35 Best Hotels in Napa and Sonoma, California

An upscale-casual ultracontemporary adults-only resort formerly known as Las Alcobas Napa Valley but now in the Hyatt Alila brand's fold, this hillside gem sits adjacent to Beringer Vineyards six blocks north of Main Street shopping and dining. The full-service resort has rooms fashioned in soft browns and crisp whites that contrast pleasingly with the lighter greens of surrounding vineyards—visible from many of the accommodations through floor-to-ceiling windows—and the darker hillside forest hues farther east and west. Pillow-top beds, plush furnishings and linens, state-of-the-art electronics, and spacious bathrooms stocked with superior products contribute to the aura of intentional yet offhand elegance.

Ideal for travelers seeking design pizzazz, a see-and-be-seen atmosphere, and first-class amenities, this five-story downtown Napa property fuses New York City chic and Las Vegas glamour. Ultracontemporary rooms with Nespresso coffeemakers, wine refrigerators, and appropriate (and appropriately located) electronics docking stations come in several categories, from 285-square-foot Classic Kings to 780-square-foot Archer's Den suites with balconies and fireplaces. All rooms have beds with Euro Top mattresses (no pillow tops here) draped in 100%-cotton linens and topped with down duvets and down pillows. There are also work desks, safes, and 65-inch flat-screen TVs with premium channels. Small refrigerators are stocked with refreshments; there's a fee for them, but it's reasonable. The look overall is clean and sophisticated, with local art adorning the rooms and the hallways. Tip: Some of the best views are from upper-floor rooms facing south and west, though the southern ones pick up a little street noise on the balconies.

Taking a cue from the olive-tree-studded landscape, this hotel with a renowned restaurant and spa cultivates a luxurious look that blends French and California style. It backs up that look—custom wood furnishings, original art, and soft yellow hues—with lavish amenities that include private terraces, jetted soaking tubs, and extra-large showers. Superlative service and valley views that stun at nearly every turn add to the romance of this hillside hideaway whose French name translates to "inn of the sun."

Tranquility and luxury with a low carbon footprint are among the goals of this ultragreen wood, steel, and glass resortlike property in downtown Yountville, but there's nothing spartan about the accommodations, arranged around four landscaped courtyards. Spacious rooms with private patios or balconies have high-thread-count organic bedding, gas fireplaces, and huge bathrooms with walnut floors. About half the rooms have combination showers/steam rooms, outdoor showers, or both. All the accommodations come equipped with the high-tech touches you'd expect of a contemporary upscale hotel—virtual-surround speaker systems, flat-screen TVs, and cordless phones—plus front doors you can open using your smartphone and motion sensors that detect when you're gone and adjust the blinds for energy efficiency. At the hotel's restaurant, Lucy, the chef uses mostly local ingredients, some grown in the hotel's garden, to craft the menu.

Stained oak floors, wainscoting, and retro bathroom fixtures recall Victorian times at this small inn whose centerpiece is an 1860s cottage from Calistoga's original spa era. Contemporary comfort is the ultimate goal, though: the beds have plush mattresses and high-thread-count sheets, and rooms are equipped with large flat-screen TVs, electronics charging stations, and illy coffee machines. Eco-friendly touches abound, most visibly in the LED lighting throughout the property. A tall palm, even taller twin cypresses, and an elm tree thought to be 300 years old shade the inn.

The sturdy metal gate of this vacation-rental complex near Sonoma Plaza opens into a leafy courtyard fronting three buildings containing smartly furnished studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom accommodations with kitchens or kitchenettes. The two-bedroom suites occupy the two-story 1907 stone structure that anchors the property. Renovated in 2022, they're good choices for families or couples traveling together, but the studios and one-bedroom options are also commodious and comfortable.

