Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa is a five-star luxury hotel and resort located in Sonoma, California. The property was built to resemble a Spanish mission, and sits atop Boyes Hot Springs, a natural, thermal mineral spring that is now used to offer spa services at the hotel. The property also has a 177-acre, 18-hole championship golf course.HistoryThe hot mineral springs that lie below the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa were first discovered by Native Americans who considered the site a sacred healing ground. Commercial development came years later, in 1840, and was accomplished by T.M. Leavenworth, a physician, and the last alcalde of San Francisco.Leavenworth built a home on the Sonoma land in 1849. In 1895, Captain Henry Ernest Boyes and his wife purchased the land and house from Leavenworth. Upon hearing about the hot springs that supposedly ran beneath their land, they dug two wells and discovered the thermal mineral water. They installed a pipe system, directing the waters into a huge tub.Within five years, they had built the Boyes Hot Springs Hotel. As word spread, more and more people from San Francisco began to visit the property to take advantage of the healing waters.The hotel and most of Boyes Hot Springs were destroyed in a 1923 fire. It wasn't until 1927 that a new inn was completed, containing three floors, and built in the traditional style of a Spanish mission, and once again gained popularity among the residents of Northern California.