Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa

I had high hopes of the Sonoma Mission Inn, and it was really average. We arrived at 5pm on July 4th. We could not check in our room for another half an hour. Suites are expensive at the Fairmont, and I was surprised that our room was still not available until an hour and a half after check-in. The desk staff was very nice and friendly. We made it into our room at 5:30/ 5:45 after wandering the grounds. I noticed the pool was PACKED. Not surprising on the 4th of July. We met a very nice grounds keeper/ security guard who told us where to wander around while we waited to get into our room. We needed to wait in lines to get help at the front desk for a half an hour on several occasions. I had a treatment at the spa that would require we need a minimal delayed check out, which we were required to pay for, however even though we asked and gave out keys to be adjusted, the room keys still did not work and we waited a better part of a half an hour to get a key back in our room. The irony is we paid to wait in line. The room was ok. There was some broken glass on the fireplace, the lamp shade was damaged and the couch had studs missing. It did not feel like a high-end suite, it felt really average and unattended. That said, beds were comfortable (no sheets, just a duvet) and the space was totally fine. We felt underwhelmed by the space. The pool was packed until 6:30. It was warm and geothermal. The space by the pool was pleasant. I visited the spa while at SMI. We arrived at 9 for a 10:30 appointment. The woman at the desk was polite and told my husband they were too booked for him to buy a day pass for an hour before my treatment. She eventually allowed him to buy a pass for $49 for an hour. The space was ok. It needs updating. The sauna was not warm enough, and the cold "shower" was luke warm. The steam room did not work. My treatment was ok. I love a hydro facial and the facialist could not really inform me clearly what made it special, except for the machine. She was lovely, but robotic. I felt like she had a script and did not veer off of it. That said, she was entirely professional, kind and did a fine job. I would not return to the spa. Solage, in Calistoga, is head and shoulders better and much more beautiful. The highs of our experience were that the staff was nice and helpful. The lows were that it felt older and elements of SMI have fallen to disrepair. We had to wait unreasonable amounts of time to get anything done and there was a bit of incompetence. It is too expensive to be so thoughtless. There are so many places to stay in that area, I would not return.

Excellent check in, restaurants were great, and the rooms were very comfortable. Having access to the bikes was a treat. The only suggestion I would give would be for the spa staff to welcome your guests and to do an orientation of the spa and services/amenities available. I missed out on so much!

Hotel management quickly responded to feedbacks. Lots of indoor and outdoor facilities. Nice restaurants with various cuisines including a three Michelin starred. Lovely spa and great suite. The architecture looks like movie scenes. I have wonderful memories with my friend.

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn needs a little TLC. Dings on walls and floors throughout the property could use some attention. And, it seems a bit dated. However, the bathroom in our room was nice plus the bed was very comfortable. We had spa treatments on Thursday and they were lovely, and we enjoyed the thermal pool. We stayed on a Thursday night checking out on Friday. I wanted to use the pool/hot tub on Friday morning before departing, and their policy is to charge $69 (might be $59?) to use the pool facilities since I wasn't staying over on Friday night. This seems absurd to me and don't think I've ever experienced that at any other hotel. Ultimately, they waived the fee since literally I spent 15 minutes in the pool area, but it left me with a poor image of the hotel.

Staff issues, Food quality issues, Spa Pool too loud for peaceful experience. 8 hrs out of room and no daytime maid service or evening turndown service. Prices up, Quality falling. Bad trend direction for hotel of Fairmont level reputation/ expectations.