Last week, Katie and I had the luxury of spending a few days up in Calistoga wine tasting up a storm at some of our favorite spots, but when the drinking was done? We checked into Gaige House + Ryokan, a Japanese inspired boutique hotel in Glen Ellen.
It was the perfect way to end the trip because we had gotten all our “activities” (🍷) done and were ready to just loungeeeee. Gaige House hit the spot….at least the large tub definitely did…which I bathed in twice over 24 hours. 😂
There isn’t much to do in the town of Glen Ellen so I’d plan on doing what Katie and I did and lock yourself in the room and VEG. OUT. Why would we want to leave when the rooms are UHmazing. (complete with sake and mochi too). 😋 We only surfaced to enjoy golden hour on the deck, with the included (and endless) wine and cheese spread because, duh! Finishing off the night by starting a fire and watching our favorite show from an insanely comfy bed. I kill for moments like these. ❤️
While I didn’t dive into any of the Japanese traditions that inspire the hotel, sitting poolside in my kimono was enough of a zen moment for me. 😉
The facts:
- pool + hot tub always open
- no spa on site but they can call massage therapists to come on-site if desired
- meditation room
- free wine and cheese “magic hour” every night 5-6pm (way more hotels need to do this)
- endless sake and port in the main house
- breakfast is included and served daily 8-10am
- no dinner or other food on site for purchasing (except for a cheese platter) so bring snacks!
- WiFi available, but no cell service (at least for AT&T)
The town:
Glen Ellen is pretty much a ghost town with just a couple small restaurants and a market but I did manage to find 1 cute lil’ french cafe, “Les Pascal’s Coffee,” complete with instagrammable back patio and pastries! Def the best thing around haha but at least, downtown Sonoma is only about a 15 min drive, a trekkable distance for dinner. Typically this would be an issue for us but since it was a short stay and we were coming down from our wild wine weekend, the lush rooms and pool did us just fine. 😊
Anywayyy…..
Gaige House + Ryokan was such a grounding and relaxing stay, and we didn’t even take advantage of the meditation room. But you can feel the zen of the place just by walking around. Everything is so quiet and peaceful. It immediately sent us into a mush zone…wallowing acceptable at all times. Next time I need an escape from it all I’ll be checking in here. 🙌
