California Wine Country, United States

Harmon Guest House

Price per night from$291.20

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD291.20), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Eco-kind cool

Setting

Heart of Healdsburg

Harmon Guest House harnesses Healdsburg’s creative soul: the check-in desk is formed from a giant fallen eucalyptus tree, rooms and public areas are decorated with bold, contemporary local art, and the philosophy is as green as grass. Harmon’s good impressions begin on arrival, thanks to the striking redwood-clad exterior and the lobby’s sunny sculpture, courtesy of NorCal artist, Sabine Rickenwell. On-the-house extras include yoga on Sundays and a fleet of on-loan bikes. All the better for wheeling around Healdsburg with...

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A glass of wine each on arrival

Facilities

Photos Harmon Guest House facilities

Need to know

Rooms

39, including six suites.

Check–Out

Noon; earliest check-in, 3pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £267.54 ($338), including tax at 16 per cent.

More details

Rates include Sunday rooftop yoga, valet parking, on-the-house snacks, in-room sparkling and still water, use of the hotel’s bicycles and a Continental breakfast of fruits, pastries, house-made granola, Flying Goat coffee and tea.

Also

If you like the look of Harmon Guest House, chances are you’ll fall for its Smith-approved sister, H2 Hotel, also in Healdsburg.

At the hotel

Rooftop lounge, free WiFi, fleet of bikes. In rooms: TV, Tivoli Bluetooth sound system, air-conditioning, alarm clock, minibar, free bottled water and snacks, tea and coffee, natural bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Opt for a room on a higher level for best-in-house views – either of the peaceful creek or mellow downtown. Harmon King rooms are a romantic choice for couples – but the Founder’s Suites can’t be beaten when it comes to space. All rooms have a balcony or patio with views of the Creekside Deck,the mountains or the interior courtyard.

Poolside

The heated pool occupies a peaceful perch by the creek; obliging trees offer plenty of shade.

Packing tips

Bring a thirst for Sonoma wine – and leave enough luggage space for bottles galore.

Also

The entire property is ADA compliant. The lobby is on the ground floor with no stairs or curbs; the lift has access to all floors and the rooftop.

Pet‐friendly

For an additional $150 a pet, each booking, Fido can come too. Doggies must be well behaved, trained and no heavier than 80 pounds. No more than two dogs can be in a room; staff reserve the right to request the immediate removal of any naughty dog. See more pet-friendly hotels in California Wine Country.

Children

Little Smiths of all ages are welcome; the day bed in the Harmon King can sleep children aged three-and-up.

Sustainability efforts

Harmon House’s eco-friendly facilities include a sun-shading slat system to reduce solar-heat gain, electric car-charging stations and LED lighting. The hotel relies on a rainwater harvesting system for its irrigation needs. Additional green elements include a solar thermal water-heating system, low/no VOC paints and coatings, recycled and reclaimed materials and water-efficient plumbing fixtures. The property also uses FSC Certified wood in the building, and offers a bicycle fleet for guests.

Food and Drink

Photos Harmon Guest House food and drink

Top Table

Pick your favourite spot at the lofty Rooftop bar.

Dress Code

Wear splashes of claret and gold, to honour Cali’s winsome wine country.

Hotel restaurant

Although Harmon Guest House doesn’t have its own restaurant, guests are encouraged to have breakfast at Spoonbar, at the Harmon’s sister property, H2 Hotel, where you can get a Continental spread of fruits, pastries, house-made granola, Flying Goat coffee and tea.

Hotel bar

Toast Fitch Mountain, the Sonoma hills and downtown Healdsburg from Rooftop bar, which is decorated with mid-century flourishes and lashings of glossy-toffee wood. Make ours a Citrus cocktail, please: ginger vodka, lemon juice and spiced pear liqueur. You could also enjoy views of the creek from the Creekside Deck (designed for drinks and lounging), or gather around the sociable fire-pit as dusk draws in.

Last orders

Breakfast is served until 10am over at Harmon Guest House’s sibling, H2, a short walk away. Snacks, salads and small bites are available at Rooftop (closed on Wednesdays) until 7pm.

Location

Photos Harmon Guest House location
Address
Harmon Guest House
227 Healdsburg Avenue
Healdsburg
95448
United States

Harmon Guest House is sitting pretty in downtown Healdsburg, just steps from the Healdsburg Plaza, in California’s scenic Sonoma County.

Planes

Sonoma County Airport is just a 15-minute drive away; alternatively, fly into San Francisco International Airport, a two-hour drive from the hotel.

Automobiles

Head to Healdsburg – and make the most of the hotel’s free valet parking on arrival.

Worth getting out of bed for

On Sunday mornings, enjoy free yoga at nearby H2 Hotel. It’s also worth admiring Harmon’s art stash, and factoring in a round or two of pool- or creek-side cocktails. Go antique-hunting in Healdsburg, which has a soft spot for ye olde treasure. Many of the best antique shops are within walking distance of the hotel. Fans of the classic comic Peanuts will relish a trip to the Charles Schulz Museum, where visitors can admire many of the original comic strips, plus other Schulz artworks. Take a trip to wildest Africa via Cali wine country at Safari West: a somewhat surprising wildlife centre set on a 400-acre reserve. Adventurous types will also enjoy rafting, kayaking and swimming on the nearby Russian River. Embark on a wine tasting – this is Napa Valley, after all. You can’t throw a rock in Napa and Sonoma valleys without hitting a tempting vineyard.

