Travel Hotels marga@lacabe.com

Stay: May 2009 Once again, this time to celebrate my 40th birthday, my friend Lola and I took a short weekend trip away from the Bay Area, letting the roads take us where they pleased (but north). They pleased that we stayed for the night at the Rio Villa Beach Resort in Monte Rio, California. Unbeknownst to us this was a rather popular weekend in the Guerneville area (women's weekend!), and several of the hotels we tried in Jenner and Guerneville were full. The Rio Villa, a recommendation from another hotelier, had one room left and that we took. The room itself wasn't particularly special. It had a fairly comfortable king-size bed, a futon that did not look comfortable, a kitchenette, a dining table and chairs and a well appointed bathroom. Indeed, the bathroom came with a jetted tub which would have been delightful to use if I didn't fall asleep pretty much after returning from dinner at around 9 pm. Darn! The best thing about the room, besides the jet tub, was the deck in front. It had wooden furniture and a beautiful view of the river. If you want to get closer there are a variety of lounge chairs and even a swing chair placed throughout the grassy hill leading down to the water. Even though the place was quite full, it was still very quiet, and if we had brought our swim suits, I'm sure we'd have delighted to bathe in the still river waters. The Rio Villa Beach Resort seems like a good place for all sorts of guests. There were groups of women, of course, but also couples and families. The cooking and BBQ facilities make it particularly affordable to stay here (there is a large supermarket in Guerneville, four miles away, where you can buy everything you need - the room comes appointed with pots, pans, dishes and so forth). Room rates range from $100-$325 based on time of year, number of guests and room type. We paid $150 for a last-minute booking (i.e. after 6 pm the night we stayed there) for what I think they said was their best room. Sometimes waiting to book a room pays - but Lola and I have very good hotel karma. The hotel offers a very basic continental breakfast in the small front office from 8-10 AM. It consisted of coffee, OJ & milk (I'm sure they had tea too), bagels and sliced morning breads/cakes. If you want something fancier there are three restaurants in town, and a couple of convenience stores where you could buy the basics. The hotel attendant, Ron, was very nice, friendly and accommodating - a pleasure to deal with. All in all, I'd like to return to the Rio Villa with my whole family, I think the kids would have a blast in the river, and we'd get to relax as well. Rio Villa Beach Resort 20292 Highway 116 Monte Rio, CA 95462 877.746.8455. http://www.riovilla.com/