We were planning a long 4 day weekend and wanted to go to the "wine country". We found MacArthur Place surfing the web and the web site looked good and so did its Trip Advisor ratings. We booked the Premium Suite and we very pleased with the room. I stay in hotels mostly for business and it was a pleasant change from the typical hotel room. Big beautiful bathroom, great showerhead, huge tub that opened to the room (you could close it off too), fireplace, etc. We really felt at home during our 4 days. The staff is friendlly and seem to geniuenly enjoy what they are doing. The gardens are amazing (my wife is into plants and was writing down names off the garden signs) The pool is heated and it was nice even though it was cool outside. My wife had a facial at the spa and enjoyed it (and bought out the store) .... We did dinner one night at Saddles. I like a good steak and martini, so I was in heaven. Huge martinis, and filet w/ creamed spinach and baked pototo - very good dinner. Also went to girl and the fig one night and had an excellent dinner. The grapes had just been picked so there was a lot of activity at the wineries. We visited Ravenswood and Buena Vista and both were friendly and had good wines - but there was more wine making activity to watch at Ravenswood. Overall it was a great trip .

The MacArthur came recommended to us by some friends in Sonoma; though they had never stayed there themselves. Our expectations were high based on what we encountered on the website, as well as the numerous reviews we found on the internet. Maybe our expectations were too high going in as we found the overall experience average for the rate.

The property is located about one half mile from Sonoma square among a mix of commercial and residential. The grounds are well maintained with many paths, plantings, and sculptures. The rooms are mostly housed in small buildings that reminded me of the type you find in some of the resorts in New England. There is a well stocked library with a variety of books, games and DVD’s. Parking in the main lot near the front desk is very limited and is marked for hotel guests only; however, non-guests, coming to eat at the restaurant, seemed to miss the signs. The other parking area for hotel guests was somewhat of a hike to our room, as we had the building closest to the front.

The room we had was somewhat of a let down. The decorating was uninspired and very basic. We had expected more based on the rates. The room was clean, the TV and other equipment operational, and there was a refrigerator with mini bar. The linens appeared to be worn but clean, and the bed was well broken in. The bathroom was compact and featured everything except an exhaust fan. This wreaked havoc when it came time for both of us to prepare for the day, and again before dinner. The steam was thick enough to bottle from the shower, which had no door. We wanted to open the window, however we had a ground floor room and the bath window was facing the entrance. If I were dishonest I would have taken the bath towels home. Loved the bath towels.

Our room included a continental breakfast which we took advantage of on one occasion. The best part of the breakfast offerings was the granola, which they prepare in-house. The dining room is meant to resemble a stable; the name of the restaurant is Saddles. I would recommend taking some extra match books with you to assist in leveling the tables on the tile floor. After talking with an honest front desk clerk we decided to skip dinner at Saddles, therefore, we can not comment on service or food quality.

We did take in services at the spa on property. Avoid it at all costs. Our massage session was nothing more than an oily rub down. The rooms and service providers are not as good as can be found elsewhere in the area.

To sum it up – The grounds are very nice, location was adequate, and the rooms a bit too basic for the rates. We would choose the Sonoma Mission Inn over this property. Avoid the Spa.

My husband and I stayed at the MacArthur Place for a long weekend in wine country. Check in was very fast and friendly. The hotel is laid out more like a series of small cottages, tucked away inside little gardens. The cottages are very secluded, although there are several hotel rooms per cottage. All rooms are private with large bathrooms. I was disappointed that there was only a shower and not a tub in that expensive a room. The room was huge and nicely decorated with a very large comfortable bed. There was a fridge and well stocked minibar. The windows all opened out to various gardens. There was even a place to plug in an ipod and listen to your music in the room.

There was a very nice wine tasting in the library every day from 5-6. We didn't participate but we saw several groups enjoying wine and cheese. There were also very limited but free dvd rentals in the library.

Overall this was a very nice hotel but a little overpriced. It is within walking distance to the downtown Sonoma square, which was excellent. We'd stay here again if it was less expensive.

We ventured on a mother/daughter wine get-away, wanting to stay at MacArthur but found it was too pricey and they didn't have rooms to accommodate separate bedding. All rooms were over $325; however our travel agent happened to look again one more time and found a $199 room! She booked it for us, knowing we had our heart set on MacArthur from the beginning and THAT price was well within our price range. One hr later that price was gone from their web site rates, kudos to our travel agent! It was confirmed as their standard room, however upon check-in they upgraded us to a huge, King bed deluxe suite. Very nice, great sitting area, upstairs balcony, overlooking the side parking lot, but never noisy. Huge bathroom, jacuzzi tub, glassed tub sides, separate toilet room, only complaint was very hazardous entry/exit into tub. Very friendly, considerate maids, nice touch with little creams and chocolates on the pillows, along with tomorrows forecast. Nice! Superb wine/cheese gathering in the library between 5 - 7 pm, either outside or inside lounging, great conversation and even better hostess with a wonderful personality. Front desk was very helpful, make sure you ask for all the free wine tasting coupons you can have, well worth it. Most are for Sonoma wineries, but they have a few for Napa. Arrange to get them on your first day, and then organize your visits around the coupons. We used the very small fitness room each morning, clean, simple and a little outdated machines. Pool was very refreshing, comfortable lounge chairs and tables, nice private jacuzzi off to the side. We found the pool a nice stop off each morning to enjoy coffee and paper. Fantastic above average continental breakfast, very fresh pastry and fruits, hard boiled eggs, and fantastic service by the young men, always a great smile and very helpful. ANOTHER STORY WITH THE NIGHTTIME WAITSTAFF!!!! We were seated to a 1/3 full room, and were given the choice of inside or in their new barn patio room, we choose the barn patio. Our waitress was Sandy, and she was the most rude, uncaring person we met in all our travels in CA! When asked about the Caesar salad, she answered as she walked away, just about threw our meals on the table, we asked for dressing on the side, and rolled her eyes and walked away,.... could go on and on, ...she needs to be fired! On the other hand, the same young men who were working at 6 am that morning were more helpful than Sandy and also working that same night! Overall we had a most memorable stay, and will definitely return to MacArthur. We just hope Sandy is gone!