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Healdsburg Sonoma County is often referred to as the “other wine country.” But while it’s not as famous as the Napa Valley, its quiet towns are part of its charm. And Healdsburg has both small-town charm and a hip urban flair. Enter the gates of the Honor Mansion and you’ll be greeted by a garden pond of giant jumping Koi, lips pursed and ready to be fed. The rooms are impeccable and appointed with hot tubs on private decks, sumptuous bedding and parlors that invite you to curl up on the couch with a glass of good wine and a novel. But that can come much later, after a bike ride through the Dry Creek vineyards (Spoke Folk Cyclery has bike rentals) or a tour of the Alexander Valley by horse-drawn carriage (through Flying Horse Carriage Co.). There are dozens of boutique wineries to explore, but save room for dinner at the popular Dry Creek Kitchen, where famed chef Charlie Palmer features locally raised duck, lamb and a bounty of artisan wines and cheeses. Or try dinner at Healdsburg’s new hot spot Cyrus, the French Laundry of Sonoma County. For live jazz, the Hotel Healdsburg is on the radar, and the buzz is that Barn Diva (a big red barn in the center of town) is the hippest place to get a drink. All are within strolling distance of the mansion. Awesome food, impeccable service and an atmosphere that’s just a little bit country. Healdsburg is hands down the best wine town around.
Eureka More than a dozen U.S. cities call themselves Eureka, but it’s the Northern California town that lives up to its name. With towering redwoods and a spectacular coast, our forefathers had plenty to shout about besides gold. The wealth they amassed is still evident today, in the hundreds of Victorian homes, many of which are operating as elegant inns in Eureka. Four such grand ladies make up the Carter House on Humboldt Bay, where fresh flowers adorn each room and the sun streams in through oversized windows. Take your tea in the garden, where organic fruits and vegetables are grown for the hotel’s award-winning Restaurant 301. This is your spot for dinner later, but not before checking out Humboldt County’s legendary live music scene, at one of Eureka’s hip places like Rumours (blues, funk, soul—you name it) or Irish folk music at Gallagher’s Pub. Wrap up your stay with a walk on a black sand beach (there are great beaches just five minutes from downtown) or a drive through—yes, through—a giant Redwood (there are three drive-through trees not far from Eureka). Don’t be disappointed if you can’t fit everything in. Like the name implies, there’s a lot to discover in Eureka.
Crystal Bay In the battle for nightlife, South Lake Tahoe has always overshadowed its neighbor to the North. Or has it? There was a time in the 1960s when the North Shore was playground to celebrities, presidents—even mobsters, when Sinatra owned the Cal Neva Resort at Crystal Bay. Though he was forced to sell it when the Nevada Gaming Commission caught Sam Giancana on the property, you can still stay in Frankie’s cottage and walk through the tunnel he used to sneak guests like Giancana and Marilyn Monroe from casino to showroom. The Sinatra showroom may be dark these days, but you can still toast the Rat Pack in the hotel’s stained-glass Circle Bar and see photos of the boys in the hallways.
What the Cal Neva lacks in nightlife, they pick up across the street at the Tahoe Biltmore. Live bands play nightly, and it’s a cool place for dancing and shooting craps or playing cards.
An exceptional meal is just a short walk through the woods to the romantic log cabin restaurant called The Soule Domain. Chef Charlie Soule is known for his sassy sauté, with dishes like basil-butter sea scallops and rosemary-enhanced escargot with burgundy butter in a pastry shell. Wrap up your stay with a massage at the new high-end spa at the nearby Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, and you’ll find you’ve got “the world on a string.”
Seattle Seattle is a city of moods. Broody yet provocative, she’s like a warm cappuccino in a swirling fog. Why else would one of the city’s great attractions be the new Seattle Public Library? An 11-story architectural masterpiece, it’s high on the list of attractions for its panoramic view, outrageous collection of books (well over 1 million) and elegant espresso bar. It’s a fitting tribute to a town where you need nothing more than a good read and a great cup of coffee to be satisfied.
Of course, staying in opulence doesn’t hurt either, and no hotel matches The Fairmont Olympic for elegance and appointments. It’s Italian Renaissance with high-tech convenience, and it’s close to Seattle’s hottest restaurants and nightclubs—places like Crush, where patrons line up for the culinary creations of acclaimed local chef Jason Wilson. His winebraised short ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender and served with signature sides like rosemary/sage gnocchi. The Crocodile Café is the epicenter of the city’s grunge music scene, and Club Medusa combines laser lights and fog machines with a pulsating techno-beat.
Couple the nightlife with stalwart attractions like Pikes Market and the Space Needle (now called O Deck), and there’s barely enough time (or energy) to soak up the natural beauty of sparkling Puget Sound and snowcapped Mount Rainier. That might be why caffeine is so popular here.
Snowbird There are few places on earth that are consistently heaven for skiers. Snowbird is one of them. Deep in the Wasatch Mountains, just a half-hour from Salt Lake City, Snowbird is a mother of a mountain, usually neckhigh in powder and with enough terrain to keep both skiers and boarders smiling. The place to stay, here, is the venerable Cliff Lodge, with its ski in-and-out access and the world class Cliff Spa (with an outrageous rooftop pool). Pinned against the mountain with peaks that loom large through almost every window, the lodge was under avalanche lockdown until 10 am the day I was there. After a hearty breakfast, we descended into a snowstorm and were treated to drifts of champagne powder that, for a boarder, was like floating on clouds. It’s this incredible unleashing of nature and the feeling of weightlessness that draws people to Snowbird.
But a person can’t live on powder alone. The Cliff Lodge has remarkable food and live music for a remote ski resort. On the high end, there’s Aerie Restaurant with its heart-stopping views and award-winning entrées like venison loin with sweet potatoes and braised greens. Or try intimate Italian with The Wildflower Restaurant and the spicy shrimp scampi. There’s no reason to skimp on calories. You’ll burn that off and more on a mountain that boasts everything from climbing to carving on its list of activities. It makes for a great getaway to a spot where you might just decide you never want to leave.
