Jul 8, 2015, 1:22 pm
Last edit by: platbrownguy
Hotel website: The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa
Resort fee includes (hat tip to sg59) includes: internet, daily hike, yoga, 2hr free bicycle rental, winetasting and minibus to Sonoma square. resort fee also covers daily Sangria (if you like that), two bottles of water daily, a single use $10 discount voucher that you can use at The Bean and bottle or The Spa. There is daily yoga and a local hike, as platinum we could rent a bike free for two hours. Reception have free coffee, mini muffins and croissants about 8.30 am, and fruit and cookies in the afternoon about 4pm, before wine tasting.
Breakfast: option of 1,000 points or breakfast. Breakfast allowance is $30 pp (max 2). (Update 5/11/2019: YMMV on breakfast; there is a meager "continental buffet" and depending on the wait staff you may be permitted to order eggs and sides for free as well.)
Resort fee includes (hat tip to sg59) includes: internet, daily hike, yoga, 2hr free bicycle rental, winetasting and minibus to Sonoma square. resort fee also covers daily Sangria (if you like that), two bottles of water daily, a single use $10 discount voucher that you can use at The Bean and bottle or The Spa. There is daily yoga and a local hike, as platinum we could rent a bike free for two hours. Reception have free coffee, mini muffins and croissants about 8.30 am, and fruit and cookies in the afternoon about 4pm, before wine tasting.
Breakfast: option of 1,000 points or breakfast. Breakfast allowance is $30 pp (max 2). (Update 5/11/2019: YMMV on breakfast; there is a meager "continental buffet" and depending on the wait staff you may be permitted to order eggs and sides for free as well.)
The Lodge at Sonoma Resort, Autograph Collection [Master Thread]
Dec 29, 2014, 12:05 pm
#61
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Left Coast
Posts: 862
Upgraded to a top floor cottage. No big changes from our previous stay. Fireplace was a little flaky to light but was nice. [...]
An earlier poster compared the cottages to an RI. I respectfully beg to differ. They're much better than that. I found them to be comfortable, quiet and well laid out. [...]
An earlier poster compared the cottages to an RI. I respectfully beg to differ. They're much better than that. I found them to be comfortable, quiet and well laid out. [...]
They are still charging a $20/day resort fee, but there was no wine awaiting for us in the room, nor was it missed. As I understood it, the resort fee mainly covered use of the "free" shuttle service, which we did use a few times.
The hotel is listed as a distributor of RRBC products, but all they really distribute is approximately one keg of Pliny per week. I personally enjoyed several pints before the keg was blown.
We ate a few times in the hotel-managed Carneros Bistro, and enjoyed the food. Not a cheap meal, but very good. They grill over oak and mesquite, and they fuel their pizza oven with the same wood. Flame-kissed food is delicious! The pizzas were quite tasty. I also liked their wood-grilled octopus salad, and their shrimp and grits dish. Even our youngest-- picky beyond imagination, nearly-- was happy with the food there.
After reading favorable comments here at FT and elsewhere, we hired Platypus for a half-day Sonoma winery tour which was great. They picked us up at the hotel and hauled us around to some wineries we'd never have bothered with. A couple of them really resonated with us, and we came back with a fair haul of wine. If you're in the area, two wineries we really enjoyed visiting were Loxton Cellars (the vintner, Chris, has a Ph.D. in physics and is quite the conversationalist) and the Ty Caton tasting room. My brother and I each ordered a case from Ty Caton and really liked everything we tasted there.
Overall, a very enjoyable unwinding/relaxing trip for us. We were very grateful not only for the help that Flyertalk provided in scoring the LNF rate, but also to the hotel staff, who were consistently kind and helpful to us.
Final thought: the only downside to our trip was that after four days of nothing but restaurant food we were all sort of overfed and looking forward to getting back home and back to our usual diet.
Last edited by zippy the pinhead; Dec 29, 2014 at 2:32 pm
Jul 8, 2015, 1:22 pm
#63
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,114
Noticed this on the property's website today:
A daily resort fee of USD 25 added to the room rate includes daily wine tasting, shuttle to Sonoma Plaza and more!
Have created a wiki.
A daily resort fee of USD 25 added to the room rate includes daily wine tasting, shuttle to Sonoma Plaza and more!
Have created a wiki.
