The Madrona — Hotel in Healdsburg

The food and drink were good and the service was polite and mostly good but there were some rough edges that it seems many places are having right now. The lobby seating areas were great. For dinner we were sat in the private dining room which overall was pretty great... except the constant traffic coming in and out of the rapidly swinging door to the kitchen. It was jarring and annoying at first but I got used to it.

With that said I did not care for our room at all. We were in room 3 which is a small detached bungalow. I figured for $1600 a night it would be private AND charming. Unfortunately it was neither. First, there were no drapes on the sliding glass door that is the entry for the room. This made it kind of tricky because the closet for the room was outside of the bedroom in the living room which made it awkward to get dressed.

I did not care for the bold decorative wallpaper and tiles that were on the fireplace together. It was maddening in such a small space. I could have lived with it except that the living area was just plain uncomfortable and the floor plan was not great. The seating was awkward and there were no back pillows on the super squishy pullout sofa. I felt as if I was in a college student apartment. The furniture felt cheap and contrived. It felt as if the chairs were all in the wrong places and there was not a great place for 2 people to sit near the fireplace. The footstool for the one lounge chair rocked because it was missing a foot which made it unusable and the lounge chair was, you guessed it, uncomfortable. Not only was the furniture not comfortable but the lighting absolutely horrible too. I do not like exposed lightbulbs. They produce terrible light and they are glaring too often. The lights in the bathroom were all askew and it just looked cheap to me. I could go on about. the room but I won't.

We had some issues with milk for tea in the room too. The containers they give you are so small that you can only get one serving before you need more. Room service was good and the food delicious. The regular green salad is really fantastic.

I found the outside area to be less than charming due to all the cars parked right out front of the bungalow as well as the large blacktop parking lot that we would walk through to get our room. Then on one side of the bungalow if you look out of the small window you look down into a storage type work area that is not charming either. This room just didn't feel right, was not charming and was way too expensive for what it is. I was quite disappointed.

The food and drink gives Madrona an extra star. The room was a 2 (for the money) and the restaurant was a 3.5. One more thing on the food. The deserts were simple and yet different than many other places. The khuchen with berries was absolutely delicious along with the other deserts we tried. We really enjoyed our server. She was relaxed, informative but left us alone at the...

The design of this place, and the physical and service details that all accumulate to deliver a truly 5 star experience - I will leave that to others to describe. I want to focus on the people who worked hard to ensure our 2 night stay in rainy January was as relaxing and cozy as we had hoped.

Rachel - the concierge, had been in touch with me about what to do and where to eat in the area for WEEKS before our arrival, even writing me a detailed email on her day off. While there, she was the consummate host, giving us an extended tour of the property and because they had space (we had the whole place almost all to ourselves) she gave us a choice of rooms. She even told me the best things to order at the restaurants, and my taste buds thank her for it. A cheery disposition with a keen eye for service, I couldn't have imagined a better person in her position. As for the rest of the staff, hats off. While Grace and Maddison at the front desk still may be a bit wet behind the ears in hotel experience relatively speaking, their desire to provide super high quality service to us was apparent and will only refine on the road ahead. Lovely conversations and genuine smiles will be remembered. We met Caitlin, who can make a mean cocktail, Evan, who manages the front of house with a permanent smile affixed, Sergio who was friendly and chatty on our drives to and from town, Laura who was so prompt and attentive to us upon checkout - even going out of her way to let us know about road closures for our road trip after we checked out, truly above and beyond. And there were more warm and accommodating staff that always seemed to read our minds as to what we wanted and make it ready for us before we even knew we wanted it. This whole orchestra of kind humans harmonized in a way that was worthy of the surrounding area, caliber of the manor, and history of the setting. There was always an air of effortless class - which, after having been in the upscale hospitality industry for decades myself, shows me just how massive the amount of effort is that goes into such an outcome.

Thank you all for the perfect stay. You have all given every other hotel a run for...

We stayed at The Madrona as our mini-moon the week following our wedding. We booked it on a bit of a whim amidst our wedding planning with no other reservations for the trip made. We could not have been more thrilled or satisfied with our choice. From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel at home. The hotel has done an outstanding job of making you feel like you're staying in a Victorian bed and breakfast with all the modern day amenities we love. Our room in the main house (I believe a salon suite?) was gorgeous, soft bedding and bed, trendy vintage style radio/speakers, well stashed mini bar, but most of all THE BATHROOM. The bathroom had heated tile floors (which you could change the temperature to your liking), soft sweatshirt like robes (unlike any other hotel robes we've seen), and a stunning shower with detachable shower head. And goes without saying the styling everywhere was impeccable as the hotel also doubles as an art gallery with stunning pieces throughout the entire house and for sale. We had no issues overhearing other guests as you might expect in an older house. The breakfast every morning was also perfect for us - we don't eat a huge breakfast, but they would also have delicious but healthy offerings - porridge with granola and bananas, delicious individual quiches, fruit, greek yogurt. The coffee always hot in these gorgeous large sterling silver dispensers. The fire was always lit in the morning to cozy up and eat breakfast by. Waiters available to make espresso drinks if that is your preference. They also have a texting service where you can easily text for any request - including their gratis car service (in a BMW no less). Car service was easy to arrange and would bring you to and from the main square of Healdsburg or the local wineries/tasting rooms. The concierge Rachel was wonderful and booked us great wine tastings based on wine preferences and made everything effortless. We wish we could have stayed longer. Stay here - you...