Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
$-$$$ The one-story, motel-style Wine Valley Lodge (200 S. Coombs St., Napa;
% 707/224-7911; www.winevalleylodge.com; DC, AE, MC, V) was, not long after
being built in 1953, famous for hosting the cast of the Elvis Presley movie Wild
in the Country during filming. (Elvis slept at a fancier inn up the road, thankyou-
verymuch.) Although its 56 rooms have been renovated with care several times
since then, make no mistake: This is an old-style motel, close to the highway. I
include it because it's hardly a horror show, and the value is strong: $89 single,
$139 double, including continental breakfast with fresh waffles. One benefit of
staying here is that you'll be close to the town of Napa, making eating cheaply and
buying groceries much easier than it is the farther out you go.
$-$$$ Simple, small, rooms in an unattractive green two-level roadside structure
at Napa Valley Redwood Inn (3380 Solano Ave., Napa; % 707/257-6111;
www.napavalleyredwoodinn.com; DC, AE, MC, V) are what you get for your $75 to
$150—an excellent price for Napa. It's right around the corner from the main drag
up the county, making it convenient for winery touring, and because it's in Napa
proper, you'll be able to find grocery stories to feed yourself so that you won't have
to break the bank at all the gourmet restaurants; there's a little shopping center right
across the street for that. If you've ever stayed in a motor inn, you'll get what's being
delivered here: Facilities won't change your life, but for many people, the price may
make it possible to see Napa at all. Expect your room to have a stand-up shower but
not a bath, and also for it to come with a continental breakfast in the morning. The
area, too, is not the best Napa has to offer, but it's not too bad (nothing here is).
$$-$$$ El Bonita 55 (195 Main St., St. Helena; % 707/963-3216; www.
elbonita.com; AE, DC, MC, V) is a simple, clean, family-run motel built in the old
drive-in style; it was once a religious retreat in the 1940s, but now, people mostly
fall on their knees here in thanks for a good room that isn't $500 a night. Although
it's on the main road, it's not really that noisy, especially if you get one of the rooms
in the newer building that was put up behind the classic one. Rooms are smallish,
but thoughtfully done for the price: The king beds are four-poster, and many bath-
rooms have been fitted with heated tile floors. Prices leap around according to the
time of year and the day of the week (the usual rules apply), but expect a queen-size
bed facing the pool (again, not too noisy, since people don't come here to swim) for
$112 to $189. Upgrade to a “homestead” with a kitchen for around $200.
$$-$$$ Rooms start at $109 at Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Springs Resort (1507
Lincoln Ave., Calistoga; % 707/942-4102; www.drwilkinson.com; AE, MC, V), an
institution among the Calistoga spas, where that money buys you a simple room
with a queen-size bed, an armoire, a little dining table, and, for $18 more, a kitch-
enette. Although the buildings are distinctly 1950s motel (standard room sizes,
walls made of era brick tile, and the neon sign out front deserves to be in an
Americana museum), the resort has gone to extra lengths to recently renovate the
rooms to a more refreshed standard. The patios and outdoor courtyards have been
well-groomed and are fitting places to unwind before walking out to the shops
and food along Lincoln. If you stay here, you can avail yourself of a standard pool
plus a pair (indoor and outdoor) of pools fed by mineral water. Then, of course,
there's this place's famously medicinal mud-bath spa (p. 257). The resort also
maintains a few cottages nearby; those start around $170.
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