Bright and spotless with a staff trained to please, this four-story Choice Hotels property provides value with a splash of boutique style in its public areas. A double-sided fireplace catches the eye in the lobby, whose bar has views of the large outdoor patio. Morning light streams into the nearby breakfast room, where (for a fee) guests dine on dishes that might include egg-white omelets, eggs several other styles, a croissant sandwich, and avocado toast. (There's no lunch, but you can order dinner from the bar.) The nondescript hallways give this corporate hotel's game away, but design touches like bathroom barn doors, leather headboards with decorative straps, and nightstands with faux-marble tops lend the guest rooms, done in shades of beige and brown, a modicum of flair. At the southern end of Napa's auto row on a busy four-lane road, the Cambria lacks Wine Country glamour but delivers a more than satisfactory experience.

A winning combination of glamour, service, and pastoral seclusion makes this resort with freestanding board-and-batten cottages the perfect getaway for active lovebirds or families and groups seeking to unwind. The several bars and restaurants on property and the Town Square's lawn games area and Pavilion open-air lounge provide numerous opportunities for socializing, but when it's time to power down, the cottages and suites deliver the utmost in privacy. Natural light floods the cottages, whose French doors lead to private gardens, some with fire pits and outdoor soaking tubs. Fireplaces, ethereal beds topped with plush linens, and spacious bathrooms with heated slate floors and large indoor-outdoor showers may make it difficult to summon the will to head to the hilltop infinity swimming pool and hot tub, where the vineyard views never fail to astound. The cottages are spacious, but even larger are the one- or two-bedroom suites, some of which have fully stocked kitchens (Viking appliances) and washers and dryers. The Hilltop dining room is open to guests only, but Farm and the Boon Fly Café, both public restaurants, are popular with visitors throughout the Wine Country.

A historic, woodsy 15-acre property that reopened in 2022 as a deluxe, reconnect-with-nature variation on mid-century roadside resorts, Dawn Ranch provides accommodations ranging from one-room, cedar-shingled cabins and larger "chalets" with sitting areas to a cottage and a bungalow. High-quality beds, linens, and bath products signal the upscale intent, but the minimal decor and lack of TVs or phones place the emphasis on unplugging and unwinding. The resort helps guests achieve this goal by making bicycles, binoculars, sketchbooks, journals, picnic blankets, and yoga and meditation equipment available at the front desk. Most units have small decks out front, and the grounds contain meadows, a fruit orchard, a culinary garden, and a path through redwoods, oaks, and sycamores leading down to a small Russian River beach. Resort activities include s'mores parties, yoga and meditation sessions, and live music on some nights at the bandshell below the on-site Agriculture Public House restaurant (American cuisine, full bar).

Extravagant hospitality defines the Napa Valley's luxury properties, but Embrace Calistoga takes the prize in the "small lodging" category. Every night there's a wine-and-cheese event on the expansive wraparound porch of this 1873 Victorian. (Heaters and blankets keep patrons toasty on cold days.) Guest rooms are immaculately maintained, each furnished with a tastefully casual mix of new and antique furnishings. Come morning, the brunch-style breakfasts are marvelous affairs. The attentive service includes matching guests with the right wine-tasting options.

Built in 1886 of locally quarried tufa, abandoned for half a century but gloriously restored, the Second Empire–style Francis House is now a five-room luxury inn. Owners Dina and Richard Dwyer (she's an interior designer and he's a general contractor) opted for ultrachic sophistication that evokes the past but feels utterly contemporary. Second-floor rooms have higher ceilings than the third-floor ones, though at 9 feet the latter hardly feel claustrophobic. In one of many clever touches throughout the inn, Richard instructed the architect to angle third-floor interior walls to mimic the mansard style outside, lending the rooms the feel of a Parisian atelier. Although their marble bathrooms are similar, Dina decorated each guest room individually with elegant simplicity.

There's no other place in Sonoma or Napa quite like the Gaige House, which blends the best elements of a traditional country inn, a boutique hotel, and a secluded hideaway. Black and white predominate in the individually decorated guest rooms, with muted grays and lightish-brown hues softening the effect. The main house, an 1890 Queen Anne, contains more than half the rooms, whose features vary. Two newer structures hold eight Zen Suites (there's a ninth in the main house), all of which have private gardens and deep granite soaking tubs. Four suites face Calabazas Creek (these are the most desirable); the other four have interior courtyard views. Magnolia, oak, and other trees shade the backyard and its small but idyllic swimming pool and hot tub area. Longtime guests declare the full breakfast included in the room rate a major reason for their repeat patronage.

