Finding Joie de Vivre in Glen Ellen

The San Francisco-based boutique-hotel brand Joie de Vivre, founded in 1987 by openly gay entrepreneur Chip Conley, is best known for its chicly furnished and whimsically

Bath tubs in the Zen Suites at the Gaige House.

designed urban properties, most of them set through the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Orange County. The majority of these hotels have more than 100 rooms, but one exception to this rule is intimate Gaige House, which comprises a restored and reimagined turn-of-the-20th-century house containing 10 guest rooms along with 13-stand alone suites. Set in the Valley of the Moon village of Glen Ellen – a small town blessed with several outstanding restaurants and food shops – the Gaige may differ from the majority of Joie de Vivre properties in size and setting (it’s also among the most expensive), but it shares a decidedly hip, understated elegance that typifies the brand.

Rooms in the Queen Anne-style main house mix period-style elements with the serene, East Asian aesthetic that prevails throughout the property and is most evident in the spa suites, whose Zen-like interiors were executed by noted New York interior designer Paul Davis. These spacious, uncluttered cottages have granite soaking tubs or Jacuzzis, and fireplaces, and each has a private entrance that opens to a private Japanese garden. In keeping with the embrace of utter relaxation, the hotel offers a wide range of massage treatments, from hot stone to couples, which can be enjoyed in a tent in the Zen Garden, on a redwood deck overlooking gurgling Calabaza Creek, or in the privacy of your room. Rates include an extensive Continental breakfast as well as wine tastings in the hotel “living room.”