When Fairmont Hotels needed a writer to experience their new partnership with Cadillac, a job that involved wine tasting and driving like a boss up the coast highway, I knew that momtourage writer Whitney was my go to girl. She looks hot in a car, is good with the selfie and is an experienced wine taster. This is her story
The Real San Francisco Treat
A review of the Fairmont San Francisco F-scapes experience
Picture this: Windows rolled down in a new black CTS luxury Cadillac, the San Francisco wind giving your hair that sexy bedhead look, the sun shines on the bay as you drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to wine country. Sounds good, right? Thanks to the new partnership between Cadillac and Fairmont hotels, this could be you this summer.
Fairmont San Francisco F-scape
San Francisco is a city everyone needs to visit at least once. The history, the fine dining, the views…the wine country. It’s almost too much to handle in a weekend. Fairmont San Francisco and Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn do an excellent job of showing you the best of both worlds with VIP flair. They call it F-scapes and it’s FN-Fantastic. Heads up: This particular F-scapes adventure is not as kid friendly as some of the others, but the trip itself can definitely be tweaked to accommodate the minors.
It begins, like many love stories do, in San Francisco, at a historic and grand hotel. That would be The Fairmont. Centrally located with incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay, this hotel is gorgeous. They recently did a massive 21 million dollar renovation and it shows. The rooms are sophisticated, tailored, and made me feel like I was staying at a posh friend’s apartment. A VERY posh friend.
There are suites for families that like to spread out and a one of a kind luxury penthouse if you want to feel like a rock star or the president. At $18k a night, it’s luxury at its most opulent. Rumor has it, the secret passage way in the Penthouse library was used by Marilyn Monroe herself to sneak out as Jacqueline Kennedy entered from the penthouse elevator.
“Happy Birthday , Mr. President.”
“Sorry Jackie, no girl can resist this kind of view.”
Don’t worry, you don’t have to get the penthouse to get the view. This hotel boasts impressive views of the city and the bay all around.
Fairmont sweetens the deal by setting up a private tour of the Dandelion artisanal chocolate factory. No Veruca Salt’s here, just rich chocolate treats made with 2 ingredients only: cacao and sugar. That’s it. And everyone knows that calories have no impact on your body while on vacation! (Disclaimer: This may be the desperate wish of a delusional chocolate lover and not actual fact.)
The Tonga Room
Before you leave, you must head down to the Tonga Room. It’s the birthplace of the Mai Tai, has a floating tiki stage, and it rains in the pool every 30 minutes. It’s a fun place to truly feel like you are on vacation! Warning: After a few libations, you may feel the need to be a “jumper.” Don’t.
#1-It’s no longer chlorinated like a swimming pool. The water is recycled. Understand?
#2-It’s very hard to get out once you get in and once you are out…you are literally out. As in escorted out. Luckily I was told these two things before my Mai Tais kicked in.
Fairmont and Cadillac
Now back to that scene where you are driving in a rock star Cadillac across the Golden Gate Bridge. As part of the F-scapes California package, Fairmont loans you a shiny new Caddy to drive to your next destination. The navigation system is all queued up and you just follow the directions.
If you aren’t participating in the F-Scapes package, you can still experience the car. Cadillac is now the house car for all Fairmonts. Which means, if you want a ride somewhere and the car is available, they will drive you there in style! Put on your oversized sunglasses and enjoy the ride.
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa
Picturesque landscaping, Tuscan architecture, a beautiful fountain out front….the only thing missing was the shirtless man feeding me grapes.
The hotel does offer a nightly complimentary wine tasting of local vineyards. No shirtless men, but maybe I didn’t stay late enough. With local wine tastings every night and dinner for two at the Michelin rated restaurant, Santé, on the property, you may not feel the need to leave. But the Fairmont wants to give you a truly unique experience, so they offer a lunch and private wine tour at Flanagan Wines, a lovely winery not open to the public. That means no Girls Gone Wild bachelorette parties.
Not a drunk bachelorette in sight
It’s hard to keep the glass full, even for pictures. Don’t judge.
The Spa-The View-The Wine
No luxury trip is without a spa treatment…or two…or three. The Mission Inn sits on top of an ancient thermal mineral spring, so of course The Willow Stream Spa is going to tap that. The spa has two mineral water soaking pools and offer private mineral baths. The spa is coed so it’s possible you will see shirtless men, but they don’t feed you grapes. Don’t forget your bathing suit.
Fairmont Sonoma gives daily guided hikes every morning, which is the perfect way to sweat out the calorie intake from the night before. These are super kid friendly and give all kinds of fun facts about how the Native Americans of the region used the land.
“Natural Soap”
Forget the fancy organic soaps! If this was good enough for the Miwok Tribe then…well, no, actually, I think I’ll stick with the fancy soap.
F-Scape the Ordinary
Cadillac and Fairmont hotels are offering 42 choose your own adventure type trips that give luxury travelers across North America a once in a lifetime experience. Go to Fairmont F-scapes for the complete list of 2015 summer packages.
Whitney was on assignment for Luxury Travel Mom and as such was hosted by Fairmont Hotels. Her love of wine and desire for shirtless men come naturally. You can read more from this momtourage writer on her blog: The Carpool Confessions.
