Review: Hotel Trio Healdsburg, a Marriott Hotel

In a nutshell: the Hotel Trio Healdsburg is an upscale extended-stay hotel with a decent Sonoma County location, friendly staff, and nice facilities. Technically under the Residence Inn umbrella, it’s nicer than other properties within the brand. The one catch is the high nightly rates the hotel commands, which I was able to avoid by booking with a 50,000-point free night certificate. 

Sonoma County is one of my least favorite places to look for hotel stays. There are lots of markets where I love doing research. This ain’t one of them. First, prices are always expensive, whether I’m booking on points or using cash. Second, it’s pretty close to home, and there is the temptation to book as few nights as possible and just drive the 4 hours back up to Humboldt.

But when you have lots of extra hotel certificates, it makes things easier. I have been sitting on four free nights issued from the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless deal from last November. So burning a couple for a stay while visiting family seemed like a decent idea. Little did I know Marriott was going to extend their expiration within a week of booking the stay.

Of the Marriott properties in the area, the nicest one I could find was the Hotel Trio Healdsburg. I’ve looked at it a few times, intrigued because while it is a Residence Inn, it doesn’t share all the branding. In some ways, it feels like a one-off boutique property. With rates of $240 per night before taxes, I was happy to burn the certificates.

Arriving in Healdsburg

As a friend remarked, Healdsburg has gone from being a quiet farm town (okay, he called it a “hick town”) to a one of the most gentrified Sonoma County communities. It’s not the first to mind when looking for places to visit in California wine country, but that doesn’t mean you should skip it. The location is nice, and Healdsburg has a cool little downtown.

The Hotel Trio Healdsburg is located on Dry Creek Road, and you can get there by taking the exit of the same name and heading east. It’s two blocks from the freeway on ramp. I was able to snag a parking space not too far from the entrance. Some of the spaces are pretty far behind the hotel.

The Hotel Trio Healdsburg has an inviting lobby. A bit different than other Residence Inn properties I’ve been to.

I was given a standard king room, the same type I’d reserved with my free night certificate. The lady at the front desk remarked that they had lots of space, which tells me that rates will surely climb into the $300s if they do get busy. Crazy.

Hotel Trio Healdsburg Impressions

First impressions can be everything, and the Hotel Trio Healdsburg made some good ones. The lobby has a nice variety of seating, and there were people hanging out most times I passed through. There is also a small bar at the far end, although it seemed to be closed.

Since I visited at the end of October, the hotel had a pumpkin carving contest where guests could vote for their favorite. I placed one. If this is a staff competition, I hope there was a nice prize.

Heading up to my room, I glanced out the window at the courtyard. You can see the outdoor pool and bocce ball court. If I had not been windy and raining all the following day, I likely would have gone for a swim. Summer rain I don’t mind. But that is rare. It was wet and nasty during my stay.

One major detraction is the destination fee that the hotel charges. I believe it is $18 per day, plus tax. You do get a half bottle of wine. I would have much preferred red, but that was not an option. I didn’t care for this Sauvignon Blanc. The lady at the front desk said I was welcome to another for my second night. Better than most hotels do when it comes to the resort fee, in any case.

King Suite

As an extended stay hotel, the Hotel Trio Healdsburg offers a full kitchen in every room. You enter into the kitchen, which is well equipped and has a nice, large counter with barstools that separates it from the living area.

The living area is small, but nicely appointed, and fine for two people. There is a desk by the window. The king suite offers a single TV that can swivel, depending on whether you want to watch from the living room or from the bed. The bed itself is very comfortable.

The Hotel Trio king suite offers a large and well-appointed bathroom. There is no tub, which is fine by me, personally. I’d rather just a nice, large shower.

The shower amenities are unfortunately full size bottles. I do want to note that these had no container or enclosure preventing anyone from opening or tampering with them. If you look closely in the photo, you’ll notice one isn’t locked fully into place. If I’d wanted, I could have walked off with all three. The lack of a tamper-proof mount doesn’t bug me personally, but I know this is a big deal to some.

The room closet is also contained within the bathroom.

Back to the kitchen. Each of the 122 Hotel Trio Healdsburg guest suites offers a full kitchen including a sink, full size refrigerator, small stovetop, cookware, flatware and dishes for four, and a handful of other cooking and dining necessities.

You also have both an in-room coffee maker, microwave, and a small dishwasher.

The view was honestly probably the worst feature of the room.

Breakfast

As part of the Residence Inn brand, the Hotel Trio Healdsburg offers a full hot breakfast in the morning. Hot options included only eggs and sausage, sadly. There were no potatoes, French toast, or other items.

Plenty of cold options with cereal, muffins, bagels, yogurt, and hard boiled eggs. You could also make your own instant oatmeal. I’m not sure if this is their normal offering or if things are simpler since COVID-19 hit. Overall, breakfast was missed the mark a bit from what I was expecting, especially given the nightly rate.

Property Amenities

The hotel offers a nice fitness center, which I did take advantage of during my stay. The plan was to go for a job through town, but I didn’t feel like braving the wind and rain. I jogged inside. I could have tried one of these Peloton things for the first time, had I wished.

The hotel offers a small market with a bunch of food items, drinks, and some other necessities. Prices are pretty steep, of course, as you’re paying for convenience.

One final unique offering by the Hotel Trio Healdsburg are the rental bikes.

In terms of location, you’re in Sonoma County, which is the middle of California wine country. The Napa Valley is a 30 to 45-minute drive. You can easily walk to the Healdsburg town center along a walking/bike path. There’s also a cool little coffee shop across the street from the Hotel Trio.

Healdsburg is on the very edge of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. Some might disagree with that assessment. Beyond the town, heading north, you quickly get into the more rural areas, and distances between communities become greater. It’s a nice location if you’re looking to enjoy some outdoor recreation and/or wine tasking, but don’t want to get too far from the city.

Hotel Trio Healdsburg Review: Final Thoughts

While I can honestly say that the stay was nice, I would never pay the rate the Hotel Trio Healdsburg is asking. Burning 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night would also pain me.  This is the beauty of using free night certificates, as it was a very convenient, upscale hotel for visiting family. The rooms are comfortable, the staff friendly and helpful, and the property nice, albeit small. The one thing that could use some improvement is the complimentary breakfast. I’m not sure I’ll be back, given the unique circumstances of this particular trip.