Honor Mansion in Healdsburg
Welcome to Rich Life Travel Friday!
This time we’re going to the quaint town of Healdsburg in Sonoma Wine Country.
Ask anyone who is a Northern California resident or Sonoma Wine Country visitor their top three favorite towns in Sonoma County and chances are Healdsburg will be on that list, often in first place.
Located less than two hours from San Francisco in the Dry Creek Valley appellation, Healdsburg is home to some of Wine Country’s best restaurants, boutiques, wineries and inns.
Charming and sophisticated, Healdsburg has made it to many “best of” lists for top small towns in America including Smithsonian in 2014 and Fodors in 2013.
Travel and Leisure named the town’s plaza as one of “America’s Most Beautiful Town Squares” and Healdsburg was featured on the Today in America show, as a “perfect place to live, to work and to play.”
My husband and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Healdsburg for an overnight stay that was chock full of fun, recreation, romance, food and wine!
We stayed at the historic and stately Honor Mansion in Healdsburg, located less than a mile from the iconic Healdsburg town square.
Honor Mansion, a Resort Inn, was once a grand family home. Built in 1883, this two-story mansion sits on four sprawling acres. Owners, Cathi and Steven Fowler, purchased the property in the mid-1990’s and restored it to its current greatness.
We arrived for check-in at our arranged time of 4:00 pm. We were promptly greeted at the door by one of Honor Mansion’s friendly innkeepers and led into the parlor room in the front of the mansion.
We were given a welcome packet, full of information included where to eat, taste wine – including complimentary tasting passes – shop and more. We had all the information we needed for an enjoyable Healdsburg stay.
Our innkeeper then took us on a tour of the property, showing us where the daily afternoon wine and cheese reception is held, the breakfast area, and then we were on our way to see our room.
We passed through the lovely and peaceful pool area where soothing massages can be arranged for guests.
The pool is solar-heated and 40-feet long, ideal for laps or just a refreshing dip.
Next to the pool is a water tower which was converted into a guest room. The Tower Suite offers fantastic views, a private patio, and two floors of living space to enjoy.
Just beyond the pool, the property opens up to a vast lawn where fun and recreation await. But first, we wanted to see our suite!
Honor Mansion has 13 rooms total. Five rooms are located in the mansion itself, and the others are suites that are free-standing buildings. We stayed in Vineyard Suite IV, one of eight plush suites.
Nicknamed “Conforto” or “Comfort”, this luxurious suite has a spacious front patio that overlooks a small lawn and fountain. Very private and quiet, our suite was located near the back of the large property.
Inside, the suite is spacious. A four-poster bed looked inviting and, as I would later find out, was as comfortable as a bed could possibly be.
There were plenty of ways to relax and unwind in the Vineyard Suite. A table for two waited for us, with a vase of beautiful fresh roses just picked from Honor Mansion’s rose garden that boasts over 100 fragrant rose bushes.
We were given a bottle of tasty Chardonnay from a local Dry Creek Valley winery and a personalized welcome note, informing us of important things like when to expect an evening turn-down and what time coffee would be delivered to our door the next morning.
Let’s talk about the bed again because, WOW! We thought we had a nice comfortable bed at home. Apparently not! The sheets are soft like butter, or a furry kitten, or fine silk, or a newborn baby’s skin. And the feather duvet was just the right weight and size. It was bed heaven!
I had to ask owner, Cathi Fowler, where she sourced their incredible linens. She said she buys them from a man on the East Coast. While it is the high quality of the linens that make them velvety soft, it’s also the way they are dried. Honor Mansion irons them wet and continues to run them through their special rolling ironing machine until they are dry!
Well, I can pretty much guarantee that I won’t ever be doing that at home. So I guess if I want to experience the softest sheets ever, I will have to book a room at Honor Mansion!
By the way, the pillows are perfect too. They are the right size with the ideal amount of mushiness.
Before you think I am nutty, going on and on about the bed, let me direct you to something just as decadent: the bathroom.
How about this large, two-person shower with two shower heads, high-end toiletries and fluffy Egyptian cotton towels?