A boutique sibling of the h2hotel two doors away, this downtown delight that debuted in 2018 earned instant LEED Gold status for its eco-friendly construction and operating practices. Totally 21st century in its use of concrete, steel, glass, and (often reclaimed) wood, the HGH, named for Healdsburg’s founder, Harmon Heald, echoes mid-century modern design with clean lines and cool sophistication. In the guest rooms, simple wood platform beds sit on light-oak floors, with headboardlike, dark, quilted panels attached to the white walls providing a contrast. Rooms all have window seats with views of local landmark Fitch Mountain, Foss Creek (whose restoration the hotel has participated in), or a bamboo-filled interior courtyard. The public areas include a creek-side deck. The room rate includes a continental breakfast.

Named for the three major wine appellations—the Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valleys—whose confluence it’s near, this Residence Inn by Marriott 1¼ miles north of Healdsburg Plaza caters to families and extended-stay business travelers with spacious rooms equipped with full kitchens. King and queen rooms done in gray and brown tones have sitting areas with a sofa bed; suites have the same with separate king bedrooms. Perks here include the complimentary full breakfast, pool and fitness center, and the inviting, loungelike lobby.

A few calm blocks from the downtown action on a nearly 1-acre lot with landscaped gardens, the Inn on Randolph—with a Gothic revival–style main house and its five guest rooms plus five historic cottages out back—is a sophisticated haven celebrated for its gourmet gluten-free breakfasts and snacks. Well-placed splashes of color jazz up the earth tones of the plush accommodations. Seven rooms have a gas fireplace; in the main house's Hannah Moore room, named for a member of the family that owned the property for nearly a century, dark tile surrounding the fireplace spans floor to ceiling without a mantel, a striking effect. In keeping with the rest of the inn, the bathrooms, all with heated floors, are contemporary, stylish, and spick-and-span. All the cottages and two rooms in the main house have spa tubs.

Fluffy feather beds, custom Italian furnishings, and French doors in most cases opening onto terraces or balconies lend this inn's uncommonly spacious guest rooms a romantic air—more than a few guests are celebrating honeymoons or anniversaries. All the rooms have separate entrances, espresso makers, and refrigerators. Each of the eight room categories has its appeal, from price to views to lavish layout. The inn has a few pet-friendly rooms (dogs only); it's wise to book one as far ahead as possible. With its mature fruit trees and buildings resembling a Mediterranean-style villa, the inn seems as though it's been here a century, but it was completed in 1990.

Travelers looking for personalized service from innkeepers who take the trouble to learn guests' names and preferences will enjoy this intimate inn just off Yountville's main drag. Two rooms are in the historic main house, built in the 1850s and moved to this site in the 1860s. The upstairs room is spacious, and the downstairs one, though smaller, has a private, shielded outdoor hot tub. Six courtyard rooms in newer buildings each have private patio entrances; two of these rooms also have private jetted outdoor tubs. An old barn on the property was converted into a loft suite. Each room has a private sitting area, and during summer the outdoor lavender courtyard that gives the inn its name provides a tranquil escape. Lavender, a Four Sisters Inns property, bills itself as a French country inn. Though you may not feel transported to Provence or Bordeaux, the palette of soft, rich yellows and the rustic furnishings provide sufficiently Gallic echoes.

With just six rooms the Ledson feels intimate, and the furnishings and amenities—down beds, mood lighting, gas fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, and balconies for enjoying breakfast or a glass of wine—stack up well against Wine Country rooms costing more, especially in high season. Toss in a caring staff and the ground-floor tasting lounge, and this really is one of downtown Sonoma’s best lodging options.

Guests at this 7-acre boutique property five blocks south of Sonoma Plaza bask in ritzy seclusion in plush accommodations set amid landscaped gardens. On land once part of a ranch established in the 19th century, the hotel takes its architectural cues from a circa-1850s Victorian home that now holds 10 guest rooms. Newer buildings contain 54 more accommodations, among them two cottages and several garden suites. The rooms, many with gas fireplaces, have the same beige, light brown, soft white, and black color scheme that predominates in the public areas. Layla, for Mediterranean cuisine, is the main restaurant.