Jul 9, 2015, 1:34 pm
#64
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Plum Nelly
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy, Delta Sky Miles, and S&H Green Stamps
Posts: 636
Jul 9, 2015, 2:04 pm
#66
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: DFW/STL
Programs: AA EXP, AA Admirals Club, Marriott PLT Premier, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 762
Nov 5, 2016, 9:57 pm
#67
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Kirkland, WA, USA
Programs: Marriott Gold; LEGO VIP, Amex Platinum, HHonors Gold
Posts: 563
I just spent a few days at this hotel with a small group on a tour. We had a great time. The main hotel public spaces have clearly been renovated, but the cottage rooms have not. Although the carpet in there may have been newer, the rest of the room felt tired. I'm not a fan of firm beds, and ours was outside my comfort range, so I really didn't sleep well, despite the quiet location.
The bar staff were very helpful, but I did need to teach them how to make a modern Old Fashioned, as the one on the menu is very 1987. All the hotel staff were polite and efficient.
Take the hotel shuttle and have dinner at The Girl and The Fig off the square in Sonoma - be sure to book ahead though. The Carneros Bistro breakfast was really good, but we never ate here for dinner.
If you're into astronomy in any way at all, there's a small observatory in the Sugarloaf Ridge state park with 3 telescopes, and regular star parties where people bring their own.
I would recommend this hotel for a Sonoma valley vacation.
The bar staff were very helpful, but I did need to teach them how to make a modern Old Fashioned, as the one on the menu is very 1987. All the hotel staff were polite and efficient.
Take the hotel shuttle and have dinner at The Girl and The Fig off the square in Sonoma - be sure to book ahead though. The Carneros Bistro breakfast was really good, but we never ate here for dinner.
If you're into astronomy in any way at all, there's a small observatory in the Sugarloaf Ridge state park with 3 telescopes, and regular star parties where people bring their own.
I would recommend this hotel for a Sonoma valley vacation.
Nov 30, 2016, 6:32 pm
#69
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,722
Yet another property that is too cheap to provide breakfast. Sigh. Sometimes I question whether my Gold status is worth anything as I get no value from "free" breakfasts on business trips and most of my leisure stays are in so-called "resorts." But I digress...
Last stayed here about a decade ago - quite wonderful as we received the cottage upgrade and the room service breakfast was outstanding. Looking forward to spending a weekend here later this month and will report back on the conditions. The resort fee is definitely a gouge given the paltry "amenities", but par for the course these days.
Was this a joke? There is an interstate freeway that covers most of the route, and it's fairly quick when there is no traffic. If for some reason you want to maximize air travel I think AS offers jet service into Sonoma airport.
I don't disagree with your characterization of the immediate neighborhood. However, as you know, nobody walks in LA, or for that matter, pretty much anywhere in CA outside of the downtown core of major cities. I can't imagine visiting Sonoma or Napa without a car. In this case there is even a free shuttle to the square for those who can't or hate driving. I certainly would not use location as a reason to avoid this property which is smack in the heart of Sonoma wine country and an easy drive to many wineries. Much more so that alternative chain properties in Santa Rosa and other "wine country" suburbs off 101.
Last stayed here about a decade ago - quite wonderful as we received the cottage upgrade and the room service breakfast was outstanding. Looking forward to spending a weekend here later this month and will report back on the conditions. The resort fee is definitely a gouge given the paltry "amenities", but par for the course these days.
I've stayed at the Ren several times. It's pretty soulless right around it. If I was visiting sans car, I'd definitely prefer staying somewhere within easy walking distance of the central square. There's a lot of great restaurants, some interesting sightseeing, as well as shopping on the square or within a couple blocks of it. You'll have a completely different experience of Sonoma. If you rent a car, it's easy enough to get around and I wouldn't feel as strongly about the location of the hotel.
Nov 30, 2016, 6:40 pm
#70
Join Date: May 2009
Location: EUG
Programs: AS MVP, AA MM, HH Diamond, MR Gold
Posts: 8,220
When we stayed there a year or two ago they provided a shuttle (van) service to the Square - we used it for dinner (as did others) who didn't want to drive after dinner. But to visit wine country without a car? Unless you are taking a guided/limo tour, how do you expect to get around to the far-flung wineries? Part of their charm is that they are rural wineries. Although the Sonoma Square itself does have a lot to see with the history, shops, etc.
