Travel Hotels marga@lacabe.com

Stay: July 2008 I was getting frustrated. I had carefully planned out a four-night trip to the wine country, complete with wine-tastings, a canoe trip and a spa appointment, and I could not, for the life of me, find a room where we could spend a Saturday night only in the relative proximity of Freestone. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, required a two-night stay. I was growing afraid we'd have to stay in Santa Rosa when I thought of vrbo.com. I'd only visited the site to look for winter cabins near Lake Tahoe, but of course they feature private properties for rent throughout the state (and beyond, I'm sure). And indeed, they had several rentals in the general Freestone area. Alas, most of them required a two-night-stay on weekends also. The Quail Forest Cabin & Suite, situated just outside "downtown" Occidental, was the exception, though it does charge a one-night premium ($185 vs $125 for the Master Suite). Still, I think the price was worth it. Our room was large, nicely appointed and comfortable, and overlooked the surrounding wooded area. We had a short, but very relaxing stay. I booked the Master Suite at Quail Forest Cabin & Suite through the internet, but I had to send the owner a cashier's check or money order for the room cost plus a $50 deposit, a few days before our stay. That can be sort of a bother, but a common requirement of people who do rentals rather than B&Bs. Perhaps they should consider getting a paypal account :-). The room itself was very nice. It had a comfortable queen-size bed, with good quality linens and comfortable pillows, two night tables, a dresser, a small TV and a sitting area with two very comfortable chairs and ottoman and views of the woods outside. It's a great reading corner, and I took plenty of advantage of it. There is a huge walk-in closet - big enough to fit a crib, if you are traveling with your baby - and a regular-sized bathroom with a bathtub and shower. They offered shampoo, conditioner (yay!) and body wash, but no lotion. There were plenty of towels, including extra ones for the swimming pool. The room doesn't come with breakfast, but there is a coffee maker and a fridge outside with complimentary coffee, half-and-half, orange juice and water. The room features wireless internet, at a pretty good connection speed. Alas, it does not have a desk, or really any comfortable place to put a laptop. There are also a couple of wooden chairs on the deck outside, again, facing towards the woods. The Master Suite is semi-attached to the house (where the owner lives), but it's located in the back of it, and there is a sense of complete privacy. We felt very comfortable here. The property also features a swimming pool, which we didn't use, and trails through the woods. We walked a little bit around the property and it's really very nice. There are deer around, which may be a pest to the owner, but fun to spot for us. And indeed, we also saw quite a few quail as well. Mike would have liked to stay longer and explore more. I found our stay so relaxing, that I wouldn't have minded an extra day either. In all, our stay was great and I'd stay here again. Quail Forest Cabin & Suite Occidental,CA (707) 874-2424 http://www.vrbo.com/61496