Atlanta - March 11, 2007
We stayed with Anna and Stan during the barrel tasting and couldn't have had a more wonderful place to stay. The room was large and the gas fireplace was very romantic. We stayed in the Vera room in the carriage house which also had a large common living room where we met with friends. The breakfasts were wonderful. Be sure and request the blueberry stuffed french toast! The views of the vineyard were spectacular even though it was winter. I imagine summer would be amazing! Anna had lots of great recommendations for places to eat and wineries to visit.

Belgium - February 9, 2007
With an abundance of places to visit, my wife and I rarely visit a locale more than once and never stay at the same place twice. Yet we’ve been to Stan and Anna’s “The Shelford House” not once, not twice, but thrice, and each visit was different with the only constant elements being the exceptional service, the unique settings, and the memorable experiences.

The first time we visited The Shelford House was in May of 2005. My wife had booked us a weekend stay to celebrate my birthday. We stayed at the Victorian House, in the Helen Room to be more exact, which is upstairs, has a very comfortable king bed, a bath with two sinks, and a tiled shower with a skylight.

During that initial stay, we discovered the cavernous Bella Vineyards, not far from The Shelford House, and Ravenous restaurant in the town of Healdsburg, both offering titillations for the taste buds. We enjoyed the settings at The Shelford house so much that we decided to make additional visits.

The Shelford House benefits from its wonderful location and its hosts’ ability to balance a warm, personal approach with professional, comforting service. While the property is an easy ride to and from the 101 Freeway (as well as scenic routes to nearby towns and vineyards), its setting is peaceful, quiet, and bucolic. It is perfectly situated near a vineyard in Cloverdale, on a slight bend in the road up from the Russian River. Once you pass the short bridge over the river, you’re a short drive home past a vineyard, where Anna’s home-baked cookies and cakes are waiting on a table: fresh and abundant.

There are two houses on the property, The Victorian and The Carriage House, with rooms, porches and patios offering views of the well-manicured landscape, the vineyard, and the beautiful surrounding hills. All the rooms have their own unique flavor, offering a combination of old fashioned comfort and modern conveniences. They are tastefully decorated with cozy beds, spacious and well-equipped bathrooms, and plenty of comfortable spaces for leisurely activities.

In the mornings, Stan and Anna further enhance the home-away-from-home ambience by cooking up some of the best breakfasts in Northern California. Whether it’s Anna’s cooking, our good fortune, or a combination of both, each day got off to great start by sharing breakfast with a genuinely wonderful group of visitors. It seems that the entire place has a vibe that attracts good people.

In addition, possessing a vast knowledge of the area’s many offerings in food and wine, following breakfast, Stan and Anna are available to provide tips and directions to the area’s multitudes of restaurants, vineyards, as well as other recreational activities. We personally found their knowledge (as well as Stan’s carefully arranged charts of the vineyards) extremely helpful, since we wanted to explore both the famous as well as the independent wine-makers of Sonoma County.

We made our second visit during the Fourth of July weekend and stayed in the Carriage House, in the Vera Room, which has a fireplace that we immediately decided to put to use for a fall or winter visit. Vera Room’s western view offered us a panorama of the vineyard, plenty of outdoor seating for sunbathing, and abundant sunshine while the spacious room stayed nice and cool. Taking advantage of the warm weather, we walked down the road with vineyards on our sides and towels around our necks to the Russian River and spent the afternoon relaxing to the soothing music of water rushing over rocks. Feeling rejuvenated, we hit the town of Healdsburg that night, where we had reservations at Restaurant Charcuterie, another find through Stan and Anna’s recommendation list, where they expertly paired our mouth watering pork tenderloin with one the best local offerings in wine.

Our third visit was in late November. We made the drive up from our home in San Francisco. The temperature had dropped, and we were looking forward to a couple of mellow evenings at our favorite B&B with a fireplace. The Vera room, however, was rented, so we stayed at the adjacent Elsie Room, which also has a fireplace that we ignited right away. The Elsie has a queen bed with an extra single bed, southern views of the vineyard, and a same though different level of comfort and charm.

We continued to balance the exploration of the area’s eateries and wineries with the soothing calm at The Shelford House. And Stan and Anna continued to surprise us with great breakfasts (we actually ended up getting a recipe book from Anna) while introducing us to more vineyards, restaurants, and scenic routes in Sonoma County, where we discovered numerous independent vineyards, such as Hawley, Preston, and David Coffaro. We even ventured further up north to Mendocino County on our last day and found ourselves with a few bottles of Roederer’s champagne.

By the time we ended our third visit, my wife and I, who feel antsy if we stay in the same apartment for more than three years and, as I mentioned earlier, never visit the same town twice, felt a strange bond with Stan and Anna and all the different parts of The Shelford House. We didn’t realize at the time that it was going to be our last visit for a long time.

