The Marriott in Larkspur is very convenient to the towns in central and southern Marin County (Larkspur, Mill Valley, Tiburon and Sausalito) as well as being only a ten minute walk to the ferry terminal for the 45 minute ride to San Francisco. There are some wonderful restaurants and shops in the area. There's a great little Cafe in Larkspur named Emporio Rulli (http://www.rulli.com) that will make you think that you're in Milan. (By the way, although the hotel is in Larkspur, it's a couple of miles from the center of town.)

The Marriott in Novato is about 15 miles north of Larkspur and would be a good jumping-off point for the wine country and Sonoma County # it's about 20 minutes to the town of Sonoma and about 30 minutes to Napa. In my opinion there's very little of interest in the Novato area. If you're going to wander the wine country, a better (but more expensive) choice might be to stay in that area. Another Ziner might have a suggestion.

Because of the awful traffic along the Highway 101 corridor at all times of the day (especially during the rush-hour), you may want to split your time between the two.

Al Sonoma, CA, USA