Rohnert Park-Wine Country

A romantic breakfast at the Café des Croissants which was across the golf course from our Doubletree Hotel. Our stay at the Doubletree was excellent, facilitated by luxurious accommodations, great weather and a balcony that faced the pool. Driving around and taking in the scenic routes and wineries is probably charged with more excitement if you are a wine drinker or connoisseur, which I am not. But I liked seeing the vineyards and the magnificent houses which are on the grounds. There are a number of parks, pools, golf courses (we were sitting on top of one at the Doubletree), tennis courts, and for entertainment, the Dorothy Spreckels Performing Arts Center on Snyder Lane. Sonoma State Univ also has its own center for performing arts, and you need to call 707-664-2247 for information on scheduled performances.

Quick Tips:

Make sure you have comfortable walking shoes; also, it does get cool in the early morning and the fog can be as dense as in San Francisco. Unless there was business at hand, we didn't plan any activities until 11:00am or so when the sky would turn a superb blue. This is a good place to stay if you want to also see Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Petaluma and Bodega Bay because it is in the midst of all of them. It is not necessarily a place I would return to unless I had more business to conduct.

Best Way To Get Around:

Driving.

For more on San Francisco and other Northern California Cities:

San Jose

Healdsburg

Go West!

Petaluma

Sebastopol

Santa Rosa

Berkeley

Slumming in San Francisco

San Francisco II

We had a very spacious room. Very sunny and vibrant fabrics added more liveliness to the glass door windows and bedspread. We were on the ground floor and had easy access through one of the side doors. The hotel is right across the street from the Chamber of Commerce. Chuck was able, once again, to get an outstanding rate here, and I''m sure you can do the same.

We had a king size bed, with a king size couch, large desk with IT facilities, TV, in room movies, 2 telephones, ironing board, dryer, super absorbent towels and Neutrogena bath products. You are also provided with water at $4.50 a bottle. Ice and sodas machines are available on the floor.

The hotel was not terribly crowded, but they have convention facilities and a very large lobby. We were able to conduct a business meeting in one of the couch arrangements in the main lobby with no noise or disturbances of any kind. Everything is planned to make it very easy for the business traveler. Large tables can accommodate samples, large catalogs., etc..

The reception area is quite beautiful with its gurgling fountain in the center of the lobby, and terra cotta tiles. The decor looked more Santa Fe to me than California. The restaurant on the premises, Bacchus, is quite large and looks even larger when devoid of people.

Dining at Bacchus felt like being overdressed at a party. The entrance is exquiste with a beautiful ceramic name sign on the floor. There is also local art work on the walls, and in this part of California, artists abound. There was a particular ceramic dish with pears that I loved.

We had dinner and breakfast here, and both meals were excellent. For dinner, we had a house salad made with fresh greens, cucumbers, tomatoes diced middle eastern style normally served with raspberry vinaigrette dressing which we did not take. They weren't able to supply me with olive oil and lemmon, so I used the olive dipping dressing which was served with the bread. Chuck had a house wine and I had water at first; when I spotted the lemon slices in the water, I knew I was in trouble. You could taste the chlorine in the water; it was dreadful. For the entree, we had penne with parmesan cheese, olives, artichokes, sundried tomatoes which was very well prepared. Although the dessert menu included orange flavored flan and tiramisu, we were too full to partake. Our server was very pleasant and had 3 tables to tend to altogether.

At breakfast, we went for the pancakes. Chuck had the regular buttermilk shortstack, and I tried something new which were pancakes with ricotta and blueberries. Delicious. Prices are not as ludicrous as the ones at the St. Francis in San Francisco. Most of the people that came to breakfast seemed to be retired. If you're out to paint the town red, skip this place.

This is a darling place! It's part of a complex of stores which are around the Doubletree, and if you don't drive through it, you'd never know this café was here. It is very French in decor, with its name written in large green script on the walls. Black floral wallpaper is tastefully pasted midway down the length of the walls. The seating is very casual with wooden benches on one side, and black wooden chairs around a small table for a more intimate setting.

The croissants are OUTRAGEOUSLY good; they must have about 15 different varieties and the stuffed ones don't stop at chocolate. I had an apricot stuffed croissant that propelled me to heaven. Aside from croissants, they have muffins, scones and brioches. You can have any number of espresso based beverages, or tea which is served steeped in water in a porcelain pot. Now that's what I call serving tea! It was crowded when we got there, and we waited in line for a few minutes. This was undoubtedly the largest crowd of people I had seen in any establishment in Rohnert Park.

After Chuck and I had our leisurely breakfast, I decided to purchase a dozen assorted croissants "for the road." Best decision I made. They stayed fresh for almost 3 days in the box. We had plain, chocolate, raspberry, almond, and something that had been dusted with sugar and I'm not sure what was inside, but neither one of us cared. If you're not far from the area, it's worth the drive. EXCELLENT.

I have to tell you about this golf resort, even though I know zilch about golfing as it surrounds the Double Tree Hotel where we stayed. There were people there both days that we stayed. It is maintained by an outside contractor called Course Co., Inc.

This resort has 2 golf courses: the Willows Course, measuring 6496 yards with a slope rating of 121. The second is Redwood Course with 6400 yards and a slope rating of 119. I have to assume that all you golfers out there understand these numbers, because I haven’t got a clue what they mean. There is also a driving range available and along with the 2 courses, it is open all year round from sunrise to sunset.

If you are a neophyte, lessons and clinics are available with their PGA club pro. A full service pro-shop is on the premises together with a banquet room. Clubhouse facilities and a restaurant are also at your disposal. If you stay at the Double Tree, you’ll be able to take advantage of their heated pool and hot tub after your game. If you need more info on this resort, driving range fees, carts and rentals, they encourage you to call the above number between 7 am and 6 pm.