Rave review for Fern Grove on SF Gate

Woo hoo! Travel writer Peter Hartlaub just gave our very own Fern Grove Cottages here in Guerneville an enthusiastic write-up on SF Gate yesterday. Hopefully the review will also appear in the print version of the San Francisco Chronicle. Owners Margaret & Michael Kennett have already gotten some bookings from SF Gate readers & perhaps our other local businesses will see some new customers too.

The Kennetts definitely deserve this rave review. Their establishment is affordable, friendly, clean, comfortable, hospitable, & charming. They have Wi-Fi & Margaret's breakfast scones are totally to-die-for. In addition, the Kennetts have been huge boosters for Guerneville & surrounding towns, & provide guests with well-organized looseleaf binders full of recommendations & brochures for restaurants, merchants, recreations, sites, arts, music, & upcoming events.

I do feel obliged to confess that my husband & I have a huge-warm-fuzzy-soft-spot for Fern Grove Cottages. When we first moved here with our daughter (then a rambunctious toddler) four years ago in November 2004, it was our home for 10 days. The escrow on the home we'd bought here took so danged long, while the escrow on the home we sold in Berkeley went through so fast (three days!) it was like, "don't let the door hit your butt on the way out."

We needed a place to stay for an indefinite period of time, & Fern Grove looked so danged twinkling, warm & inviting even though we had never before noticed the place despite years of frequent visits to the area. It turned out that the Kennetts had recently taken over the place & had already added some improvements. They made us feel comfortable & welcome, & proved immensely kind, helpful & accommodating despite the fact that we definitely were not quite the clientele they were seeking.

We were stressed out with the tangled logistics of our move, the upcoming holidays, & our lack of cell phone service in the area with our former providers. Yet, the Kennett's warm hospitality, cozy furnishings, & simple -- but key -- amenities often made us feel as though we were on vacation. Which is how staying in a hotel or B&B should make you feel.