We have recently moved to Europe, and of all of California’s zillion and one great places that we have explored, The Shelford House remains on the top of our list for its incredible combination of relaxing atmosphere, exciting culinary offerings, and great company.

Check them out and feel free to bug the humble hosts for tips to find that perfect Chardonnay, Zin, or Cab, and if you want to burn off the calories from Anna’s great baking, take your bike along. There are plenty of bicycle routes with ample pit stops for the journeys from one vineyard to the next.

Folsom - January 21, 2007
Stan and Anna make this a wonderful place to stay. Our days started out with a delicious breakfast and great conversation in the dining room. We were visiting for the Winter Wine Fest and Stan's winery spreadsheet helped kick off the discussion of where to spend the day. Anna and Stan were able to quickly direct people to the kinds of wineries they were looking for - with details about the wine maker and the history of the vineyard.

Our room was nicely appointed with beautiful antiques as well as a new flat screen TV for watching the Eagles/Patriots game after a great day in the vineyards. We love the beds with crisp sheets and comfortable pillows. The antiques in every room add to the feeling of staying in a comfortable victorian home at the turn of the century.

The end of each day found us back at the house for fresh baked cookies, scones or cake. We usually took an early evening break with a nap or a good book. Then it was time to review the dining options and we were off to dinner. Stan and Anna know just about every restaurant in 50 miles so we never went wrong. We ALWAYS plan on going to Piacere in Cloverdale at least one night - it's a wonderful restaurant serving Italian cuisine as well as some great seafood dishes.

I especially like the high speed Wifi service that allowed me to keep up with my podcasts as well as all the latest news and sports scores. My wife wasn't too excited about it until we started using it to plan our next trip to the Shelford House.

Bottom Line: This is an outstanding B&B with the kind of friendly atmosphere and delicious food that makes staying there a very special treat.

RockyMountainPair, Denver, Co Jan. 12, 2007
"A Gem in Sonoma"
My husband planned a surprise birthday trip for me to Sonoma in December. We love Sonoma and had visited many times before, but had never stayed in Cloverdale. What a treat it was! The Shelford House was wonderful! It was cozy, inviting, and comfortable. We felt as if we were staying with good friends in their home. Stan and Anna were wonderful hosts. Each morning, we relished the amazing breakfast that Anna prepared and then chatted with both Stan and Anna about our plans for the day. They gave us great recommendations for wineries in the area that we had never been to before. They were all wonderful (we especially loved Bella for their beautiful cave tasting and awesome Zins).
Although Cloverdale is in the northern end of Sonoma, don't count it out. This place is still unspoiled by the commercialism that has taken over in Napa and is starting to creep in to some areas of Sonoma. Cloverdale is a place where you can drive down dirt roads to small a winery and taste great wine with the winemaker himself.
We'll definitely be staying at the Shelford House the next time we visit Sonoma.

TaylorandCris, San Jose, CA Dec. 15, 2006
"A Wonderful Place to Stay"
My husband and I stayed there this November and had such a wonderful experience. The couple that runs the bed and breakfast are incredibly friendly-and man can they cook! We had a great breakfast there. Also, the rooms are all unique and beautifully decorated. It is also nice because it is far enough off the highway to experience a beautiful sunrise over the vineyards, but still close enough to the highway to quickly get to your Wine Country destinations. Overall, we had a great experience and look forward to going back soon!

Mr-Red-Wine, Fair Oaks, CA Nov. 13, 2006
"Fantastic View"
This was such a wonderful place to stay. I surprised my wife with a weekend stay at the Shelford house for our 2nd anniversary and I was the one who got the biggest surprise. It was my first stay at a B & B and our first stay at the Shelford House and we both had an absolutely wonderful experience. We had a view of vineyards and the Alexander Valley from both our bedroom and bathroom windows. Our room had a Harry Potterish entrance to it and it was very comfortable with a nice flat screen t.v. and a claw foot bath tub with a shower. There are three unique rooms in the main house and 4 rooms in the Carriage house all with diffrent layouts, views, amenities, sizes and price ranges. We sat out on the deck of the main house and watched the sunset and in the morning watched the sun move across the vineyards and the valley. Anna and Stan are wonderful people, very kind and giving. Anna is a spectacular cook making excellent breakfasts and her Rum Cake and Cranberry Coconut cookies are not to be missed. Anna has won numerous awards in the area for her cooking and baked goods. The people we met were wonderful and although I have a tendency to be quiet and to myself, we sat at the big table with 3 other couples and had an absolute blast talking with everyone and getting to know them. Of course, we had many conversations about the wine in the region and the best wineries to visit. Stan and Anna even provide a listing of their favorite wineries in the region along with maps and driving directions. It was simply one of the best weekend getaways my wife and I have ever taken. I highly recommend the Shelford house. Thanks again Stan and Anna for such a warm, inviting and wonderful place to visit. You are both just awesome!