Travel

Sonoma

Establishment neighborhood
Layla
29 E MacArthur St., Sonoma
A meal at the restaurant at Sonoma’s MacArthur Place, Layla, feels like you’re dining in a friend’s beautiful backyard. The indoor dining room is in an airy, light-filled modern barn, but you’ll want to snag a seat on the patio, where you’re surrounded by lush trees and greenery. That’s to say: For an upscale hotel restaurant, Layla is as stunning as it should be, yet it remains warm and inviting—a pillar of dining in Sonoma Valley. The Mediterranean-focused menu leans on locally sourced ingredients and bright, fresh flavors, like the crispy Spanish octopus paired with black risotto and tender lamb chops served with roasted baby artichokes and fava beans.
MacArthur Place
29 E MacArthur St., Sonoma
Founded over a century ago as family estate, vineyard, and working ranch, this newly remodeled property is a bucolic, low-key-luxurious landing spot for visiting oenophiles. Each of its sixty-four rooms—which are nestled in private (socially distanced!) farmhouse-style cottages—is appointed with custom furnishings, cloudlike linens, art by local artists-in-residence, and in some cases: a stunning outdoor shower. But the true beauty is in the grounds, which boast lush lawns and gardens, winding flagstone paths, verdant archways, and cozy firepits to unwind by after a day of tastings. Don’t skip the on-site dining at Layla (locals flock to this Mediterranean-meets-farm-kitchen spot every day of the week) or the spa, which offers an extensive menu of relaxing facials and massages featuring essential oils made from local flowers, herbs, and plants.
Sumbody Natural Cosmetics Store and Spa Treatments
118 N. Main St., Sebastopol
Treatments at this dreamy oasis happen in chic tent cabanas—and truly feel like a reprieve from the world. A ten-minute consultation allows the aesthetician to craft a whole protocol for you and to blend the purest seasonal ingredients right in front of you. After you’re slathered in a variety of pore-clearing masks, mineral-packed serums, and antioxidant-spiked creams, the heavenliness is topped off with a hand, neck, and shoulder massage. You emerge radiant beyond belief and profoundly rested.
Scribe Winery
2300 Napa Rd., Sonoma
If there's such a thing as a hipster winery, Scribe Winery probably qualifies. Owned by young brothers and located in Sonoma, it's a small production vineyard with a decidedly unstuffy vibe—you'll sit at a picnic table or swing on a rope swing while you sample their rosé. There's a historic hacienda located on the property that the brothers are in the midst of restoring. It promises to be a fantastic tasting room (and an even better event venue), but until the project is finished, they're happily running their tastings on an outdoor hillside lovingly dubbed "the knoll."