By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov
The largest hotel in Sonoma County, located in the heart of California Wine Country, Hyatt Regency in Santa Rosa is definitely more than just a place to stay. Recently renovated with brand new and updated guestrooms, a just-opened Brasserie restaurant, a lush garden with a wall waterfall feature, a swimming pool relaxation area, and a green courtyard used for wedding ceremonies and other festive events, this hotel provides all imaginable necessities and conveniences for both leisure and business travelers.
Spacious, yet cozy and inviting, the hotel lobby is equipped with a giant fireplace, a charming bar, and a front desk, finished with reclaimed wood recycled from a Sonoma barn. Environmental concerns are important for the hotel administration. An indoor-outdoor lobby and opening windows allow for natural air conditioning that comes easily in the mild California climate almost year-round.
An outdoor pool, surrounded with cabanas and umbrellas is an oasis of calm, especially that the adjacent hot tub with garden chairs under a grapevine-covered arbor is usable in any weather.
From our room, we enjoyed the view of a neat courtyard with a sparkly giant fire pit filled with crystals, and a sculpture garden, while other hotel rooms offered views of the Santa Rosa Creek and surrounding landscape; with some boasting private patios and balconies. Recently introduced suites have a separate bedroom and seating area each, and some are decorated with paintings and collages produced by local artists, and available for sale. The Live Art Suite features works by Carole Ray Watanabe. It has a private patio, big enough to celebrate a family gathering or a bachelorette party. The hotel restaurants can provide everything for an elegant luncheon, soiree or a champagne reception. The Sonoma Mountain View Suite displays the art of Bradford Brenner who also produces painted yoga mats, shopping bags, and other utilitarian art objects. A suite booking also includes a bottle of Sonoma wine on arrival, a snack basket, breakfast for two, and daily yoga!
Speaking of food, the highest quality meals can be enjoyed on-site. There’s the Sonoma Mountain Breakfast Room, with a buffet and a la carte offerings; complimentary coffee served every morning in the living-room-like lobby; grab-and-go breakfasts, evening cocktails and small plates at the Lobby Bar or out by the fire pit; and upscale dining at the Brasserie restaurant that serves specialties made with locally-sourced ingredients, like the Petaluma Farms Angry Eggs; Panko Breaded Dungeness Crab Bricks; Lobster, Tomato & Smoked Mozzarella Arancini; Grilled Rib Eye Steak Frites; and other delights (Executive Chef Rene Jakushak). The restaurant’s beverage program offers wonderful wines from local vineyards, and innovative cocktails custom barrel-aged in new American oak, like a perfect Manhattan made of rye bourbon, sweet vermouth and betters, mixed together and aged for 10 days.
And speaking of yoga, the hotel partners with a local yoga studio Yoga One to provide its guests with all-levels morning classes as well as its own 24-hour fitness center with Precor equipment, treadmills, weights, and exercise mats.
For outdoor exercise enthusiasts, the one-mile Prince Memorial Greenway trail that runs along the Santa Rosa Creek starts right by the hotel. A pet-friendly property, Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country welcomes dogs, and supplies all kinds of amenities for them, including a Yappy Hour (dog yoga plus wine and dog adoption services) with Yoga One.
From the hotel, it’s easy to make exciting day trips visiting more than 425 wineries of Sonoma County, Safari West – a 400-acre wildlife preserve housing hundreds of African animals, or Armstrong Redwoods, a gorgeous 805-acre state park with protected trees growing tall since the 19th century.
Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country is located at 170 Railroad Street, Santa Rosa, California, 95401. Call 707-284-1234, or find more information at: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/california/hyatt-regency-sonoma-wine-country/sonom
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