11 Best Hotels in Napa and Sonoma, California

The '60s are back splashier than ever at this tastefully and whimsically restored motel diagonally next to a park and across from the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens. The owners of the popular Spinster Sisters restaurant around the corner, who've been collecting mid-century modern furniture for years, have put their collection to swell use furnishing the Astro, a design lover's delight where something different catches the eye every few seconds. Each room is individually decorated, some with Sputnik chandeliers and vintage Eames chairs and accessories like pottery, old cameras, and wooden ice buckets. Built-in benches in some rooms are useful for storing luggage, and all rooms have flat-screen TVs and refrigerators but no microwaves or (except for two suites) coffeemakers. The two-building motel sits on the edge of the SOFA Santa Rosa Arts District, across Santa Rosa Avenue from two tattoo and piercing parlors that add further local color. Shinola bikes are available for rent.

Redwoods on a steep slope tower above this tidy roadside complex of single and duplex cottages separated by a grassy lawn. Two-bedroom cottages suitable for families and groups have full kitchens. All the cottages, modestly furnished but with appealing contemporary accents, have refrigerators and microwaves. Many guests return yearly for the woodsy setting and warm service; book ahead as far as possible in summer. Complimentary fruit and coffee are available all day in the lobby.

A giant pepper tree and a few palms tower over the garden courtyard of this updated 1959 motel whose landscaping, festive pool area, and thoughtful service make a stay here worth considering. Rooms, which come in three classes—Adobe, Sonoma, and California—are furnished with refrigerators, coffee/tea makers, safes, and flat-screen TVs. Adobe rooms, the least expensive, aren't quite as spiffy, but they face the interior garden courtyard, making them among the quietest. Sonoma rooms include down comforters, recliners, and patios or balconies. Some Sonoma and California rooms have a fireplace; some California rooms have a patio.

A serviceable if unremarkable option when other inns and hotels are full, the three-story Fairfield, a bit south of Sebastopol's core, is a competently run chain hotel. True to the brand, the room decor is straightforward but colorful, and stone and wood features add style to the public areas.

The former Carlson-Currier Silk Mill, its oldest section dating to 1892, houses this atypical Hampton Inn, some of whose guest rooms have 14-foot ceilings and exposed-brick walls. Historical maps and vintage and recent Petaluma photographs decorate the rooms, done in rich gray tones that complement the red brick. Some standard queen rooms feel small, but the suites are spacious. Business travelers enjoy access to photocopying and a few other amenities. A plentiful buffet is laid out each morning in the mill's former dye room, a contender for the chain's classiest breakfast venue.

This downtown hotel's developer renovated a four-story 1908 Beaux Arts former bank into a boutique property within walking distance of restaurants, bars, and shops and less than a 10-minute drive to vineyards and tasting rooms. Period photos of Santa Rosa and rural Sonoma County line the broad hallways, off which lie rooms whose contemporary decor incorporates country touches like unpainted wooden desks and armoires and barn-style bathroom doors. Some rooms are smallish, but all are thoughtfully organized, and the electronics are au courant. 

Reasonable rates and vintage allure make this 1923 art deco Choice Hotels property a smart choice for budget travelers seeking a downtown location and a touch of style. The high-ceilinged, tile-floor lobby, decked out with contemporary sofas and chairs, has boutique-hotel appeal, but the rooms, furnished more simply (think gussied-up motel), are on the small side. The ground-floor Shuckery restaurant ranks among Petaluma's best dining spots.

A stay at this downtown boutique hotel may leave you cooing Je l'adore ("I adore it") for its colorful palette, French-quirky style, and individually decorated standard-sized rooms, larger suites, four Airstream trailers, and two-bedroom cottage. Every morning, the beyond-cordial owners lay out coffee and all-you-can-eat self-serve crepes (included in the rate) in a café-like breakfast space. Deep pastels reign in all the guest rooms, which have 65" 4K Smart TVs and air-conditioning (a boon in summer, as inland Petaluma often heats up).

The exterior of this property between Sonoma and Glen Ellen says "motel," but the design sensibility and customer service are more quaint country inn, with the rates splitting the difference. Many patrons return year after year, so book well ahead in summer and early fall, especially on weekends. A few blocks west of Highway 12 in a residential neighborhood, the inn is popular with pro bicyclists and serious amateurs. The small but cheerful rooms, a handful pet-friendly and most with patios and balconies, are individually decorated with painted wooden armoires and brightly colored contemporary artwork. All rooms have air-conditioning, Keurig coffeemakers, small refrigerators, and 32-inch flat-screen TVs with cable. Free rollaway beds are available for kids.

Two hoteliers with an eye for woodsy low-budget panache teamed up to rejuvenate the decades-old cabins at this redwood-studded hillside property not far from downtown and the main Russian River beach. One of the proprietors, Crista Luedtke, also operates the nearby boon hotel + spa and Brot and boon eat + drink restaurants. Retro touches like burlwood coffee tables, redwood paneling, Formica tables, and floral curtains evoke Guerneville's mid-century casual-resort era, while the LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere recalls the area's 1970s and 1980s heyday. Two cabins are under 300 square feet, another is under 200 (check the website before booking), and pets are only permitted in three rooms. The room rate includes a continental breakfast.

The design sensibility of this family-friendly renovated motel on the north end of town may be more Ikea than Restoration Hardware, but the color palette pleases and the staffers are polite and helpful. Uncluttered and contemporary with cheery wallpaper above white wainscoting on one wall, the guest rooms have laminated wood floors, crown molding, rough-hewn headboards, and comfortable beds. All rooms come with refrigerators, free Wi-Fi, and flat-screen TVs, and most have a patio or balcony.