COVER STORY MARCH 2007
Arriving at the Sonoma Mission Inn is like
returning to the gilded age of the Great Gatsby
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Arriving at the Sonoma Mission Inn is like returning to the gilded age of the Great Gatsby. The baronial reception hall in the mission-style hotel looks today much like it did in 1927, when “lovers of pleasure and seekers of health” flocked to the newly rebuilt Inn. The main attraction, then and now, is taking the waters. But a new generation of spagoers has discovered Sonoma Country, a cornucopia of wine, food, and wellness.



Tapping into the need for an escape from the stress of city life, Fairmont fashioned the spa at Sonoma Mission Inn to provide a comprehensive program that can be tailored to individuals or marketed to meeting planners. Steps from the hotel and conference facility, you enter tropical gardens that frame thermal pools. On the upper level, Cybex fitness center and aerobics studio; directly below, a shaded Watsu pool overlooks a small lagoon of the natural hot mineral water that made the resort famous more than a century ago.
Big wooden doors open to a day of relaxation and beauty. The waters theme an indoor aquatic space, sequencing whirlpools, soaks, and saunas. Taken at your own pace, this is the perfect prelude to a massage or facial. The lounge offers fruit, water, and tea while you await a therapist. Secluded in the ten massage rooms and full-service salon, stress fades away.

The serenity of the spa perfectly complements the Inn’s daily schedule.

Start with a guided morning hike into Sonoma’s scenic hills and vineyards; the view of the valley from Nuns Canyon is spectacular! You can arrive early and enjoy complimentary coffee, read the newspaper beside a warming fireplace. Returning by van, indulge in breakfast at The Big 3, an authentic roadside diner on the edge of the eight-acre property, or stay with spa cuisine at The Café. For fitness buffs, the exercise equipment hums as early as 6 a.m., and aerobics classes, yoga, and tai chi are complimentary throughout the day when you book a spa package. Need a personal trainer or nutrition consultation? Sign up at the spa desk. Want to visit wineries or play golf? The concierge desk will have a guide and driver ready when you are.




The 43,000-square-foot spa complex offers thermal mineral swimming pools, herbal steam baths, saunas, and fitness center. Among special features: Watsu pool set in palm-shaded garden, shiatsu pressure point massage, Remy Laure mud wrap, grape seed anti-oxidant facial, and chardonnay, coffee, or olive oil sugar scrubs. On a personal level, the New Leaf program evaluates your metabolism and exercise needs.

Visitors traveled by steamboat and train from San Francisco in the 1840s, believing the resort’s spring mineral water had a restorative effect. Unique in Sonoma Country for drawing water from underground geothermal-heated springs to fill its pools, the Inn’s water tower and mission-style hotel gained landmark status and can’t be altered. In 1991, a two-year search for a new source of the legendary waters tapped 135-degree natural hot artesian mineral water, now used in the Inn’s two pools and whirlpools.

A spa escape at Sonoma Mission Inn is about choices: Action or relaxation



Fairmont Hotels & Resorts restored the Sonoma Mission Inn as the Bay area’s pre-eminent spa. Updating the historic hotel while preserving its romantic ambience, Fairmont introduced gourmet dining and spa cuisine at The Grille, a wine bar and tasting room, and new amenities for guest rooms. Surrounding the swimming pool, clusters of Wine Country Suites provide privacy with your own whirlpool bath in front of the fireplace.

The renowned century-old Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco shares with Sonoma Mission Inn the high standards of service that define a new era for this historic spa. For regional director of spas David Erlich, the challenge of introducing locally sourced lavender on the services menu has been as exciting as discovering organic goat cheese from local farms. “The wealth of talented therapists in Sonoma,” says Erlich, “makes for consistently superior guest experiences.”.

© SPA MANAGEMENT JOURNAL - MARCH 2007