Hotel of the Week: A Napa Valley Getaway Refreshes Its Tuscan-Inspired Suites
Reimagined guest rooms, vineyard-inspired comforts, and a haute culinary scene reaffirm Hotel Yountville as a charming base for savoring wine country at an unhurried pace
Northern California’s wine country is overflowing with weekend retreats devoted to high-quality bottles and slower days, yet few towns rival Yountville’s bucolic charm. A brisk ten-minute drive north of Napa, the picturesque village pairs postcard-perfect pastoral scenery with one of the state’s most concentrated dining scenes. George Yount founded the settlement in the 1850s, followed soon after by the planting of Napa Valley’s earliest wine grapes. More recently, Chef Thomas Keller overhauled The French Laundry into a three-Michelin-star destination that endures as a bucket-list pilgrimage for itinerant epicureans. Today, Yountville supports a thriving community of winemakers alongside a varied art program and a roster of polished restaurants, including Keller’s award-winning Bouchon and Ad Hoc.
Five-star lodging naturally abounds, with Hotel Yountville immediately turning heads along the town’s southern edge. The vineyard estate–inspired retreat originally opened in 1998, followed by a multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation in 2011 that refreshed guest rooms and introduced 29 additional accommodations alongside a restaurant, spa, meeting venues, an outdoor pool, and a lounge patio. This winter, the hotel unveiled its latest chapter with a full guest-room reimagining led by Premier, the Dallas-based design and development studio. Drawing from a monastic Italian villa moodboard, the refreshed rooms employ warm, tactile materials within structures built from Napa River rocks to support a deeply restorative stay.
The hotel channels the character of a Tuscan countryside home through a contemporary lens. Peppered throughout are 80 rooms and suites, some of which encircle the pool courtyard, where cushioned daybeds perch beneath towering cypress trees. That sun-soaked tableau deliberately contrasts understated interiors accentuated by knotty wood floors, charcoal sliced-pebble tiles, white-painted stone fireplaces, and black wire-brushed oak accents that lend depth. Lavender-toned furnishings add measured color, as does artwork inspired by Napa Valley landscapes. The hotel’s public spaces and gardens, meanwhile, are adorned with a rotating selection of art sourced from stalwart San Francisco dealer Andrea Schwartz Gallery.
“There’s an inherent softness to Yountville that we wanted to carry into every guest room,” says Jillian Adams, senior interior designer at Premier. “The property’s residential scale and lush garden surroundings recalled the feeling of an Italian villa. That sensibility shaped everything from the materials we chose to the way the rooms invite guests to slow down and settle in.”
To that end, accommodations encourage unhurried mornings through considered comforts. Each room pairs Fili d’Oro linens with plush down duvets and spa-style bathrooms equipped with deep soaking tubs. Select premium suites introduce separate living areas and private outdoor balconies suited to languorous afternoons sipping cabernet. The Yountville Suite, the hotel’s most exclusive key, stretches beyond 1,100 square feet and includes multiple patios and airy vaulted ceilings. For guests drawn to restorative perks, dedicated wellness-focused rooms feature advanced air filtration and hypoallergenic bedding. That same ethos extends to the spa, an eco-conscious poolside retreat, where treatments take cues from nearby vineyards. Vino Therapy, for example, combines a cabernet-enriched salt exfoliation with a wine-paired aromatherapy bath and a massage using chardonnay grape seed oil to nourish the skin.
Though Yountville features an array of restaurants owing to Chef Keller’s outsize presence in town, Hotel Yountville boasts its own impressive offering. Heritage Oak, open exclusively to guests, serves breakfast and lunch with a farm-to-table approach fueled by regional ingredients. Signature morning plates include chilaquiles with house-made salsa, cilantro, crème fraîche, and queso fresco, avocado toast crowned with a poached egg and pickled vegetables, and house-cured Scottish salmon perched on an English muffin with dill cream cheese and lemon. Lunch selections range from beer-battered cod tacos with chipotle aioli to a grass-fed Heritage Oak burger alongside seasonal salads dressed with fruit sourced from K&J Orchards nearby.
“A stay at Hotel Yountville is meant to unfold at its own pace,” advises hotel manager Stephanie Burdette. “Every element is designed to help guests unwind, connect with the surroundings, and fully immerse themselves in the serene beauty of Napa Valley.” That makes extending one’s stay an understandable choice. For a change of scenery within town, Hotel Yountville’s sister property, the walkable Hotel Bardessono, offers a complementary experience with the recent debut of its Olive Suite. Spanning nearly 900 square feet, the luxe accommodation includes a built-in wine chiller, a private patio with a gently flowing water feature, and an eight-seat dining table. Together, the properties articulate a distinctly Napa Valley approach to hospitality, where daily life unwinds in breezy harmony with the breathtaking expanses of vineyards just beyond town.