but with a check-out at 11am, there's goes that neighborly, unrushed feeling.
Big plus is that they're connected to the Girl & The Fig, which is a super restaurant but also a convivial spot to enjoy some cocktails well into the night, as we found out for ourselves. They also offer a complimentary breakfast (coffee, juice, pastries) from 8-9am, and there's also a complimentary wine happy hour, I think from 5-7pm or thereabouts.
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The Sonoma Hotel trades on its historical value and does it well. I love the place so much, we stay here every time we stay for the Sonoma Valley Film Festival. The rooms are comfy, the staff nice (possibly becuase they remember us every year) and the free wine in the afternoon and pastries, coffee and juice in the morning is a nice touch.
Most of the rooms are kinda small, but that's to be expected. The only room I don't like is the one with the bathroom in the hallway outside of the room. I know that's how most places were in eariler days, and many places in Europe are, but I'm used to being able to pop into the bathroom in my jammies without having to worry about other folks.
The best rooms are the ones with the fold-out couches. We had four people in one and it was very comfy. The shower was nice, though the rooms with bathtubs are nicer.
The place is located right next to The Girl and the Fig, which means there's a bit of noise if you're on the Northern side of the building at night The rooms on the Eastern Side look out over th garden of the Castle Winery tasting room, which is my fave in Sonoma for Ports.
The whole feeling is awesome and the reports of ghosts in one of the halls and rooms seem to be over-stated, though the entire place does have a certain creepy feeling in the dead of night.
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The Sonoma Hotel is old and charming and cozy and entirely lovely. We stayed here on our honeymoon and found it enchanting.
Our room was the first room at the top of the first flight of stairs. It was on the southeast corner of the building and overlooked the city square. It is a small room with a full bed. The room only allowed for a few feet of clearance around the bed. The bathroom had a large claw-foot bathtub. And though the water pressure was poor, it was good enough for us.
The hotel's convenient location let us walk to all sorts of fun places around the square without having to worry about parking. And when there are so many great places to visit around me, I don't need a big luxurious hotel suite with premium cable and wifi. All I need is a clean, comfortable, friendly place to lay my head down at night and the Sonoma Hotel is just that.
Definitely felt like time travel when we stepped inside the doors of the Sonoma Hotel, and there's nothing wrong with that! We each got a room, and they happened to have two right next to each other. The lady at check-in was great, and let us look at the rooms before we decided to take them. Loved the old furnishings in the rooms, and the bathtub with claw feet! Free wine in the afternoon, free breakfast in the morning. It was a great location too... walking distance to everything in the main square of Sonoma. Although, we didn't go far... had dinner at the Girl and the Fig, which is in the same building.
However... the walls/floors/ceilings are indeed paper thin (as many other reviewers have mentioned). I didn't notice it at night (because I was drunk) but the next morning, I heard all my neighbors showers starting at around 6am. Not a pleasant thing for my aching head.
Great little hotel though!
So this may be a great place to stay if maybe your room is upstairs, but ours was on the first floor. Yup, basically in the lobby of the hotel.
The person who checked us in told us we were lucky we didn't have to carry our bags up the stairs, but I would have gladly thrown my back out to carry our bags up to the 3rd floor.
The room we stayed in was clean. That maybe the only good part of the room. Maybe for some, that's the most important part.
The room we stayed in was a handicap accessible, kinda random, since the bathroom floor was at just a slant, you had to lift one leg to balance yourself out.
The room we stayed in also was also next to the courtyard, so when you finish dinner at the girl and the fig, you could enjoy another drink and cigarette right next to my window (and yes, I heard all about your myspace encounter).
The room we stayed in was right next to the in-house phone. It was great being woken up at 7 am to hear another guests' conversation.
The room we stayed in also was built with paper thin walls. You could hear everything, not only were you awoken early, but you stayed up late.
Will this be my last time here? Probably so...If you have your say and it's not a sold out weekend, demand that you are on another floor. Unfortunately for us, we were the last to check in.
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it just FEELS old. which is a good thing.
no unnatural scents to greet you as you walk through the door,
no clickety-clack of heels across the lobby,
no hustle and bustle of people trying to hurriedly check-in or out of their rooms.
approximately 7' wide hallways upstairs. our room had a clawfoot tub, dated books by the nightstand, and wall hangings. ...one of which was a portrait of a woman whose eyes (i imagined) followed you while your back was turned. i did have trouble sleeping though. the bed was a little too stiff (or was it too soft??) for me.
we just so happened to check-in in time to do a wine tasting at castle vineyards next door, and enjoy the complimentary wine from 5-6pm at the hotel afterwards. stephen and i worked on a crossword puzzle in the lobby, warm and content, w/a belly full of wine.
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How can you go wrong by staying in a hotel/ former 1880's concert venue / historical landmark? I don't really know.
Expect a bit of a musty smell, it's, like, old. The rooms aren't huge. DOn't expect king sized beds, and room service -- the Sonoma Hotel isn't the Hyatt.
The restaurant, the Girl and the Fig is right downstairs- delicious! The staff is really great and the 9am croissants, 5pm drinks in the foyer are fab.
I absolutely had a wonderful time.
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UPDATE 03.09.2008
If stairs are an issue for you or your guests, I would recommend a more modern place. The owners keep to the historic building code. Charming for a quick stay where you may not be in your room long or where you won't be moving from your room too much. Forget something and you're potentially climbing up several flights of stairs.
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This is going to be one of the only hotels in Sonoma Valley with room rates below $250 per night.
A historical landmark, that encases the Girl and The Fig restaurant in its belly, it's a charming, old hotel on the corner of West Spain Street & 1st Street West (across from El Dorado Hotel/Kitchen/Kitchenette. Comfortable rooms, but the type of hotel better for blocking off to house friends and family rather than stay as a tourist.
If you are expecting upscale, I would recommend somewhere more formal like Gaige House Inn in Glen Ellen or Macarthur Place just south of the town square on the Broadway/12. And if you want peace and quiet, you shouldn't be staying anywhere on the town square. This is more old town charm with all of the aches and pains and bustling about that go with an historic area. It is, however, a great way to meet folks. Jim & the staff are very friendly and like to check in frequently.
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I made last minute reservations for my fiancee and I and ended up getting the last room available. Which meant it we had a room with 1 Twin Bed and 1 Full Bed. The girl I booked the reservayion with told me over the phone that was what we were in for but we also were staying on Valentine's Day weekend so I was just happy we were able to get a room! The hotel is country rustic, you almost feel like you're back in the wild west. The bathroom had a clawfoot tub and they provide a little packet of bath minerals for a nice touch. They also serve complimentary wine in the lobby from 5-6 pm and a continental breakfast in the morning with the best scones I've ever had! There is no elevator so if you have a lot of luggage or bad knees ask for the room on the first floor. It's definitly a no frills place but it's right in the heart of the Sonoma Square so you may not spend that much time there anyway. If your looking for a true spa experience spend the extra money and go to one of the more ritzy places. If you just want to get out of the city and have a quiet romantic weekend and not spend a ton of cash this is the place.
Great place to stay, bar and restaurant attaches the main lobby (Girl and the Fig). Right across the street from the El Dorado Kitchen and on the corner of the downtown area. Rooms are not large, but they are nice. You may hear the bar if you are staying on the 2nd floor, but it is not too loud.
