California's Finest Inns - Honor Mansion

Nourish your soul, indulge your dreams

Honor MansionOne guest wrote that a stay here is a cross between a holiday at the Ritz and a visit to a dear friend's home. We think it's a like waking up in the middle of a fairytale.

Nestled amidst the rolling hills of California's Sonoma Valley, The Honor Mansion is a luxury bed and breakfast (and a little slice of heaven) just 80 miles north of San Francisco.

"When you drive up to the front of the house, you Honor Mansionhave no idea what's on this property," Cathi Fowler says. "We take guests across the pond and out to the pool area and they get the ‘shock and awe tour.' You can hear them gasp - every single guest does it."

Built in 1833, the Honor Mansion underwent a multimillion dollar renovation in the early 1990s. Original woodwork, moldings and fixtures serve as a Honor Mansionbackdrop for restored furniture,plush brocades and fine laces.

Any thoughts of upper-crust ceremony disappear when you're greeted by Steve and Cathi Fowler, the innkeepers. Whether it's the PGA putting green, bocce ball, tennis or a Thoreaux walk in the woods, you'll be pleasantly surprised at all you can do (or not do) here.

And since it's a B&B, prepare your stomach for the time of its life each morning. When you wake up, check outside your door for a basket of fresh coffee, biscotti and the newspaper. Later, your breakfast is a Honor Mansion Breakfastculinary adventure. Their famous breakfast frittata (which changes daily) has been featured in the National Culinary Review.

Go ahead, indulge. Your secret's safe with us.

Both times I visited, I stayed one of Vineyard Suites and enjoyed an evening soak in the outside hot tub - Honor Mansionand a morning soak in the indoor one. If you visit during the summer, take your meals on the patio beside the koi pond and under the Redwood trees. If you're like me, you'll do your best to stretch breakfast into lunch.

Passport to Honor Mansion

Have you ever visited a B&B that you'd happily go back again and again and again?

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