Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2007 - (Page 16) ACCESS: If your clients are considering visiting the Napa/Sonoma region in the fall, note that October is harvest month, so rooms should be booked at least three months out. We started our spectacular Wine Country sojourn by departing San Francisco (see St. Regis story, page 18) via the Golden Gate Bridge. We immediately stopped, however, in Sausalito for a bracing breakfast at Poggio (www.poggiotrattoria.com), a local favorite whose enormous cappuccinos take the edge off the chilly fog that rolls in off the bay. It’s a great venue from which to watch the sun peek through the clouds. The restaurant is just steps away from the Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa (www.casamadrona.com), acclaimed as the only full-service property in Sausalito. Creative Leisure’s Wine Country program remains in place for 2008. Contact Dean Johnson (djohnson@worldtravelholdings.com) Viviani, Inc. has just launched a program that enables clients to live out their rock star dreams in Sonoma Mountain Studio Estate, whose premium accommodations are in a 12room main house with seven fireplaces, five bathrooms, high-speed Internet in every room and a dining table to seat 12. There’s also a carriage house with additional space, but la pièce de résistance is the over-the-top music studio that will enable your client to cut his own CD with the assistance of a musical great. When it’s time to take a break, clients can ask their concierge to arrange a cruise on a 45-foot Ferretti Italian sport yacht available for Bay Area sailing. THE CARNEROS INN (above) is high tech inside with the natural vistas of Napa just outside. CALDWELL VINEYARDS (top right) is a “must” stop on any Napa sojourn, as is spending time with knowledgeable owner John Caldwell (shown in forefront). guests can learn all about wine blending and even snag a bottle of the wine that’s being tasted. For on-property dining, the hotel can arrange private wine cave dinners for up to 14. A shuttle also transports guests to the Sonoma Plaza, which has historical sites and is also a great shopping venue, filled with boutiques unique to their location. If clients need to take a break from sipping wine, we suggest a coffee and a pastry at the Basque Boulangerie Café (460 First Street East). The Fairmont sits amidst of some of the top wineries in the region, our favorite is the nearby Chateau St. Jean (www.chateaustjean.com); whose spacious, scenic grounds transport one immediately into the fabulous ambiance of the area. While wine tasting is offered all day in the main room, we opted for the best table on the patio, which is an extension of the Reserve Room where special vintage tastings are offered. Contact Laurie Cusenza, hospitality coordinator (707-833-4134, ext. 5258) to reserve a table for your top client or to arrange an elegant private gathering for your VIPs (or small group) on the grounds of the Chateau. We also stayed at The Carneros Inn (www.thecarnerosinn.com), which is a series of separate buildings comprised of individual hightech cottages. Those who think they’ll be staying at a traditional inn when visiting this property will be enamored of the huge bathrooms with heated slate floors found in every room category. We stayed in a Vineyard Suite, the highest-level category available and the most private of the accommodations at the resort. Here, our magic moment was sitting out on the patio in our teak chaise lounge by a woodburning fireplace, sampling a local vintage with the nearby vineyards rolling off into the distance. In this category, request cottages DiRosa 9 and 10 and Mahoney 4 and 5 for the most sweeping views of all. The most in-demand quarters at the inn are the Vineyard View Cottages. For weekends in the summer and fall, book at least two months out. If your client has special requests, contact Director of Sales & Marketing Brian Gipson (bgipson@thecarnerosinn.com; 707-2994968) or General Manager Paul Horner (707299-4988). Head Concierge Anthony Burich (aburich@thecarnerosinn.com; 707-2994918) can arrange private dinners at the area’s most exclusive wineries or private tours of closed-to-the-public wineries. Burich has also set up cooking demonstrations and dinners prepared by local chefs in The Homes at The Carneros Inn, which feature two Master Suites, both with huge private master bathrooms; luxury kitchens and a den that can serve a third bedroom. 16 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | August 2007 http://www.poggiotrattoria.com http://www.casamadrona.com http://www.thecarnerosinn.com http://www.chateaustjean.com
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