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The Bodega Bay Lodge is Sonoma County’s most versatile high-end hotel. Fashioned in California’s coastal style between Doran Bay and the Shoreline Highway, the property is a wine country retreat for people bored with traditional wine country retreats. Its on-site restaurant, Drake’s Sonoma Coast, serves locally sourced ingredients and seafood, known especially for its bay scallop crudo and king salmon, and also offers bites in a fireside lounge looking out over the bay.

Location is your biggest asset here at the Bodega Bay Lodge, apparent both in the hotel’s dramatic views of the coast and in its ease of access to nearby tastings, dining, and even golf. From the hotel you can quickly escape to the rocky beaches Northern California is known for, or head to the wineries farther inland. Bodega Bay itself is encased between a variety of hiking trails ranging from easy quick-hits to moderate challenges. Try the Bodega Head Trail and Bodega Bay Trailhead, both a quick loop around Westshore Road from the hotel. Afterward, relax at either Campbell Cove Beach or Bodega Dunes Beach.

We suggest heading back towards the Bodega Bay Lodge in the early evening, however; the sunset views from the nearby Pinnacle Beach, at the end of the 1.2-mile Pinnacle Gulch Trail, are the best around. While the hotel is luxurious and welcoming, it distinguishes itself from the rest thanks to its service and location, proving there’s more to wine country than tastings.

Price: From $479 per night

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Grab this $29 Sonoma and Napa wine passport for discounts at over 75 wineries

Vineyards,In,Sonoma,,California, Bodega Bay Lodge

Photo: CAN BALCIOGLU/Shutterstock

When To Travel: Anytime in 2021
Fully refundable: Yes

Whether or not you stay at the Bodega Bay Lodge on your visit to Northern California’s wine country, take advantage of this incredible Travelzoo deal that secures your buy-one-get-one wine tastings at more than 75 wineries in the Sonoma and Napa wine regions.

In addition to the BOGO tastings, this passport entitles you to discounts on bottle purchases at most participating wineries and a handful of other discounts varying by location. Popular wineries included in the passport are Rutherford Ranch Winery, Tamber Bey, Korbel Champagne Cellars, and Francis Ford Coppola Winery, among others. The passport is unlimited, meaning you can use it as much as you like. Say you love a particular spot and want to lap it several times — go for it. Or get a count going and see how many wineries you and your wine touring partner can visit by the end of the year. For $29, you can’t go wrong.

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