A stay at this downtown boutique hotel may leave you cooing Je l'adore ("I adore it") for its colorful palette, French-quirky style, and individually decorated standard-sized rooms, larger suites, four Airstream trailers, and two-bedroom cottage. Every morning, the beyond-cordial owners lay out coffee and all-you-can-eat self-serve crepes (included in the rate) in a café-like breakfast space. Deep pastels reign in all the guest rooms, which have 65" 4K Smart TVs and air-conditioning (a boon in summer, as inland Petaluma often heats up).

Perfect for a couple's weekend or midweek frolic, this secluded getaway with luxurious rooms is only a mile from the Oxbow Public Market and the Culinary Institute of America's CIA at Copia campus, and 1½ miles from downtown Napa's dining, shopping, and nightlife. The guest rooms' chic decor of muted grays, ivory, and browns puts the focus on the verdant natural setting, viewed in most cases through double doors that open onto patios with decks. Most rooms have river views, gas-burning fireplaces, and sitting areas, and all have custom art, Nespresso coffeemakers, refrigerators, and comfortable beds dressed in high-quality linens. Tech upgrades include in-room iPads for contacting the staff and accessing the inn's Netflix account and newspaper and magazine subscriptions.

Its bungalow-like guest rooms deftly layered into oak- and Cabernet-studded hills a few miles north of Healdsburg Plaza, this architectural sensation that opened fully in 2021 significantly upped Sonoma County's ultraluxury game. Starting at 599 square feet—with studios and suites running from 948 to 1,178 square feet and the Guest House checking in at 4,600—the spaces are bathed in soothing whites and earth tones. Original works by local artists grace the walls, with floor-to-ceiling windows revealing heritage oaks and grapevines, with Mt. St. Helena in the distance. All guest quarters have outdoor living spaces with a fire pit, a daybed, lounge chairs, and a dining table. The public areas captivate all the more, especially the pool and the lead restaurant, Hazel Hill, whose semiprivate dining room juts into the oaks like a treehouse. The wow factor of the design notwithstanding, Montage is ultimately about its setting and the opportunity to connect with nature. To ensure that guests feel truly unplugged, they don't drive their vehicles while at the resort but rather are ferried about on golf carts.

A two-story boutique property near downtown Yountville's northern edge, the North Block attracts sophisticated travelers who appreciate the clever but unpretentious style and offhand luxury. The 20 rooms cluster around a courtyard warmed by a fireplace when the weather demands it. All rooms have safes, dimmable lights, flat-screen TVs, quality music systems, Nespresso coffee machines, and refrigerators replenished daily with filtered water. Some rooms have fireplaces. Radiant floor heating warms the uncommonly spacious bathrooms, all equipped with deep soaking tubs. Olive and other trees shade the fenced-off pool at the back of the property. The pool and hotel's public areas always look spotless, and the management prides itself on the personalized service guests receive.

Husband-and-wife team Ashish and Sia Patel operate this country-casual yet sophisticated boutique lodging. From the colors and surfaces in the guest rooms and public spaces to the filling two-course breakfasts, the attention to detail impresses most guests. Rooms are in three buildings—11 in two hillside structures and two more below the lobby and breakfast area—and there are two garden cottages. All the accommodations, painted in soft, soothing hues, contain upscale-contemporary furnishings and very comfortable beds (mostly kings) with luxurious sheets. All rooms have a patio or other outdoor seating area. Room amenities include bathrobes, complimentary snacks, refillable water bottles, and flat-screen TVs linkable to smartphones and tablets.

All the rooms at this splurge-worthy hillside retreat have broad lower Napa Valley vistas from their westward-facing balconies; indoors the comfortably chic decor and amenities that include a private spa and a fully stocked wine cellar add to the pleasure of a stay at this exclusive hideaway. Winery architect Howard Backen designed the inn and the buildings for the associated Cliff Lede Vineyards, which sits just across the Silverado Trail. The rooms, spruced up in 2021 by local designer Erin Martin, have deluxe beds and linens, and the bathrooms have heated floors, soaking tubs, and steam showers. Customers return year after year for low-key pampering that starts at sunrise with pastries from Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, followed by a three-course gourmet breakfast cooked by the on-staff chef who, with notice, will prepare lunch or dinner as well.

