Hotels
Wherever you stay in the Napa Valley, you're only minutes from wineries; Napa, Yountville, and Calistoga offer several fine hotels within walking distance of top shops and restaurants. In midweek, prices drop and everything is less crowded, but early reservations are advisable in high season, no matter what time of the week you plan to visit – and extra-early during the harvest. Most moderate and deluxe properties have concierges who can arrange discounted activities and even free tastings at wineries. Historic inns, luxurious spa and golf resorts, reliable mid-priced chains, charming B&Bs, rustic ranch-style hot springs retreats, basic motels, even stylish boutique properties – whatever your preference, you'll likely find it. To help you choose the right home away from home convenient to attractions, we've outlined our favorites in three price categories.
Among luxury options, the incomparably romantic Auberge du Soleil (180 Rutherford Hill Rd., Rutherford; 707/963-1211; www.aubergedusoleil.com) features dramatic artwork in the remarkable outdoor sculpture garden, set among picture-perfect panoramas of the vine-studded valley below. The spa also takes its cue from the natural surroundings – it utilizes local mud, clays, olive oils, grape extracts and herbs in treatments. Meadowood (900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena; 707/963-3646 or 1-800/458-8080; www.meadowood.com) is another luxury resort with a golf course, a superlative spa, fine dining and gorgeous grounds. The concierge can sometimes help you obtain entrée to the fabled Cult Cab wineries. Carneros Inn (4048 Sonoma Hwy., Napa; 707/299-4900, 888/400-9000; www.thecarnerosinn.com) sits amid 27 acres of seemingly endless rows of vines, unspoiled farmland, and scenic apple orchards. The design takes its cue from the local countryside (barns, silos, ranchers' cottages) combined with stylish, modern interiors (including heated slate floors, Ethernet, and plasma TVs in the vast guest cottages). It features a spa and two excellent restaurants – the gourmet Hilltop restaurant and the more casual Boonfly Café.
In the moderate category, the elegant and boutique-y Napa River Inn (500 Main St., Napa; 707/251-8500; 877/251-8500; www.napariverinn.com), a member of Historic Hotels of America, occupies three separate structures and offers (in some rooms) canopy beds, fireplaces, tufted lounge chairs, velvet ottomans, and exposed brick walls. The maple floors, crimson and gold accents, claw-foot tubs, and brass fixtures recreate Victorian opulence without stuffiness. The gabled, turreted Napa Old World Inn (1301 Jefferson St., Napa; 707/257-0112, 800/966-6624; www.oldworldinn.com) is a B&B whose owners love to make their guests insiders and make them feel at home with homemade foccacia and tapenade in the afternoon, complimentary winery passes, and an evening assortment of decadent chocolate desserts. Fireplaces and feather mattresses on brass, sleigh, or four-poster beds are a lovely old-fashioned contrast with the modern Wi-Fi and DVD Dolby Digital home theater systems.
For budget lodgings, you can't beat the landmark Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Spring Resort (1507 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga; 707/942-4102; www.drwilkinson.com), which received a recent facelift but preserves its quirky charm and soothing spa facilities while the El Bonita Motel (195 Hwy 29, St. Helena; 707/963-3216, 800/541-3284; www.elbonita.com) has a cool retro 1950s motor court vibe; rooms are upscale motel and a bit too close to the highway, but the gardens are beautiful and it is in stumbling distance to bars and restaurants.
