The Rooms at Montage Healdsburg

Once you arrive at Montage and its nearly 260 acres, you feel completely separated from the outside world despite being just three miles from Healdsburg's charming square. From the front, the rooms, built with organic materials like wood, stone, and copper, look like luxury treehouses that blend into the lush and gently sloping natural landscape. Each has a spacious balcony or deck (many have fire pits) and either a forest, vineyard, or mountain view.

My bungalow suite seemingly floated among the oak trees and looked out at Mount St. Helena, a view that offered up a pretty epic sunset each night. There were floor-to-ceiling windows throughout, including one by the toilet with a forest view (don't worry, there was a shade if we wanted it), a large living space, a soaking tub, and my favorite amenity: an outdoor shower. It wasn't as warm out as I would have liked it to be, but I refused to waste the opportunity and took a quick one anyway.

The Food at Montage Healdsburg

Montage has several dining concepts and its main restaurant, Hazel Hill, with the adjoining Scout Field Bar, is the central gathering place of the resort. Both are accessible from the indoor/outdoor lobby and locals and guests alike were gathered around the fire pits each evening sipping original cocktails with small plates. You'll often find former Meadowood mixologist Scott Beattie behind the bar at Scout. I opted for the Song Sparrow, a violet-colored blanco tequila and mezcal concoction that screamed spring.

Montage Healdsburg executive chef Jaron Dubinsky has cooked all over the world for luxury properties, including most recently at Montage Los Cabos and before that at Ritz Carlton resorts in Dallas, Half Moon Bay, and St. Thomas. I'd wager that Dubinsky will lead the restaurant into Michelin star territory after sampling dishes like the wagyu beef tartare on bone marrow toast; spicy-sweet heirloom carrots in coconut yogurt; and Liberty Farms duck slathered in a honey and sherry vinegar glaze with popped sorghum (a caramelized popcorn topping). The duck was my favorite dish of the evening.

Also on site is the Healdsburg Country Store, the perfect spot for coffee, cold-pressed juice, or a parfait to start your day, or a sandwich and hard kombucha later. Later this spring, poolside dining—think crab rolls, fish tacos, and other light bites—will be available at the Hudson Springs Bar and Grill. On the final night of our stay, we opted for in-room dining and the Hazel Hill burger (double patty, aged gruyere, caramelized onions, and black truffle aioli on a brioche bun) hit the spot for a cozy night in.

The Wine Program at Montage Healdsburg

Wine is, unsurprisingly, a theme at Montage, which is at the center of three incredible Sonoma wine regions: Alexander Valley, Russian River, and Dry Creek Valley. The resort has gone so far as to plant 15.5 acres of vines throughout the property. For now, they're mostly just stakes in the ground, but over the next few years, they'll become a beautiful fixture on the property made for proposals and photoshoots and will even produce some wine for the Montage's private label. For that, Montage has hired wine wonderboy Jesse Katz as their partner winemaker (Katz also opened his stunning new Aperture Cellars in Healdsburg last summer).

Beverage manager and sommelier Petra Polakovicova has curated a wine list for Hazel Hill that covers nearly every sub-AVA of Sonoma County and offers a good range of price points. You'll find the usual big players, but also a ton of small producers that don't have tasting rooms and a fun diversity of varietals that you don't often find, like vermentino and barbera.

Montage has also partnered with some local wineries to offer exclusive and private tasting experiences that are only offered to their guests. If you do go, two of my favorite Sonoma County wineries to visit this time of year are Flowers Vineyards & Winery and Ferrari Carano, the latter of which just launched brunch service and has incredible gardens in full bloom.

Spa + Leisure at Montage Healdsburg

There's so much to explore in Healdsburg and the surrounding Wine Country—I suggest visiting the Montage's Compass Sports outpost and renting electric bikes to take on the country backroads—but there's also plenty to keep you occupied at the resort if you don't feel like leaving, including walking trails, archery, pickleball, and vineyard yoga. Montage also has two pools (including a zero-edge, adults-only sanctuary) and a spa.

I booked a private yoga session among the baby vines with Carrie Sotebeer, the spa director, who is also a longtime yogi. She was amazing at adapting the session to the back issues I was dealing with and ended it with a super-relaxing bowl treatment that nearly lulled me to sleep.

Afterward, I continued to bliss out during one of the best and most unique spa experiences of my life. The Harvest Honey Ginger Fusion Ritual, a signature Montage treatment, was truly the best of everything offering three treatments in one. Over the course of 90 minutes, I had an exfoliating body scrub, a soothing and cocooning wrap, and then a massage that utilized hot and cold basalt stones. At one point, honey was even drizzled on my back and while the idea of it was a little weird, I'll admit, I liked it.