Prefer a bath? Do as told and soak your cares away in a big, roomy tub…
that faces a fireplace!
Honor Mansion has luxury robes (they offer a summer version and a winter version, depending on the weather), a lovely dish for your jewelry, which I appreciated and individually wrapped makeup remover cloths and nail-polish remover pads. Every need was met, every detail tended to – even things you didn’t even know you needed or wanted were provided.
Like an outdoor whirlpool tub for two! I did not know I wanted such a thing until I laid eyes on it.
The back patio is very private – along with tall fenced, there are breezeways separating the guest suites.
Two chaise lounges sit on a deck in the corner of the patio, overlooking a small, gurgling fountain.
We knew we’d be spending as much time as we could in our suite but first we had some exploring around the property to do. We poured ourselves a couple glasses of wine and headed to the lawn to check out, among other things, the resort games.
I doubt anyone has ever grown bored while staying at Honor Mansion in Healdsburg. There are plenty of ways to have fun including taking advantage of a very well-manicured PGA putting green, located near the rose garden…
Next to the putting green are two of the most pristine bocce courts I have ever laid eyes on.
Not a single weed or stray leaf to be seen. No clumps, no divots just perfectly groomed bocce courts.
Bocce balls are always at the ready.
On the other side of the lawn from the putting green is a competition croquet court.
If bocce, golf, and croquet are not your thing, you can play tennis or basketball. Honor Mansion has two tennis courts and a basketball court. Or maybe you want to do it all! Equipment to play these sports is available for guests to use so have at it!
Maybe you’re not in the sporting mood – and this particular day, I was not. Thankfully, there is outdoor seating available for us lazy-types.
This stylish orange couch set sits in the far corner of the lawn under a cabana and looks out over the expertly manicured putting green and croquet court.
I enjoyed my wine while relaxing and taking it all in: the lawn, the blue skies and puffy white clouds, the scent of roses and the green, leafy vineyard. Paradise!
Later, we returned to our room and changed for dinner before visiting Honor Mansion’s wine and cheese reception. We tasted a few wines, then walked to the main shopping and dining area of Healdsburg, an easy and scenic 15-minute walk. More about the places we visited and tasty things we ate in my next Rich Life Travel Friday post.
The next morning, at precisely 7:30 (the time we were told coffee would be delivered) this was left on our front doorstep: a basket containing fresh coffee for two and freshly baked biscotti.
If this doesn’t convince you that Honor Mansion’s owners know how to spoil their guests, then I don’t know what would.
Maybe the fact that they serve mimosas would! There are about a dozen different types of mimosas to choose from. It as a tough decision but ultimately, I chose a blood orange mimosa with my breakfast. Fantastic!
The gourmet breakfast buffet is quite a feast: fresh fruit, bacon, egg dishes, potatoes, freshly baked pastries, bagels and muffins and more. Just reading the darling menus on the wall of the parlor will whet your appetite.
You may enjoy your breakfast in the Dining Room or Parlor, take it back to your room or sit on the peaceful patio like we did.
It’s quite clear that the owners of Honor Mansion put their guests’ needs and desires first. No detail is left out, no corners cut. They want their guests to have fun, relax, indulge and recreate!
Even though we were only about 40 minutes from our home, it sure felt like we were far, far away from the everyday stresses of work and life. It was a worry-free visit filled with relaxation, luxury and romance.
My husband and I look forward to returning to Honor Mansion for years to come. I am already thinking it would be the perfect place to spend my 48th birthday this fall.
Honor Mansion is the only AAA 4 Diamond property in Healdsburg. For more information, visit Honor Mansion’s website and find out about their special packages. Or contact them directly: toll-free (800) 554-4667 or locally at (707) 433-4277.
And to help plan your visit to Healdsburg, visit the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau website or call them at (707) 433-6935.
Have you had the pleasure of visiting Healdsburg and Honor Mansion?
Make it a rich day!
XO,
Adrienne
Disclosure: Our room at Honor Mansion and all incidentals were complimentary in exchange for this review. All opinions, as always, are my own.
