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So what if the Napa Valley is known for wine? The destination has cocktails dialed in, too.

We’re looking forward to checking in to these 10 new hotels in the new year.

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Where to go in California, according to the cofounder of one of Sonoma County’s most casually cool wineries.

For AFAR’s second annual Travelers’ Choice hotel awards, our readers cast close to 60,000 votes to recognize their favorite hotels, from a romantic retreat on Italy’s Amalfi Coast to a cliffside lodge in northern New Zealand.

Head to one of these 11 wineries for your next rosé holiday.

It’s in Calistoga, one of the valley’s popular towns.

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Wandering Chef: Brandon Sharp in North Carolina

Why we love it: A reimagined motel with quirky design, mineral pools, and a spa straight out of a Wes Anderson movie

The Highlights:
- Three different mineral pools for soaking in the sun
- A laidback spa with a twist on Calistoga’s classic mud baths
- Fun amenities like bikes, lawn games, and Polaroid cameras

The Review:
Inspired by classic roadside motels, Calistoga Motor Lodge sits at the end of the Silverado Trail, offering guests a casual, quirky stay in Napa’s northernmost town. The boutique property features a design by New York-based firm AvroKo, with lots of midcentury-modern furniture, bright pops of color, and retro details to transport visitors back in time. Simple yet cozy, rooms feature bold carpets, vintage-inspired fabrics, and cheeky art (think needlepoint signs reading “No selfies in the bathroom” and fabric animal heads mounted on the walls), plus tiled bathrooms with rainfall showers and signature bath products from on-site MoonAcre Spa. In addition to custom-designed hoodie bathrobes and freshly ground pour-over coffee, guests can look forward to unconventional extras like hula hoops, Mad Lib books, and Etch A Sketches for passing time between activities. If you bring along your pet, the hotel will even provide a dog bed, water and food bowls, and treats to make your four-legged friend feel at home.

Committed to local culture, Motor Lodge often hosts community events like group hikes, outdoor movie nights, and festivals. On Maker Mondays, local artisans even pop up at the hotel to host lessons in print making and more. When it comes time to relax, guests can repair to the three on-site mineral pools, all fed by natural geothermal hot springs and surrounded by loungers and cabana beds, or the whimsical spa, which offers everything from massages and body scrubs to less-traditional mud baths and salt soaks in clawfoot tubs. Afterward, soak up the sun in the spa garden, play a round of cornhole on the lawn, gather around the firepit, or grab a complimentary bike and make the short ride into town. Just be sure to borrow a Polaroid camera from the lobby so you can document your adventures at the surrounding wineries, boutiques, and galleries.

Calistoga Ranch was damaged in the Glass Fire of 2020. They are closed indefinitely.

Calistoga Ranch sits in a private canyon of the ridge that makes up the eastern side of the Napa Valley. From this secluded spot, the entire valley floor unfolds. On windy nights, you might spot hawks surfing thermal winds just outside your balcony. But the views aren’t the only selling points of this ultra-luxurious 157-acre resort. Instead of traditional rooms, Calistoga Ranch is composed of 50 freestanding one- and two-bedroom guest lodges. Each upscale-yet-approachable lodge resembles a wooden cabin, with sweet-smelling cedar, indoor and outdoor showers, and a deck that opens to the mossy forest. The resort’s calendar is packed with activities, including bocce, wine-blending classes, and painting and photography workshops. Last year, the resort started offering guests a formal guided hike to Davis Estates Winery with a picnic lunch along the way. The pool area has earned numerous awards for its laid-back design. The on-site spa specializes in hydrotherapy with soaking treatments, while the property’s largest restaurant, dubbed The Lakehouse, overlooks Lake Lommel and serves a host of dishes made of all local produce. Try the halibut with piperade, carrot, fennel, and scallops.

Overview

The colorful history of Calistoga is front and center at the modest Sharpsteen Museum, whose exhibits cover the town’s founding up to the early 20th century, including its time as a hot springs resort in the 1860s, and extensive dioramas show the town as it was then. The developer was Samuel Brannan, California’s first millionaire, a well-known man of many trades and an entrepreneur. One of the exhibits also spotlights Robert Louis Stevenson’s time in town. He spent the summer of 1880 living in an old mining cabin up on Mount St. Helena and wrote about the experience in the book The Silverado Squatters. Other exhibits include a simulated 1860s-era barn, a restored stagecoach, and a model of the Napa Valley Railroad. The facility is notably low tech, but that’s part of its appeal. Allow at least an hour for the full experience.

Author Robert Louis Stevenson’s connection to Napa Valley is celebrated at the eponymous museum, a modest building near the public library on the outskirts of St. Helena, and highlights the summer he spent squatting in an abandoned cabin on Mount St. Helena in Calistoga. This history, as well as a permanent exhibit that features all sorts of Stevenson memorabilia—including original manuscripts, books, photos, paintings, and other mementos—is on view at the museum. Much of the exhibits are composed of the personal collections of Norman H. Strouse, a Stevenson fan who started the museum in 1969, and of the author’s heirs.