Off the Wine Highway

Forget all your ideas about a basic motel/hotel. This is better described as an inn. This place changed hands in 2001, and the current owners have put a lot into this property. You would not believe you are staying at chain hotel. They have a full breakfast--not just juice, coffee, and muffin--plus, they put out a great late afternoon spread to go with the wine tasting they have on the weekends, actually Thursday thru Sunday. There is original art in the gardens and the lobby. The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and have great baths. Here is a place you can pamper yourself and not break the budget. Check them out.

They are providing the very best in ingredients: range-fed beef and chicken, fresh-from-the-coast seafood, and carefully selected, fresh, local seasonal vegetables. The beer is great, and the food is equally good. Wine, of course, is available. They've got good-size portions and an unpretentious atmosphere, making it a great place to eat after a day of wine tasting or touring the Napa Valley.

Here is an area that is easy to miss, up above St Helena on the back road to Santa Rosa. Visit their website and make reservations to try some of the exceptional wines that come from here. See www.springmountaindistrict.com.

Taking a limo tour might be easier because they know the area better. Search for other wineries and things to do in Napa Valley with www.insidenapavalley.com.