Just a short drive away in Santa Ynez lies the beautifully renovated historic inn The Genevieve. Recently rebranded and renamed, the former location of the Santa Ynez Inn on Sagunto Street is now a boutique getaway hotel combining the charm of yesteryear with the first-class service and amenities. The grounds of this 20-room hotel are simply beautiful, with pathways, fountains, fire pits, and loads of lush gardens, trees, and greenery.
It’s hard to believe it’s just a few blocks away from Hwy. 154 — it definitely feels like you’ve entered a kinder and gentler time from the moment you check in at The Genevieve. Not only is the place beautiful, but the service and hospitality are first rate with an obvious level of professional training and attention to detail that isn’t easy to find these days.
Our “Couture King” room was beautifully equipped with a fireplace and comfy armchairs, a king bed with plush linens and “just right” pillows, and a fit-for-royalty sized marble bathroom with heated floors, a fabulous steam shower, and a jacuzzi-style bathtub big enough for at least two people. Along with the vintage-inspired elegant decor, one of our favorite features of the room was a guestbook, where years of great stories from former visitors to the Inn filled the pages. My husband got inspired — perhaps by the wine and cheese happy hour included with our room — and wrote a five-page fictional mystery story that took place in room #212 over the course of a few decades. Alas, we took no pictures of that, so you’ll have to come stay at The Genevieve yourself in order to read it.