The Carneros Inn

Centrally located between Napa and Sonoma in an otherwise-rural spot, the Carneros Inn makes a great base for exploring either one. That is, if you can tear yourself away from this lovely place.

If your idea of luxury hotel is Persian carpets and French Provincial furniture, then this isn't the place for you, but if you like beautiful views and something a bit out of the ordinary, you'll enjoy it very much.

• 86 private cottages
• 4048 Sonoma Hwy
• Napa, CA
• Phone: 707-299-4900
• Toll Free: 888-400-9000
• Fax: 707-299-4950
• website

• Free parking
• Free high-speed Internet connection inside the room, on the front porch and on the patio
• Concierge
• Pool
• Hot tub
• Fitness center
• Wood-burning fireplaces
• Private restaurant for guests only
• Boon Fly Cafe, open to the public for more informal dining

All the standard amenities. The little touches are many, but some of the most notable are gas-fired heaters on the outside deck and heated, slate-tiled bathroom floors.

Be sure to check their online specials, which may include spa treatments, meals and room discounts.

Minimum stays are required on weekends.

Tripadvisor reviews. See our review below.

Two restaurants are located on the Carneros Inn property. On the hilltop, you'll find a lovely dining room with outdoor seating overlooking the beautiful Carneros countryside, and open for hotel guests only.

Nearby and also run by the same company, the Boon Fly Cafe is open to the public, serving a more casual menu. Their flatbreads, which are really thin-crust pizzas make a fine meal if you're not too hungry.

The on-premises spa at the Carneros Inn provides a range of massages and other services, many of them based on natural products of the area, such as a goat-butter or mustard-seed massage, grape seed body scrub and an organic garden wrap. The facilities are calming and their therapists highly skilled. However, they've taken the "on the farm" look a bit too far here in the rough, concrete floors that call to mind a campground rather than a luxury hotel.Don't go looking for "the building" when you go to the Carneros Inn because you won't find it. On a hilltop overlooking the Carneros wine county, you'll find the registration desk, concierge desk, restaurant and spa, but your "room" will be a charming cottage.

In keeping with its rural setting, exteriors incorporate elements of the farm: corrugated metal fences, board-and-batten siding and tin roofs. Inside, it's modern all the way, with Brazilian cherry-wood floors and luxurious linens.

Spread over 27 acres, the cottages provide privacy for whatever you might want to do. The hot tub, just below the beautiful swimming pool, is most romantic at night.

The hotel staff are exceptionally attentive and friendly, and every time we needed something, one of the seemed to appear like Aladdin's genie.

My complaints are few, and mostly tongue-in-cheek. Reclining on the chaise lounge outside on a moonless night, contemplating the Milky Way, I wondered why my room wasn't outfitted with a star chart and telescope. And then there was the extra wait in the morning while my fastidious spouse soaked in the bathtub, checked all the options on the indoor shower and finished in the outdoor one (his favorite).

With a top-notch spa on the premises and two fine places to eat on the property, you may find yourself doing what I did: scrapping your itinerary, ordering a glass of champagne and watching the sun set.

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary accommodation for the purpose of reviewing those services. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.