For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
The Carneros Inn
- Style
- Modernist home on the range
- Setting
- California's bucolic pastures new
This award-winning Napa Valley boutique resort offers a bold vision: the region's tin-roofed barns have inspired an unpretentious modern 'agri-chic' aesthetic that marries cowhide with Le Corbusier, and you'll be hard pushed to find a warmer welcome anywhere in the world than at The Carneros Inn.
Need to know
- Rooms
- 86 Cottages, including 10 Suites and 24 Private Homes.
- Rates
- $505–$2,700.
- Check-out
- Midday, but check with reception as late check-out is sometimes available.
- Facilities
- DVD library, gardens, luxury fitness centre and spa, spa boutique, concierge team; in-room plasma TVs, DVD, free Internet access, underfloor heating, wood-burning fires, minibar, AC, spa services and private fitness training, free bikes to borrow.
- Poolside
- The large adults-only outdoor heated infinity pool has lovely countryside views and a hot tub to enjoy them from; there's another infinity pool for families, with a hot tub and separate children's pool, too.
- Children
- Dedicated family pool area. Cottage suites available, consisting of adjoining cottages and shared patio. The hotel can organise a host of family activities, from art classes or cheese-making to horse-riding and helicopter trips. Babysitting.
- Eco-friendly
- Fires stocked with 'good wood'; rocking chairs made of recycled materials; geo-thermal heating and cooling system; menus are geared towards sustainable farming methods and local organic produce.
- Hotel closed
- Never.
- Also
- Smoking allowed on guests' private decks. Check-in is 4pm. The luxury spa offers suitably farm-inspired treatments, such as warm goat's butter massages, grape-seed scrubs. Dogs permitted in some rooms, $150 a stay; damages charge, $200 minimum.
In the know
- Our favourite rooms
- All the cottages have private gardens, patios and decks with gas heaters and romantic outdoor showers. Note that cottage suites consist of two separate cottages connected by a private patio (ideal for families or groups of friends). Vineyard suites have the nicest views, but the cottages represent better value for money.
- Packing tips
- Swimwear (you'll be gutted if you forget it); comfortable shoes for walking and post-wine-tasting moments of instability; a great book; yoga kit.
- Also
- The chef can prepare a picnic for you to take wherever you like. There's a team of concierge staff who are extremely knowledgable about the region, its vineyards and pursuits. They'll call before you arrive to find out what you want from your stay.
Food & drink
- Hotel restaurant
- The Farm serves local organic produce in an alfresco lounge setting with wood-burning fireplaces. Boonfly Café serves breakfast, lunch and light meals. The Hilltop Dining Room has amazing views. Tables can only be booked for six or more people.
- Dress code
- Take dress-down Friday and then dress it down even more. If you wear heels, you'll only scuff them on the gravel paths.
- Top table
- Head up to the Hilltop Dining Room for the best views. Sit by the fire or on the patio at Farm.
- Last orders
- Hilltop Dining Room, 4pm; Hilltop Bar, 10pm (midnight on Fridays and Saturdays); Boonfly Café, 10pm; Farm at the Carneros Inn, 10pm.
- Room service
- 7am–10pm; order a bottle of wine before last orders to drink on your private deck.
- Hotel bar
- The Hilltop Bar is decked out in Brazilian cherry wood and polished concrete; it's a great spot for a reflective after-dinner cocktail. Alternativley, kick back in Farm's buzzier outdoor lounge bar.
Smith card offer Two VIP tasting passes to the Vintner's Collective
If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).
Not a member? Join now
Smith concierge
If you’d prefer to talk to someone, or you’re having trouble booking online, ring our travel team on 0845 034 0700 (+44 20 8987 4312 from outside the UK). We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.
Local restaurants
Angèle (+1 707 252 8115) is 10 minutes away at 540 Main Street on the Napa River, and has an excellent modern French menu. Just a little further afield is the huge and always packed
Bistro Don Giovanni (+1 707 224 3300) for straightforward Italian fare at alfresco tables.
Local bars
There are bars, of course, but you're much more likely to end up in one of the local wineries or tasting venues. The multi-winery tasting bar
Vintner's Collective (+1 707 255 7150) is housed in the historic stone Pfeiffer building on Main Street and is an excellent place to try some of the valley's famous wines. You'll get an overview of the region's varieties as well as wines from some of the smaller properties.
Worth getting out of bed for
Di Rosa Preserve: Art & Nature (www.diroaspreserve.org) on the Carneros Highway is a 217-acre estate that houses a private collection of thousands of works of art by Northern Californian artists in a unique natural setting.
When you're in Napa Valley, you should at least visit one vineyard or tasting house. The Carneros Inn concierge can arrange a bespoke tasting for you at one of the many wineries in the Valley, but there are two right on the hotel's doorstep: Artesa has an amazingly romantic balcony and tastings from $7.50; Domaine Carneros by Taittinger (+1 707 257 0101) recalls a French château, and has a lovely terrace with table service; reservations aren't necessary and you can share a plate of cheese with your wine, too.
Recommended rooms
Cottages have two double beds. Family suites consist of adjoining cottages with a shared patio, so they're perfect for families. Kids will love the alfresco showers.
Activities
The hotel can organise a host of family-friendly activities at the hotel or in Napa, from art classes, cheese-making and nature walks to horse- riding and helicopter trips. This child-friendly hotel's concierge team will contact you before you arrive to find out what sort of things you'd like to do, meaning that finding activities to keep you and your children entertained is a breeze. There are family bikes to rent on site.
Swimming pool
There's an additional dedicated family pool area with a children's pool.
Meals
Room service is available 7am till 10pm; there's a kids' room-service menu too.
Babysitting
Babysitting can be arranged; rates vary according to time and day. Try to give the concierge as much notice as possible.