El Dorado Hotel (EDH)

This surprisingly affordable chic boutique hotel has a lot going for it. Boasting a stellar location in Sonoma’s historic town square, it’s also home to the award winning El Dorado Kitchen, one of northern California wine country’s top restaurants. With its cool, cosmo lobby, fireplace lounge and outdoor patio, this place is a mecca for the young and urban crowd. If you’re looking for a fun, hip girlfriend getaway in Sonoma wine country, EDH is the perfect choice.

The hotel’s newly decorated rooms feature sleek, brushed steel four poster beds, luxurious linens and each room has French doors leading to a private balcony overlooking the plaza or the garden courtyard. You can also choose one of four ground floor bungalow rooms with a small attached private patio, promising hours of fun sipping wine and feeling fine with a few of your favorite girlfriends.

Corner Cafe

El Dorado’s newest addition is the Corner Café, and during our stay in Sonoma, this place had become our preferred after-hours hangout. With it’s contemporary Euro chic style, locally sourced cuisine, beer and wine on tap, it has everything a woman needs for some quality R&R after a hard day’s touring in wine country. We loved being able to order a few nibblies and then tuck ourselves away in fireplace lounge resting and toasting our tired toes during our January visit. Our Favorite: Wood Roasted Onion Dip and Kennebec Chips – if you were to order one thing at the Corner Café, this is it. Definitely not low fat, but oh soooo good.

El Dorado Kitchen (EDK)

This place is downright sexy. Cocktails, sophisticated digs, fine wine and great food, EDK has Sonoma style.

The main focal point of the restaurant is the 21-foot long table fashioned from a single wood plank reclaimed from a Vermont bridge, perfect for communal dining. This is where you want to be if the girls just want to have fun, and are up for combining a little meet and mingle with dinner. For a slightly more private girls hangout, try to book a cabana out on wisteria-laden patio, très chic!

Start the fun with a tray of EDK’s cocktails, and be sure to try the famous “peach jalapeno.” This unlikely concoction of deliciousness, made with absolut peach, sliced jalapeno peppers, lime juice, and white cranberry juice, is a great antidote after a long day of wine tasting.

Executive Chef Justin Everett describes his food as “farm driven.” His menu reflects what is the essence of Sonoma, earthy, yet sophisticated; and like Sonoma wine, his dishes have character and complexity. Our Favorites: red wine braised beef pavé with horseradish crème fraiche, liberty duck breast à la plancha and ALL the desserts.