A distinguished member of design hotelsTM.At the heart of Northern California is a heritage of great creation in nature and the culinary arts. The magnitude of the Pacific Coast with the vast ocean, numerous hot springs and forests of giant redwoods belies the subtlety of the best in food and wine. The ideal base to experience these treasures can be found in Hotel Healdsburg.

Guest rooms are spacious and smartly decorated, with wood floors and Tibetan rugs, and most open through French doors onto private balconies with views of the town square or the hotel gardens. Bathrooms are impeccably designed, modern, with six-foot soaking tubs of grey stone and separate walk-in showers. Comfort, obviously, is key, evident from the Frette bathrobes and goose down duvets. If you want to go all out, think about the Couples Suite, offering a double-size soaking tub and a pair of in-room massage tables.

For leisure, there's a sixty-foot outdoor pool and a well-equipped fitness center, as well as a full-service spa, using all-natural custom-blended products. There are sixty wineries within ten minutes of Healdsburg, and an untold number of restaurants-but the hotel's own restaurant, the Dry Creek Kitchen, happens to be one of the best. Celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, of New York's Aureole, serves a simple cuisine emphasizing fresh Sonoma County produce in an unpretentious and relaxed setting. Needless to say, the wine list is rather impressive as well. You'll be tempted to skip those tastings and vineyard tours, and just shut yourself in the hotel.