The Stavrand – an orchard estate's Two-Key second act on the Russian River

Highway 116 leaves the Russian River behind and climbs into Guerneville, a former logging town that this charming hamlet has been drawing San Franciscans to for more than a century, before reaching a gated 1920s orchard estate that the MICHELIN Guide now rates with Two Keys. Viewed from the car park, The Stavrand looks almost impossibly old-fashioned, a landmark house raised in the Twenties at the heart of the valley; step inside, though, and a 2021 renovation reveals itself in every room, a warm, slightly bohemian reading of Californian life that keeps the bones of the original house intact. That house was built for a Guerneville bank president nicknamed Rooster and his wife Pet, who fell for the property's 60-acre apple ranch in the early 1920s. Twenty-one rooms spread across three buildings, a private dining room open only three nights a week, and six acres of orchard and redwood now carry forward what was once, as the Applewood Inn, home to its own MICHELIN-starred restaurant.

01The house

Guests check in at Belden House, a Mediterranean Revival building raised for Guerneville Bank president Ralph "Rooster" Belden and his wife Gretchen, known as "Pet", who were captivated by the property's 60-acre apple orchard in the early 1920s. It remains one of only two registered historic landmarks in the town, and since January 2024 has also carried a National Register of Historic Places listing under its full name, the Belden-Birkhofer House. Mediterranean Revival detailing survives behind the 21 rooms that now fill the building and the two newer houses beside it.

The rescue came in 2020, when hotelier Emily Glick, hunting for a pandemic escape with her family, found the shuttered estate and decided it was too good to pass up. She and her husband, working with family and friends including Santiago Ripley, spent the first half of 2021 renovating the property before reopening it that November under a new name drawn from her own family history: her late mother's maiden name, carried down from grandparents who had once run an inn of their own.

02Rooms and suites

The 21 rooms are split across three buildings. Eleven sit inside Belden House itself, pairing 1920s character with modern furnishings; ten more are spread between Cazadero House, built decades later to match Belden's style, and the newer Armstrong House.

Insider tip

Dinner is private and limited to six tables, Thursday to Saturday; book ahead of arrival.

Cazadero's rooms were rebuilt entirely in the 2021 renovation, down to the bathrooms, and most open directly onto the gardens, with gas fireplaces, freestanding soaking tubs and outdoor cedar hot tubs set under open sky. Armstrong House, the lightest of the three, adds balconies that look down onto the courtyard fire pits. Every room, whichever building, comes with robes, slippers and coffee and tea service as standard.

03Where to eat

Dinner at The Stavrand is a genuinely private affair: the dining room seats a maximum of six tables a night, open only to hotel guests and only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The four-course, prix-fixe menu changes with the seasons and is paired with local Sonoma wines chosen by Emily Glick herself, as much enthusiast as proprietor.

Produce comes in part from the Chef's Meadow, the orchard that first drew the Belden family to the site, where apples, figs and pears are there for guests to pick as they wander through. On the seasonal sample menu seen in October 2026, that translated into grilled asparagus with a soft-boiled egg, a pea-and-crème-fraîche tagliatelle, a choice of Flannery beef tenderloin or Alaskan halibut, and a strawberry pavlova to finish.

04The bar

There is no stand-alone bar, but an evening ritual does the job: each evening, guests gather around the courtyard fire pits for a complimentary aperitif hour poured from local Sonoma producers, followed by s'mores kits for the fire. Minibars in every room are stocked with Russian River pinot noir and chardonnay, so the tasting carries on well past aperitif hour.

05Spa and wellbeing

There is no formal spa building; instead, therapists come to the room, offering 60- or 90-minute Swedish or deep-tissue massage to a guest's preference, down to the therapist's gender. The heated outdoor pool, added in spring 2022, sits within the six-acre grounds alongside a hot tub, and bicycles and kayaks are kept on hand for exploring the river and the quieter lanes beyond it.

06The neighbourhood

Guerneville itself is a ten-minute walk away, reached on foot over a historic pedestrian bridge across the Russian River rather than by car. Johnson's Beach, the town's old swimming hole, is about a quarter of an hour further on foot; Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, 805 acres of old growth, is a ten-minute drive, and the Sonoma coast itself lies some ten miles to the west.

07Making the most of a stay

Book the Thursday-to-Saturday dinner well ahead of arrival: with only six tables a night, it fills quickly for a property that has already picked up a Two-Key MICHELIN Guide rating, AAA Four Diamond status and a place on Travel + Leisure's "It List" of the world's hundred best new hotels. The Stavrand belongs to Small Luxury Hotels of the World, keeping its character resolutely independent of any larger chain. Dogs are welcome in most of Cazadero and Armstrong House, up to two per room for a fee, handy for a stay built around orchard walks and river paths.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.