A romantic hacienda-away-from-home that off-season may be the Napa Valley's best value in its price range, this upscale-contemporary boutique hotel near Inglenook and the Rutherford Grill contains rooms whose decor and artworks evoke the area's Mexican heritage. The large guest rooms, most of them split-level, all with patios, and some with vaulted exposed-beam ceilings, have textured-plaster walls, brown leather furniture, and contemporary variations on stovepipe fireplaces. Hanging plants, ceramic-tile friezes, a mass of wrought iron, and a series of graceful arches contribute to the movie-set glamour of the brick-lined courtyard that contains the rectangular wading pool and adjacent hot tub. The pool isn't huge, but it'll cool you off on a hot summer day, and the courtyard is a peaceful retreat.

An 1875 Victorian with a storied past and a glorious colonnaded wraparound porch anchors this boutique Russian River property affiliated in 2022 with SingleThread Farms. Isabelle Simi, whose father and uncle established Simi Winery, which she ran for many years, lived in the home for more than three-quarters of a century. Starting with the cooked-to-order breakfasts prepared each morning, the innkeepers aim to deliver a unique and relaxing experience. Most of the rooms are off a long hallway that begins at the top of the 1875 home's original staircase, with riverfront suites on the ground floor and another suite with a full kitchen and an office. Antiques, reproductions, and period-style curtains recall Simi's lengthy occupancy, but with high-thread-count sheets and modernized bathrooms, the feel is au courant.

A remarkable Relais & Châteaux property a block north of Healdsburg Plaza, SingleThread is the creation of husband-and-wife team Kyle and Katina Connaughton, who operate the ground-floor destination restaurant and the four guest rooms and a suite above it. Influencing the couple's approach at both is the Japanese concept of omotenashi, often translated as "selfless hospitality." All the accommodations have gas fireplaces, 14-foot exposed redwood-beamed ceilings, and wet bars with European coffeemakers and tea kettles. Heated tile floors, roomy rain showers, marble-trimmed deep soaking tubs (except in one room), and automated Japanese toilets (heated seat, of course) count among the luxurious touches in the spacious bathrooms, done mostly in calming whites and off-whites. Room rates include a multicourse breakfast as thoughtfully conceived as the restaurant's evening menu.

The aesthetic at this 22-acre property where health and wellness are priorities is Napa Valley barn meets San Francisco loft: guest rooms have high ceilings, sleek contemporary furniture, all-natural fabrics in soothingly muted colors, and an outdoor patio. It's a resort for sociable sorts who like to lounge at the bar overlooking the large pool or play a boccie game after lunch at Solbar restaurant. In addition to a large, well-equipped spa and bathhouse where you can indulge in various mud baths, there's a packed schedule of fitness activities like yoga and Pilates. To be in the middle of the action, ask for a room facing the pool; for more seclusion, ask to be nearer the oak grove.

With a farmhouse-meets-modern-loft aesthetic, this low-key but upscale getaway with a pale-yellow exterior contains spacious rooms filled with king-size four-poster beds, whirlpool tubs, and hillside-view terraces. Larger rooms toward the back of the property are among the inn's most romantic, with an open floor plan and, in some cases, private patios or decks entered through wide French doors. Several rooms have double-sided fireplaces facing both spaces. The concierges to help with touring and wine tasting, smoothly efficient service, and dining options—the Farmhouse Inn Restaurant (prix-fixe dinner-only tasting menu) and Farmstand (more casual breakfast, lunch, and dinner)—qualify the Farmhouse Inn for top-tier status among Sonoma County luxury properties. But this place offers something extra the others can't match: the deep sense of the county and its rhythms that sister-and-brother team Catherine and Joe Bartolomei share as fifth-generation residents. Although their inn deserves its many press and online plaudits, the sublime experience most guests describe comes not from Farmhouse living up to the hype (though it largely does) but from the unstudied elegance and the staff's attention to detail.