This California Wine Nation Retreat Has 3 Michelin Stars — Right here’s What It’s Wish to Keep

As somebody who appreciates the grandeur of luxurious inns and resorts, quaint inns have all the time had my coronary heart. It’s the intimacy of all of it: the extremely attentive workers, who’re additionally relaxed and approachable, and the sensation that you just’re being welcomed into somebody’s dwelling. This is only one of many causes I used to be so stoked to go to SingleThread, an expensive inn, restaurant, and biodiverse farm in Healdsburg, the center of Sonoma’s wine nation.

Ten months after opening in 2016, Michelin Guides awarded the husband-and-wife duo Kyle and Katina Connaughton two stars. In 2024, the 52-seat restaurant retained its three-star Michelin score alongside a three-key distinction, a newly-established Michelin award that acknowledges essentially the most distinctive inns on this planet. However, regardless of all of the accolades, the inn’s intimacy and down-to-earth ethos stay intact.

The inn is located in a primary location for these wanting to discover, and the Connaughtons are decided for visitors to do exactly that. In June 2024, SingleThread introduced a partnership with Audi, encouraging visitors to take the model’s electrical e-Tron autos out for full-day excursions. Take a scenic 35-minute drive to the Armstrong Redwood Forest or a breezy experience alongside the coast for quite a few culinary adventures. It’s a super perk for eco-conscious, pleasure-seeking vacationers.

The inn’s dedication to the Japanese artwork of hospitality, omotenashi (a meticulous and deeply considerate method of take care of visitors), is obvious in all places. From arrival, the crew had a outstanding skill to evaluate my wants earlier than I knew what they had been. After getting into my sunlight-washed suite, I discovered a decadent matcha cake and varied gourmand snacks to treatment my post-flight grogginess. Commonplace visitor rooms characteristic 14-foot ceilings with redwood beams and uncovered brick, bogs with attractive Japanese soaking tubs, and heated flooring.

After familiarizing myself with the suite, I go to SingleThread’s eponymous farm within the Dry Creek Valley. Throughout a tour, I watch co-owner and head farmer Katina kneel, dig right into a patch of earth, and pull out a Bodega Purple potato, standard within the area. Just a few rows over, she encourages me to pluck a strawberry from a bushel at my ft. Scrumptious.

“Did you attempt a tomato?” she asks. I choose a tiny golden Champagne tomato from the vine. Luscious.

“Have you ever ever seen sesame seed vegetation?” Kyle asks enthusiastically from a number of rows behind me. “As a matter of reality, no…I’ve not,” I say. He palms me a fuzzy, tubular plant with tiny purple flowers. I’m dizzy in essentially the most satisfying method.

The area’s wealthy agricultural bounty is mirrored in SingleThread’s Japanese-influenced menu. Dishes that includes Wagyu beef, king salmon tartare, tofu — and the workers’s cooking methods — reference Kyle and Katina’s expertise dwelling in Japan. In an period the place each brasserie, bistro, and salad bowl chain boasts farm-to-table components earlier than serving a dish bereft of taste and shielded by sauce, SingleThread’s restaurant is an expertise palate-weary vacationers relish.

“We get to create this unbelievable expertise; all the things we’re serving is so nutrient-dense,” Katina says, referring to the literal fruits of her labor. “I need our visitors to go away feeling invigorated, to really feel alive as in the event that they’ve been nurtured, and that each one begins right here,” she says, waving her hand over their majestic 24 acres of land.

Learn on for my full evaluation of this seed-to-table gem in Sonoma.

The Rooms

Whereas the restaurant’s Michelin-star standing is a serious draw, there’s a cause this cozy inn acquired a three-key distinction from Michelin. Although the inn sits upstairs from the restaurant, the rooms aren’t any afterthought.

Rooms listed here are ethereal and spacious, with modern, fashionable touches. Every suite has a kitchenette and state-of-the-art espresso and matcha machines. Complimentary housemade sweets and domestically made alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks are a pleasant contact. After an extended day of tastings and sightseeing, slather on a charcoal masks from a toiletry bundle that includes merchandise from manufacturers like Aesop and Botnia. Do not skip profiting from the Japanese-style soaking tub and bathtub salts.

Meals and Drink

The main focus of the Inn at SingleThread is instantly obvious when visitors arrive. They’re greeted with a grand view of the kitchen by means of a glass window within the foyer. Any try to withstand watching this grasp crew at work is futile, so go forward and be a vacationer.

Early in his profession, head chef Kyle labored with internationally acclaimed cooks equivalent to Michel Bras in Japan and Heston Blumenthal at The Fats Duck within the U.Okay.; nonetheless, his time in Japan drives this ever-changing menu. Within the mornings, a Sonoma or Japanese-inspired breakfast unfold is served bedside; it’s a lavish and detailed affair: Luna Koshihikari rice, grilled fish, and different seasonal vegetables and fruit. The ten-course tasting menu within the restaurant is a beautiful parade of greens and edible flowers from the backyard and top-of-the-line seafood. Nonetheless, beware, the primary course is greater than a dozen scrumptious bites. Amongst my favorites was the strawberry moriawase, which featured bluefin tuna, halibut shiroika, myoga, and sorrel sauce.

Be sure that to avoid wasting room for pastry chef Emma Horowitz’s beautiful creations. Raspberry, matcha, lemon balm, and miso flavors are worthy of their very own occasion. Should you choose an intimate meal in your suite, go for the new pot Donabe Dinner—a grand, unforgettable expertise. 

Actions and Experiences

SingleThread gives curated visitor experiences and actions with trusted companions and long-time distributors within the space. Go to Hog Island Oyster Farm for one of the best oysters on the town, a vigorous informal vibe, and picturesque out of doors eating alongside Tomales Bay.

Whereas there are quite a few wonderful wine-tasting choices within the space, Medlock Ames gives two areas with distinctive experiences: their boutique tasting room is a 10-minute drive from the inn, and their Bell Mountain Ranch is a 25-minute drive away. It options 44 acres of vineyards, 650 olive timber, an orchard, and a market backyard. Should you’re craving one thing extra family-friendly, go to the beautiful McEvoy Ranch for an olive oil tasting. The family-run property is planted on a picturesque working farm spanning 550 acres.

Accessibility and Sustainability

One of many inn’s 5 rooms is an ADA-accessible visitor room with an accessible bathe as an alternative of a soaking tub.

Location

The situation is about an hour-and-a-half drive north of the San Francisco Worldwide Airport. 

The way to Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep 

Suites begin at about $1,700 an evening. Costs embrace a multi-course breakfast for 2 ready by the culinary crew. Usually, a dinner reservation on the restaurant entails months of ready; nonetheless, reservations are assured for resort visitors.

Benefit from the complimentary automobile service to profit from your keep. Healdsburg’s proximity to quite a few must-visit locations round Sonoma is a major perk.