Local restaurants

Begin the day with breakfast or brunch at the Parish Café on Mill Street; when it comes to leisurely lunches, Healdsburg SHED at 25 North Street does the trick. Pizza-fans will be wooed by Pizzando’s wood-fired oven and what comes off it. For a more formal dinner, pay Single Thread at 131 North Street a visit: this award-winning restaurant has its own farm with a greenhouse, shade structures, loamy fields, chicken coops, an heirloom fruit orchard, olive trees, beehives, and a cattle paddock. Unsurprisingly, Mother Nature stars on the menu.

Local bars

Duke’s Spirited Cocktails lives up to its name – you’ll find this elegant drinking den at 4113, 111 Plaza Street. Delicious libations include Bitter Root, which stars sparkling wine and blood-orange bitters, and the potent Weekend at Bernie's with Alley 6 gin, Cointreau and absinthe.

Reviews

Photos Harmon Guest House reviews
Holly Clark

Anonymous review

By Holly Clark, Scene snapper

For those in the know, Healdsburg has become somewhat of a culinary hotspot. Situated in the heart of Sonoma County, the city is home to some of the best restaurants in the region, if not the state, and attracts a very particular type of traveller, seeking a wine-country experience a little further off the beaten track than its big brother, Napa Valley. 

The drive north from San Francisco into Sonoma County takes you along Route 101 and betrays the area’s primary industry long before you arrive. Neatly arranged rows of vines line the road, like landing lights guiding you to your ultimate destination. The drive took a little over an hour and a half to complete, a tiny distance in California. 

Arranged around the quaint town plaza, Healdsburg is what you might imagine the Gold Rush towns of the 19th century to have looked like. The square houses, a hexagonal bandstand, shops proudly adorned with Stars and Stripes… there is a magical, hushed feel to the place. Our first afternoon was spent wandering the wide array of shops and, perhaps more importantly, the wine-tasting studios that are festooned throughout the town. By virtue of the fact that Healdsburg is located between the wine-growing areas of Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and the Russian River Valley, you are spoiled for choice when it comes to where to head for a tasting session, or two. Mr Smith was delighted to find out that the area is known for its chardonnay and pinot noir, two household favourites back home. It might not surprise readers to hear that we found ourselves visiting a few of the tasting rooms, purely for research purposes of course, followed by a well-needed pitstop at one of the town’s many delis for a salt-beef sandwich. 

With exploring and research safely under our belts, it was time to check-in at the Harmon Guest House, a long-standing and well-known stalwart of the town. Only a minute’s walk from the plaza, the hotel is in an enviable location, right in the middle of Healdsburg. It stands out for its unusual modern design, with angular wood cladding and glass contrasting with the otherwise traditional architecture of the area. 

The decor features floor-to-ceiling-glass corridors, bamboo plants and a distinctly calm, Swedish-meets-Japanese style. Our room was situated at the back of the hotel, overlooking the woodland to the rear, and felt more like a serviced apartment. The Scandinavian influence continued here too, with clean lines, calming colour schemes and a vast suite divided into bedroom and living room. Particular enthusiasm was shown by me for the large concrete bath tub, while Mr Smith settled for some time with a book on the terrace, with one eye on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who somehow found themselves on the living-room television. 

The outdoor pool at the hotel was perfect for a refreshing dip before supper and while it probably isn’t the ideal spot for a day reclining on a sunlounger, that isn’t really the point of a stay in the centre of town. With so many activities to tick off, lounging by the pool might just be lower down your list than usual.

One thing all visitors to Harmon must do is to make time to swing by the hotel’s rooftop bar. Local wine and friendly service make this the ideal spot to enjoy a drink before venturing out to supper. As it happens, the act of choosing a restaurant will likely be the most challenging decision of any trip to Healdsburg. Tonight’s victor was the famous Single Thread, founded by former Fat Duck chef Kyle Connaughton and awarded no fewer than three Michelin stars – but the vast array of cuisines and styles is staggering given the size of the town. Keen food tourists can get anything from pizza to sushi in Healdsburg and if high-end dining is your thing, there are two Michelin-starred establishments within a five-minute walk of the hotel. 

With an eye on our expanding waistlines, the following day was spent making use of the free bicycles and venturing out to some of the local wineries. When pressed for a route recommendation, the hotel manager confessed to being more of a beer than wine enthusiast, but this really didn’t matter, since the valleys are home to some of the most respected wineries around, so you really can’t go wrong. The style of each vineyard varies from the more rustic through to the highly curated, and all have their own charm and appeal. One thing they all share however is a collective pride in Sonoma as a wine-production area, and rightly so, since we both agreed these were some of the best bottles we have ever tasted. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, the longer cycle loop via the Lambert Bridge, stopping at the Dry Creek General Store to replenish supplies, is well worth the effort. We would also strongly advise booking vineyard visits in advance as last-minute reservations at the bigger names can be tricky. 

With so much to do in Sonoma County, from walks in the ancient redwood forests to early morning balloon rides over wine country, Harmon Guest House provides a great base to take advantage of all the area has to offer. The central location in the heart of Healdsburg is an added bonus for those who have a penchant for a good restaurant and a glass of wine or two… the stagger home will be a short one.

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Price per night from $291.20