Where to Stay in Napa Valley: California Wine Country's Best Luxury Hotels

For as long as I can remember, Napa Valley has been synonymous with a thoroughly American style of casual luxury. And it's not limited to one particular part of the region: The best area to stay in Napa Valley is, frankly, anywhere. Downtown Napa hotels have helped to revitalize the city, as have a new generation of restaurants and bars. (For a taste of the energy infusing Napa these days, make sure to check out Compline, the wine bar, restaurant, and retail shop helmed by master sommelier Matt Stamp and former Charlie Trotter's wine director Ryan Stetins. The extensive list of wines by the glass and bottle ranges from unusual grape varieties from the Canary Islands to unexpected gems like a 2004 Rosso di Valtellina; and the menu, by executive chef Jammir Gray, is designed with the single-minded goal of pairing with wine. To that end, the bavette steak sings alongside pretty much whatever red you choose to sip, and dishes like the gnocchi Parisienne bring out the umami in your glass with gusto.)

But Napa Valley luxury hotels and dining aren't limited just to downtown: From the small-town charm of Yountville to the more rustic appeal of Calistoga, 5-star hotels in Napa Valley are both plentiful and often charmingly idiosyncratic in design and philosophy. And they keep on coming! In 2021, The Four Seasons Resort & Residences opened in Calistoga and more luxury hotels are on the way. Just don't let the actual star rating of a property dictate your decision-making: Some of the most beloved Napa Valley resorts achieve a supremely high level of luxury, despite their lack of formal recognition. The trick is to keep an open mind and do your due diligence. Below are some of the best places to stay in Napa Valley.

Archer Hotel Napa

Few hotels are as emblematic of downtown Napa's resurgence as the Archer Hotel Napa, which opened in 2017. It's a five-story hotel with an energetic scene in the lobby, 183 rooms throughout, and the Sky + Vine Rooftop Bar overlooking the twinkling lights below.

Auberge du Soleil

The French name here isn't pretense: Auberge du Soleil was always intended to channel Provence, and in the more than three decades since it's opened, it's been doing just that. With 33 acres of oak and olive-tree-dotted grounds, and an on-site Michelin-starred restaurant that the guide called "one of the first restaurants to elevate the Napa Valley to greatness," Auberge has become synonymous with the kind of Napa idyll that visitors dream of.

Bardessono

Bardessono has been open for over a decade, and while it may not have the same historical roots as some other Napa luxury resorts and spas, it makes up for it with a deep commitment to the kind of mindful relaxation that visitors to the Valley crave. Organic linens are used throughout the LEED-certified property, close to a thousand solar panels provide much of the electricity, the spa is considered to be one of the best in the region, and the rooms include a selection of "spa suites" that allow guests to revel in relaxation without having to leave.

Hotel Yountville

The first morning I woke up in my cozy room at Hotel Yountville, I faced a serious conundrum: To stay in my magnificent four-poster bed for an extra hour, generally reveling in the fact that I was, well, in a magnificent four-poster bed, or head on out and walk to the nearby Bouchon Bistro. In the end, the promise of multiple bacon, white cheddar, and chive scones won out, but just barely. Regardless, Hotel Yountville is perfectly situated to be a center of gravity for your Napa adventures and offers all the high-end details you'd require. Think humongous bathrooms, common areas that you'll actually want to spend time in, and the vaunted Heritage Oak restaurant on site.

Indian Springs

Up in Calistoga, Indian Springs brings together a historic property with the kind of modern touches that visitors demand in a luxury Napa getaway. The original spa was built in 1861 at the site of the local thermal geysers and mineral springs, but of course, a lot has changed since then. In 2015, the resort added 75 guest rooms to its 17 acres, as well as Sam's Social Club restaurant, which is also, as I discovered during a recent stay, a great place for a quiet sunset cocktail. Indian Springs seems to perfectly embody the kind of casual elegance that Calistoga stands for.

Meadowood

Meadowood has long been considered one of Napa's top destinations, and for good reason. No matter which of the rooms or cottages you stay in — I love the proximity of the Lawnview Rooms to the Reception Lodge and three-Michelin-starred restaurant, but the blissful sense of peaceful remove that washes over me in an Oakview Room, closer to the tennis courts, is difficult to turn down — you'll be ensconced in the kind of unselfconscious luxuriousness that Meadowood is known for. Everything is taken care of here: Chauffeured golf carts to get you to and from your accommodations, a golf course, croquet, well-marked hiking trails on site (the property is located on 250 lush acres), and more. The world-class spa features an extensive menu of services and treatments, and complimentary fitness classes for guests are available. Meadowood's reputation has been built on providing an elevated, deeply comfortable experience for its guests, and in the three times I've been fortunate enough to stay there, it's never once fallen short of that ideal.

The Meritage Resort and Spa

With an address on Bordeaux Way, the 322-room Meritage Resort and Spa is a longtime favorite of visitors. No wonder: There's a spa set in an underground cave, a private vineyard, bowling on site, and a huge range of rooms and suites appropriate for any taste and budget. And in true resort fashion, there are lots of dining and drinking options on the grounds, which means you can taste as much as you want and not have to worry about the drive home.

Milliken Creek Inn & Spa

This Yountville property is all about pampering: Go from your rain shower (or your hydrotherapeutic tub) to a canopy bed in order to recover from a day of visits to the nearby wineries that have made the region famous. There are only 12 rooms at Milliken Creek Inn, which means that every last detail has been considered and perfected. You can even book an "experience" as opposed to just a room — the California Dreaming package, for example, includes wine and cheese tastings, freshly baked cookies, fireside s'mores, and more.

Poetry Inn

The first time I saw the Poetry Inn was during a visit to Cliff Lede, whose Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my perennial favorites. There it was, clinging to the hillside, peaceful yet dramatic in its setting. Turns out that the Poetry Inn is aptly named: It feels like walking into some sort of hyper-civilized dream. Rooms span from 950 square feet to a house-sized 1,450 square feet and include a private terrace, showers inside and out — if you've never showered al fresco, this is definitely the place to do it — and, in the case of the rooms I visited, a bathroom that I genuinely feared I'd get lost in.

Solage

Thanks to an impressive $30 million renovation in 2021, there are a few more reasons to luxuriate at Solage. The redesign unveiled 11 newly built cottage-style suites — each one with its own private outdoor patio, shower, and soaking tub — as well as updated dining spaces. The perennial favorite resort can arrange thoroughly unique experiences throughout the region — think wine tasting at Turnbull while surrounded by nature photos by Ansel Adams, a bike tour of the Silverado Trail, and more. No matter what you do, make sure to take full advantage of Solbar, the globally inspired, locally tied restaurant helmed by chef Gustavo Rios, as well as Picobar, the resort's newest dining space, where Rios creates Mexican dishes that draw upon his upbringing in Baja California.