Farmhouse Inn gets $8 million face-lift

Catherine and Joe Bartolomei, a brother and sister team, are from a five-generation ranching family in Forestville. But since they bought the Farmhouse Inn almost 14 years ago, they have entered an entirely new world. The high end hotel rooms range from $600 to $1,000 a night, and the restaurant is equally exclusive.

Now they are in the middle of an $8 million renovation overseen by SB Architects that is adding nine new rooms, a spa and fitness area and refurbishing the pool area and landscaping.

The new barn rooms and the pool area are complete, bringing the inn’s total to 25 rooms.

Another new building was constructed for the Spa at Farmhouse Inn, which was designed by Healdburg’s Myra Hoefer Design to embody the feel of a glamorous horse stable.

When it opens in November, it will offer services that incorporate honey and cider apples from the owners’ ranch, along with herbs from the Farmhouse kitchen garden.

The new fitness area and guest services building will be done by the end of the year, with new landscaping by Valley Crest Landscape that will include 10 garden areas and four fountains.

In spite of the elegant inn they run, the siblings are still farmers at heart. They have a 100-acre farm where they grow the produce (and eggs) they use in the restaurant, and they keep a couple of pet chickens at the inn to the delight of guests.

To celebrate the unveiling of its redesign and expansion, Farmhouse Inn is offering one free night for any stay of four or more nights in the new barn rooms through Dec. 25. For locals, the inn offers a $59 three-course meal on Monday nights from December through March 2015, and once the spa opens, spa day passes.

Catherine Bartolomei is especially proud of her staff, saying, “It’s the wonderful level of service they provide that draws our guests back again and again.”

The Farmhouse Inn is located at 7871 River Road, Forestville, 887-3300, farmhouseinn.com.