The Raford Inn Bed and Breakfast – Sonoma County

Traveling to the beautiful Wine Country in California?  You’ll want to know about this lovely gem – The Raford Inn Bed and Breakfast in Sonoma County!

One of our favorite places to visit is Sonoma County.  Just a 45-mile drive north from San Francisco, this area is home to over 400 wineries.  The relaxed atmosphere and beautiful scenery beckons EJ and I back year after year.  Each time we visit, I want to slow down the clock, take everything in and dream of someday retiring to the area.

EJ and I just returned home from Sonoma County and while we were there, we had the wonderful opportunity to stay at the beautiful Raford Inn Bed and Breakfast in Healdsburg, California.  This lovely Victorian home sits at the top of a hill overlooking miles of vineyards.  You can see the house from the highway, nestled among the vines.  It’s a stately home with a large relaxing porch, tall palm trees in the front yard and large wicker chairs warmly inviting guests in.

We started our trip in Sonoma introducing our son, who now lives in Los Angeles, to wine tasting.  During our time with our son, we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Windsor.  We have stayed several times at the Hampton Inn on previous trips and have always enjoyed our stays there.  When our son flew home, EJ and I moved over to the Raford Inn.   We wanted to spend the last days of our trip relaxing in a more peaceful environment (see the panoramic pictures below from the porch).

Bed and Breakfasts in Sonoma County dot the rolling landscape.  There are probably as many Bed and Breakfasts as there are wineries and it’s difficult to choose which one to stay at.

Fortunately,  EJ and I have traveled to Sonoma County many times and we are very familar with the Russian River and Dry Creek areas and knew we wanted to stay close to the wineries.  The Raford Inn is situated in the heart of the Russian River valley in a perfect location and near many of our favorite wineries.  A few of the wineries we love are Gary Farrell, Armida, Rodney Strong and Arista Winery.

Bed and Breakfasts haven’t always been at the top of our lists of places to stay when we travel. But our recent stay at the charming Raford Inn surprised us.  We had no idea what to expect from our stay at a Bed and Breakfast and to our surprise we found we loved the experience.

Here are a few of the amenities The Raford Inn offers:

*     Evening Wine Receptions

*     Sweeping Vineyard Views from the Front Porch

*     Robes in Each Room

*     Full, Country Breakfast Each Morning

*     Tea & Coffee Service

*     Sweet Treats Offered Throughout the Day

*     Courtesy Laptop, Landline & Business Services

*     Tasting Passes to 130+ Sonoma County Wineries

We were so comfortable at the Raford Inn. We stayed in the Strawberry Room and chose this room because we loved the fact that it had it’s own private entrance.  We had a Queen sized bed with a sofa/sitting area.

There was a garden patio right outside our front door where we could share a bottle of wine each evening.

Just steps away from our private patio were several lounging chairs that allowed us enjoy the cool evenings and see the stars at night.

I’m not sure why, but I slept so well while we were there.  There’s something special about old houses that provide a certain peacefulness.  It could also have been the comfortable beds.   Whatever the reason, I loved it.

The owners Rita and Dane and their staff were so kind and welcoming.  Each morning we walked into the house, poured ourselves a cup of coffee and enjoyed it outside on the porch while we waited for breakfast.

The breakfasts were spectacular.  On our first morning, we were served homemade granola and yogurt, followed by Raspberry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast.  The French Toast consisted of a layer of cinnamon-raisin bread topped with a raspberry and cream cheese filling followed by a layer of croissants.  It was absolutely delicious!

On our second morning, we were served fresh fruit followed by California Eggs Benedict – outstanding!  The owners were so kind serving us breakfast a little early since we had to leave to catch a flight out of San Francisco.

Each evening we were invited to enjoy wine and cheese in the living room.  We only took advantage of this on our last night there, which just so happened to be Super Bowl Sunday.  Dane and Rita instead invited us to watch the Super Bowl with them in their TV room. We enjoyed great company, chicken wings, pizza and of course, wine and cheese.

The Raford Inn has five rooms available to choose from and you can see the pictures and read about them here.

Everything at The Raford Inn was exceptional.  My only regret was that we couldn’t stay longer.  We couldn’t have asked for a better place to stay and plan to stay there again.  This time for much longer!