The Guest House at The Dalya Estate

We have stayed at VRBO's for years before Airbnb even came to be. This is by far my favorite home away from home to date. The pictures do not do this place justice (paint and some furniture have been tastefully updated). When you first pull up through the gate off the main highway you can't help but start the decompression process as you drive down the dirt driveway and pass through the chardonnay vines. To your right is a picturesque and stoic red barn. Just ahead of the barn down the driveway is The Guest House. I always appreciate when architecture and interior design fit in the environment they are in, not trying to be something and somewhere it is not. This house was born to be on that land. It is grounded, classy and unpretentious. I kept fighting back the urge to say that it felt like we were in the French countryside. We were in beautiful Sonoma County, Northern California, world class in its own right! We had our 10 and 7 year old with us and they slept in the upstairs loft with plenty of room to spread out. The stairs are steep and are an opportunity to teach caution to the old and young. The master bedroom was separate enough to provide privacy in this romantic setting. The bathroom felt like 1920's train station when people used to travel in style. You can open the windows in the shower and allow sunlight and views of the vineyards below to enter your experience. The Kitchen has very little counter space. Shortly after cooking on the O'keefe and Merritt gas stove while soaking up the view of Green Valley I quickly got over myself with the lack of space and embarked on what turned into multiple nights and days of cooking bliss (wine, cocktails and music helped). Our kids utilized the outdoor screened in sitting area for reading and their allotted screen time (WiFi was strong). The washer and dryer are just outside of the house, but for some reason I enjoyed the ritual of doing laundry more in the fresh air. I can't say enough good things about this place and that doesn't even cover the proximity to so many great day trips. Pascaline bakery is just a stone's throw to the right of the Estate on 116 and is a must (just try not to go there everyday of your trip). Sebastabol is lovely and has truly all that you could need for your trip. The Barlow food and shopping are phenomenal! We had an incredible meal at Handline restaurant too. The Joe Rodota trail provided a great place to get our walks in while allowing the kids to walk, scooter, or bike. You could be happy just staying at the Dalya estate the entire trip and you can take advantage of the many places to visit. Everything seems to be around 30 away or less (Healdsburg, Windsor, Bodega Bay, Santa Rosa, coastal and redwood hikes.) If you are excited about wine, the surrounding area is packed with numerous ridiculously good wines. Merry Edwards, Rochioli, Littorai, Kosta Browne, Paul Hobbs, Dutton Goldfield, Iron Horse Vineyards just to name a few. Writing this I am tempted to book my next trip to the guesthouse at The Dalya Estate for the Fall, maybe around grape harvest time! I could seriously see my kids getting married at this place, I think they rent out the whole property. Hope you enjoy your stay, cheers!

We spent a heavenly weekend in the guest house at Dalya Estate. The house itself was a surprising but pleasant mix of victorian architecture with modern accents, with charming flea market finds alongside a few very stylish contemporary touches. While the kitchen cabinets could use some updating, the high-end gas range made cooking a pleasure, as did the sweeping views of fruit-laden lemon trees and vineyards just outside the kitchen window. We especially enjoyed the daytime light in the guest house. With windows on all sides, and a two-story living room with skylights, it was drenched in sunshine. At night it was cozy, with good heating and a great mattress on the downstairs bed. The grounds were lovely, and we enjoyed the little screened summer house, perfect for cocktail hour, tea time, or whiling away the afternoon with a book. A grassy area surrounded by hedges and strung with lights made for another lovely picnic spot, and if they put a table and chairs out there, could be a romantic place to set up a dinner for two (or twenty). With the second bedroom on a mezzanine level and only one bathroom, the guest house is really best suited for a family or perhaps a group of very close friends. But we could see the “main house” next door, which has more bedrooms, a beautiful veranda, swimming pool, and hot tub also overlooking the vineyards associated with it, so would love to be able to return with an extended group of family or friends and rent both houses together some day. The location is great too - you feel like you are so far away from it all, but there is a great French bakery just 3 minutes down the road that also has great salads and sandwiches, Sebastopol and Healdsburg are both within 15 minutes, and there are miles of vineyards and wineries to visit in Dry Creek. We barely scratched the surface of all the places to visit around there, and our only disappointment was that we couldn’t stay for a week!