I still would not visit the area without a car.
I still would not visit the area without a car.
Dec 31, 2016, 12:12 pm
#71
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Oakland, CA
Programs: Southwest A; Marriott Platinum
Posts: 308
Christmas 2016 at Lodge at Sonoma
The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa
1325 Broadway at Leveroni & Napa Roads Sonoma, CA US 95476
RecommendedLiked: LocationServiceFoodAmenitiesRoom
Christmas 2016 at Lodge at Sonoma (0 Photo)
The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa
We stayed at the Lodge at Sonoma over Christmas weekend in 2016. Last time there was in early 2009.
We were in an upstairs cottage room with a King bed. The rooms are definitely looking a little tired, but the hotel is set for renovation in early 2017. The bed was super comfy, and the heater worked well to take the chill off the cold mornings. The fireplace - not so much - it worked well during the warmer part of the day (high 40s) but struggled to stay on during the colder hours (low 30s). We did report it to the front desk and they comped us one night of the resort fee.
As for the resort fee - it included complimentary wine tasting each afternoon, (which was still held on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), led by one of the property managers who was quite knowledgable about the wines he was pouring. The tasting room is a cute little space off of the lobby, with a small library of books about wine and the local area.
The hotel had created a list of local restaurants that were open for Christmas Day and Christmas Eve, which was handy for finding somewhere to eat. We did Christmas dinner at Carneros Bistro on the hotel property - they had a $70 buffet (including one glass of wine) that was lovely and tasty and seemed a fair price for the quality and quantity of the food.
There were also some nice holiday touches in the lobby, in addition to Christmas decorations - complimentary cookies were out for much of the day, and hot cider was available in the afternoons.
All in all it's a nice property that will go up a notch after the rooms are renovated.
Oct 20, 2018, 2:54 pm
#75
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: Marriott Plat Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13
Renaissance The Lodge Sonoma update and new breakfast offering
Here last week for a 5 night stay on points, tried to use suite upgrades but was rejected. However, we were upgraded to a cottage anyway. The rooms have been renovated and are very nice, bathtubs have been removed from the cottages.
As a PP elite I was offered 1000 points or breakfast, I chose breakfast which is in the Carneros restaurant. Breakfast allowance is $30 pp (max 2) which I thought was quite generous, we checked it with several staff to make sure it was correct, no coupons just told to tell the Server we were Platinum. During the stay we were offered a menu just for Platinums and sometimes an a la carte menu, Reception confirmed regardless of which menu they gave us, breakfast would be free. However, I think they were only supposed to offer the Plat menu, which of course is limited. Please note if you do not take the breakfast option they do have free coffee in the lobby with either mini croissants or breakfast muffins.(Apples and cookies in the afternoon). They no longer charge for parking which was $17 , however the resort fee is now $32 per day which includes: internet, daily hike, yoga, 2hr free bicycle rental, winetasting and minibus to Sonoma square.
Not really a resort but a nice hotel never the less. Have always been treated well here, they really try to please their guests. New breakfast was option was good, cooked to order with a choice of hot items,eggs any style, meat option and herb potatoes, pancakes, Granola or fruit and yoghurt.
I
As a PP elite I was offered 1000 points or breakfast, I chose breakfast which is in the Carneros restaurant. Breakfast allowance is $30 pp (max 2) which I thought was quite generous, we checked it with several staff to make sure it was correct, no coupons just told to tell the Server we were Platinum. During the stay we were offered a menu just for Platinums and sometimes an a la carte menu, Reception confirmed regardless of which menu they gave us, breakfast would be free. However, I think they were only supposed to offer the Plat menu, which of course is limited. Please note if you do not take the breakfast option they do have free coffee in the lobby with either mini croissants or breakfast muffins.(Apples and cookies in the afternoon). They no longer charge for parking which was $17 , however the resort fee is now $32 per day which includes: internet, daily hike, yoga, 2hr free bicycle rental, winetasting and minibus to Sonoma square.
Not really a resort but a nice hotel never the less. Have always been treated well here, they really try to please their guests. New breakfast was option was good, cooked to order with a choice of hot items,eggs any style, meat option and herb potatoes, pancakes, Granola or fruit and yoghurt.
I
Last edited by Sg59; Oct 22, 2018 at 10:48 am Reason: Title