The Madrona
an 1881 Victorian mansion set on eight acres 1.6 km from the centre of Healdsburg, reopened in 2022 with twenty-four rooms
The place
On Westside Road, the white three-storey house stands out for its fretwork gables and bay windows, behind a screen of oaks. Around it, eight acres of gardens, half an acre of kitchen garden according to the operator's website, and a saltwater pool.
Twenty-four rooms only, and an entry rate that Mr and Mrs Smith puts at 526.42 USD a night, taxes and breakfast included. On top of that comes a 40 USD daily resort fee, stated by the operator in its FAQ.
The Paxton mansion took a hundred and forty years to become a place to sleep again
Sources do not agree on the date of construction. The operator's website and Sonoma Magazine speak of an 1881 Victorian mansion; Wikipedia states that John Alexander Paxton, a San Francisco businessman, bought 260 acres in 1879 for 10,500 USD and had the seventeen-room house built between 1880 and 1881; Forbes, in its article of 28 April 2022, simply writes "built in 1879". Wikipedia notes that the estate, reduced to eight acres, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 2 April 1987, under the name Madrona Knoll Rancho District.
The place became a country inn in 1981 under the name Madrona Manor, with John Harry Muir, then passed in 1999 to Bill and Trudi Konrad, whose restaurant won a Michelin star in 2008 with chef Jesse Mallgren, again according to Wikipedia. The house closed, then reopened on 22 April 2022 as The Madrona, led by the decorator Jay Jeffers, Cory Schisler and Kyle Jeffers. Forbes describes a restoration drawing on the Aesthetic Movement, with cracks in old tiles filled with gold leaf and fabrics after William Morris.
The operator's FAQ gives twenty-four rooms across nine categories. The Accommodations page organises them into three families: the mansion and the Carriage House with the Studio, Salon and Salon with a Balcony, the Bungalows with Studio, One Bedroom Suite and Two Bedroom Suite, and the Owner's Loft, a one-bedroom suite at the top of the oldest building. Mr and Mrs Smith counts six suites in the total; Sonoma County Tourism spreads the twenty-four keys across six buildings. Only one room is accessible, the FAQ specifies, along with an accessible cubicle in the public toilets.
A restaurant open to the public, gardens that supply the kitchen, and a bill that adds up quickly
The shared areas are contained in the mansion: parlours turned into dining rooms, the original staircase, Hannah's Bar open every day from about 3pm to 9pm, the Palm Terrace for outdoor service. The website mentions an art collection assembled with the Dolby Chadwick Gallery, whose pieces are for sale. On facilities, the FAQ mentions a private gym with Peloton and Tonal equipment, and a seasonal saltwater pool reserved for guests, open from 7am to 10pm; Mr and Mrs Smith says it is heated from April to November.
The gardens cover half an acre according to the operator's website, designed with Aris Curtis, a regenerative agriculture consultant; Forbes referred in 2022 to a quarter-acre kitchen garden and a citrus orchard, and the contradiction remains unresolved. The kitchen has been run since June 2023 by chef Patrick Tafoya, Jesse Mallgren having left in May 2023 for Jordan Winery, according to Sonoma Magazine. Lunch offers a 45 USD two-course set menu; dinner is served from 5.30pm to 8pm only.
Charged on top: the resort fee of 40 USD a night, the dog at 150 USD per stay according to the operator, with Expedia adding a 150 USD deposit that the website does not mention, the airport transfer at 110 USD each way to STS, and paid experiences such as the Garden to Glass cocktail workshop with Scott Beattie, in groups of eight to twenty-four. Continental breakfast, for its part, is included in the rate. There is no spa on site, the FAQ states explicitly, whereas En Primeur Club lists "spa services".
Healdsburg is a mile away, but you get there by car
Healdsburg, about 12,000 inhabitants, sits at the junction of three Sonoma County appellations: Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley. The central square, its tasting rooms and its restaurants are 1.6 km from the hotel, on the other side of Dry Creek. The operator's FAQ names the Jordan, Seghesio, Dry Creek Vineyard and Ferrari-Carano wineries, along with hiking, horse riding and kayaking on the Russian River as activities in the area.
The hotel stands apart from the town, on Westside Road, which is an asset for quiet and a constraint for getting about. Electric bikes are made available to guests according to Mr and Mrs Smith and Tripadvisor, and the operator provides a free car service within a 1-mile radius, chargeable up to 5 miles subject to availability.
Recent news: the Michelin guide awards it two MICHELIN Keys, obtained in 2024 and confirmed in 2025 according to the Press Democrat of 28 August 2025; En Primeur Club reports a La Liste score of 92 points in 2026 and a Mr and Mrs Smith Seal of Approval in 2026. The summer screening series is in its fourth season. Finally, SMART began work in March 2026 on its nine-mile rail extension between Windsor and Healdsburg; the operator is targeting an opening at the end of 2028, which changes nothing about access until then.
What to take away
- The fretwork gables and bay windows of the 1881 mansion, seen from the rose garden.
- The dining room with its yellow walls, papered coffered ceiling and amber globe chandeliers.
- The rectangular saltwater pool, with its black and white striped parasols, seen from above.
- The original cement tiles at the foot of the staircase, and its bull's-eye window.
The first point is the resort fee: 40 USD a night, stated by the operator, which is added to the displayed rate and covers no clearly listed service. Entry rates differ sharply from channel to channel: Mr and Mrs Smith quotes 526.42 USD including taxes and breakfast, En Primeur Club 436 USD, Hotels.com 432 USD, while Tripadvisor puts the standard room between 546 and 957 USD; the gap comes down to the season and to whether or not taxes are included. A second divergence, the children policy: Expedia presents the hotel as adults-only, refusing under-12s, whereas the operator's FAQ merely sets the minimum check-in age at 21 and offers travel cots for infants. Third point, the spa: the FAQ answers "No" to the question of whether there is one, but En Primeur Club mentions spa services. We were unable to read the Booking.com listing, whose page returns an anti-bot block; the only verifiable ratings are those of Tripadvisor, 4.6 out of 5 from 188 reviews and third out of 14 hotels in Healdsburg, of Hotels.com, 9.6 out of 10 from 56 reviews, and of Expedia, 9.6 out of 10 from 53 reviews, very uneven samples. The Tripadvisor reviews come back to beds judged too firm, weak air conditioning in the older buildings, a breakfast with little variety over several nights and restaurant bills above 400 USD. Add the dog at 150 USD per stay, plus a 150 USD deposit according to Expedia alone, free cancellation limited to 7 days before arrival, dinner served from 5.30pm to 8pm only, the absence of laundry on site and a single accessible room out of twenty-four.
We have not stayed at this property. This entry is written from verified sources, including the operator's own website, rather than from a visit.
Practical information
The nearest airport is Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County (STS), 14.6 km away, or 14 minutes by road according to Rome2Rio; the hotel arranges the transfer for 110 USD each way. San Francisco International (SFO) is 132 km away, with 1 hr 34 min of driving given by Rome2Rio, more at peak times on the 101. Oakland is an alternative of comparable duration.
Public transport exists but remains slow: from STS, Sonoma County Transit routes 62 then 60 take about 1 hr 19 min for 2 to 4 USD, with a change at Windsor River Road; from SFO, allow 3 hr 47 min to 6 hr depending on the bus and train combination. The SMART train currently stops at Windsor, not at Healdsburg. Parking is on site, with valet parking; the operator publishes no price, while Expedia and Hotels.com describe self-parking and valet parking as free.