Fern Grove Cottages

Update - here’s the “breakfast selection”. This pace seems mismanaged and has a lot more potential if small things like having breakfast on site, wifi which actually works, and landscaping around the rooms so you don’t feel like you’re on the major road.

The accommodations were perfect. There were several of our family units who met up at Dawn Ranch. Each unit of our party stayed in a separate cabin, I would describe as rustic chic. The cabins themselves were minimalistic, but ingeniously and elegantly appointed, each with its own air conditioner/heating element, double sided fireplace, bedroom, sitting area, and bathroom. The bathroom was itself quite lovely, with a large walk-in shower, and golden-bronze European style fixtures. Each bathroom was stocked with le labo products, which had a fresh, light fragrance, so appealing, that I searched online and ordered to have at home. The staff here were all friendly, professional, and helpful, and were able to direct us to services and other highlights on this large property, including access to the Russian River, a spa, a restaurant, and beautiful gardens meticulously maintained. They also were able to offer information about services in the area, including restaurants, shops, and attractions. It was quite a treat, and my gratitude goes to everyone who contributed to a very special experience.

The property is beautiful and conveniently located, the rooms are clean and cute, and the food at the lodge was delicious. I had a wonderful time staying here for those reasons but there were a few hiccups that occurred during my 2-night stay that soured my experience. First, on our second day we were informed with very little notice that the water to the majority of the property, including our room, would be shut off for several hours. My friend was at the spa receiving a massage at the time and was unable to shower until they finally turned back on the water at 7pm. I do understand things happen, but they were not very apologetic about the situation and this put a damper on our plans for the day/evening. Additionally, I would have liked for them to offer us bottled in the room to brush our teeth and wash up with at the very least. Unlike my friend, I managed to shower before the water was shut off, but as I was drying my hair with one of the hair dryers provided in our room, it caught on fire. By this time the water had been shut off, which made this situation potentially disastrous. Fortunately I was able to put out the fire and promptly contacted the front desk about the incident. They brought me a new hair dryer but again, there was a distinct lack of apology or concern, even after showing them the melted hair dryer. I had to air out our room for several hours after this to get rid of the smell. Lastly, when we arrived at the lodge for our dinner reservation, we were informed our table was not ready. No problem, except we wound up waiting 25 mins past our reservation time to be seated. This was a frustrating end to our day to say the least. When we were finally sat, I hoped we might receive a glass of champagne or something as a small token of apology but the tardiness was not even acknowledged. After checking out I was contacted about our stay and provided the above feedback. It has now been over a week now and I’ve yet to receive a response from management or anyone affiliated with Dawn Ranch. Again, I truly wanted to love my stay here, but unfortunately these couple glitches made the weekend less enjoyable than it could have been.