The centerpiece of The Madrona may be a manor house that was built in 1881, but this Healdsburg hotel has a decidedly contemporary feel. The eight-acre property was purchased by San Francisco interior designer Jay Jeffers, along with his brother Kyle and other investors, in 2021, and it reopened this April following a careful renovation and expansion. Here are four reasons to make it your chateau for this fall’s Sonoma County harvest.
Accommodations for All
The 24 rooms and suites offer a wide variety of ways to stay. The manor house, an example of Victorian-adjacent Aesthetic Movement architecture, contains eight rooms across its three floors, with original features including high ceilings, bay windows, and wide balconies that afford views of the Dry Creek Valley. The 19th-century Carriage House boasts nine rooms, as well as a foyer adorned with an appropriately equine-themed mural crafted from horsehair by artist Kyle Bunting. And those looking for a slightly more secluded stay can secure one of the six new bungalows on the back edge of the grounds.
Ultra-Local Cuisine
The Madrona retained chef Jesse Mallgren—who held a Michelin star for 13 straight years at the previous iteration of the hotel’s restaurant—and gave him the resources to create an accessible yet hyper-local all-day menu. The on-site garden provides fresh produce and herbs for the menu, as well as edible flowers for the cocktail program. Enjoy signature dishes such as Dr y Creek peach salad, chicken pail-lard, and dry-aged Liberty Farms duck on the elegant Palm Terrace. If you don’t feel like stopping at the inviting bar for a nightcap , there’s likely a pre-mixed martini awaiting in your mini-bar fridge.
E-Bikes and BMWs
As lovely as the property is, you’ll want to get off the grounds at some point, and the staff makes it easy, offering both free e-bikes and a BMW house car for guest use. Whichever option you choose, you won’t need to go far: Downtown Healdsburg—with its almost impossibly charming central plaza and acclaimed restaurants such as Barndiva and SingleThread—is just a mile to the east, and among the gorgeous wineries that can be found within a 10-minute drive are Flowers, MacRostie, and Aperture Cellars.
Take Something Home
The historic structure may be what appeals about The Madrona initially, but Jay Jeffers’s stylish imprint renders the interior just as attractive. The rooms and public spaces are kitted out with furniture and art from multiple periods, giving the house the feel of a place in which a family has lived—and accumulated keepsakes—for more than a century. The contemporary art works have been curated by San Francisco’s Dolby Chadwick Gallery, and many of them are for sale: Scan the QR codes in the lobby for information on your favorite pieces and take home a souvenir of your Wine Country idyll.
From $750, themadronahotel.com
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