The Lodge at Sonoma, Renaissance Resort & Spa
Sonoma, Calif.
What service can you provide to groups that they normally might not receive?
We can enhance their entire Sonoma experience by securing dinner reservations at our award-winning Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar. They can handle groups in the private dining room (the Vintage Room), our fire pit patio or Garden Patio.
We also have a great rapport with many of our fine dining restaurants in our historic Sonoma Plaza and are able to reserve preferred times and seatings for the guests. We are able to assist with various winery tours and winery appointments. We strive to contact all future guests prior to arrival in order to assist them personally.
What are your group restaurant recommendations?
First, our Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar, with its local, artisan cuisine (much of it from our own garden) can accommodate groups. Our chef can prepare special wine-pairing menus and often offer winemaker dinners frequently. If the guests prefer to dine in the Plaza I, recommend Dine at Deuce, Sonoma Meritage or El Dorado Kitchen.
What are your bar or nightclub recommendations?
Our resort offers excellent live jazz every Friday and Saturday evenings in our Gallery Bar. In small-town Sonoma, we don’t actually have nightclubs…however, we do send guests to Steiner’s Bar on the Plaza (for pool and sports on TV) and Murphy’s Irish Pub (for live music and darts).
Can you recommend a good place to take a stroll?
The Historic Sonoma Plaza is less than a mile north of our property. The surrounding streets border the park in the middle, which is perfect for picnics or listening to live music at the Tuesday night Farmers’ Market.
In the midst of the shops and art galleries are historic buildings, including the last of California’s 21 missions (Mission San Francisco de Solano), the old Barracks and many more.
Besides Jack London State Park and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, there is the Sonoma Overlook Trail, which is good for a short hike to view the Valley below.
Are there any quirky places we should check out?
Charles Creek Vineyard Tasting Room in the Plaza—see the life-size replica of a cow made out of corks! Cornerstone Gardens is very interesting—plots of land designed by landscape architects from around the world, and you must see the Blue Tree! A quirky restaurant is Juanita Juanita, a tiny place with authentic Mexican cuisine (really good, without the ambience).
If we only have an hour or two, what should we definitely check out nearby?
The Historic Plaza has historic sites, galleries and shops. Cline Cellars has a replica of all 21 California missions in their museum.
What’s a unique event that has taken place at your property?
One group that stays with us every year has a themed farewell party in the lobby.
One year, it was Hawaiian, with all of the appropriate food, surfboards and sand. Another year was a Western theme with bales of hay, cowboy attire and barbecue.
Also, every year we host the Infineon Raceway drivers and owners for a NASCAR event in June. A Holiday Celebration Live & Silent Auction fundraiser for the Sonoma Valley Hospital turns the hotel into a melange of theme-decorated Christmas trees, with beautifully set tables that include a celebrity chef to host a party at your home (including the table settings, linens and food).