The World’s Best Wine Country Hotels

Formerly Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Napa Valley.

Alila Napa Valley blends old and new in exciting and totally indulgent ways. The center of the 68-room property is a Victorian-style mansion that dates back to 1905; the house has been renovated and modernized and now is home to an intimate bar (try the signature margarita) and the Acacia House restaurant, the latest offering from celebrity chef Chris Cosentino. Back toward the pool, the Spa Alila building was designed to replicate an old barn—with clapboard walls and high ceilings, the vibe is distinctive yet without pretense. Angled around these buildings are stand-alone, three-story structures that house the majority of the guest rooms. The design is sleek and modern, with such thoughtful touches as complimentary minibars and blackout shades. Though compact, the pool is in an exquisite setting with vineyard views; the hotel also has bicycles that guests can use to get around town.


Featuring the same warm, minimalist aesthetic of its sister property in Mexico City, the 68-room Las Alcobas is decked out in natural materials such as oak, jute, and Carrara marble. Every space is built for pleasure, whether you’re sitting beside the fire pit on your balcony (book one of the 10 rooms with an outdoor soaking tub), in the Acacia House restaurant (with a menu by Bay Area chef Chris Cosentino), or in one of the spa’s five treatment rooms.

Tucked away on an eight-acre estate at the top of St. Helena’s main street, Harvest Inn could easily be mistaken for a private country manse somewhere in England, or even northern France. Its lush gardens are traversed by winding pathways, and its brick-accented, Tudor-inspired architecture suggests somewhere far more Old World than upstart Napa. Even its sinuous pools and cozy rooms (many with fireplaces and private outdoor hot tubs, mind you) are reminiscent of a style somewhat less rustic-chic than tends to be in vogue here in wine country. Indeed, by Napa Valley standards, the intimate inn is part of the old guard, its original 25 rooms dating back to 1975, just after the famed Judgment of Paris tasting brought the region’s New World wines into the international spotlight.

But the Harvest Inn is no less luxurious than the new resorts popping up all over Napa Valley. It has one of the most desirable locations in one of the most desirable parts of the world, surrounded by celebrated vineyards and presiding over arguably the most picturesque town in wine country. It also features a popular restaurant, Harvest Table, which serves dishes full of ingredients from the hotel’s on-site vegetable and herb garden.

A labor of love from local brother-and-sister owners Joe and Catherine Bartolomei, this six-acre, farmhouse-style resort in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley underwent an $8 million renovation in 2015, adding nine light-filled rooms with four-poster beds and fireplaces. The Spa at Farmhouse, modeled after a vintage stable, has double-height ceilings and pine doors for each of its four treatment rooms. The thoughtful details will win you over: a glass of wine at check-in, an attentive staff at the Michelin-starred restaurant, and fresh-baked cookies at turndown.

With its indoor pool and lavish spa, the Allison Inn & Spa is the most comfortable place to recharge between Willamette Valley wine tastings. At the restaurant Jory (named for a local soil that’s ideal for growing pinot noir), chef Sunny Jin highlights the region’s abundance as well as ingredients from the hotel garden. An 800-label wine list inspires endless pairing possibilities.

Located just outside of Santa Cruz in the heart of the Colchagua Valley, Clos Apalta Residence (formerly Lapostolle Residence) is known for its premium Chilean wine. In 2005, the Marnier family opened the stunning property on a steep hillside in the micro region of Apalta. In addition to a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery, they built four villas, giving wine lovers a unique place to stay. Today, Clos Apalta functions as a Relais & Chateaux luxury hotel, complete with beautiful views of the valley and its surrounding mountains. Guests can relax on their private terrace, in the lodge, or by the infinity pool, sipping house wines while enjoying the vistas. They also have exclusive access to the dining room, where chefs use produce from the hotel’s own organic garden, and tours of the owners’ wine cellar during visits to the winery.

Cavas Wine Lodge is the quintessential romantic retreat. Located on a secluded vineyard in the heart of Mendoza’s wine country, the peaceful property offers 17 very private villas, which appear to have grown organically amid the 55-acre working vineyard. The boutique hotel is named after its 3,000-bottle wine cellar, where the in-house sommelier hosts complimentary wine tastings each evening. There’s also a tranquil spa, delicious restaurant and, during the February through April harvest, an array of exciting activities at the lodge.

The hotel’s dynamic husband-and-wife owners, Cecilia Diaz Chuit and Martin Rigal, personally attend to guests with a warmth that permeates the entire experience. Designed for romantic getaways, each villa has a secluded sun deck with a panoramic view of the snowcapped Andes Mountains, plus a wood-burning fireplace and a private plunge pool.

Six Senses is known for top-tier, sustainability-focused resorts in far-flung locales like the Maldives but, in 2015, the Bangkok-based hospitality brand opened its first European resort in Portugal’s wine-producing Douro Valley. Housed in a 19th-century manor house with a terracotta-tiled roof, the property features a contemporary interior, outfitted in shades of muted gold, gray, and white. Set high on a hill, the 57 rooms, suites, and villas offer stunning views of rolling vineyards, lush forests, or the property’s courtyard.

For what are undoubtedly the best vistas, choose one of the fifth-floor Quinta Panorama Suites, each with floor-to-ceiling windows that look straight onto the meandering Douro River. A wine cellar and library showcase the best of the region’s vintages, while three restaurants make use of vegetables and herbs harvested from the resort’s own organic garden. Apropos of a spa in wine country, nail treatments come with wine and cheese tastings, and scrubs and masks are individually blended with grapes, salts, herbs, and other natural ingredients.

The metal-and-glass ribbon structure of this Frank Gehry−designed hotel—not too far from Bilbao—creates an ethereal silhouette that contrasts dramatically with Elciego’s medieval landscape. Opt for a guided tour to learn more about the history of winemaking in the Basque countryside.

For nearly three centuries, workers serving the nobility at Castello Banfi in Tuscany lived in a small hamlet within the castle grounds. In 2007, however, the stone houses within their tiny village were completely renovated under the direction of Italian interior designer Federico Forquet, catapulting Castello Banfi into a new era of grandeur. Today, the property welcomes guests from November through March in two guest rooms and 12 suites, each with wood-beamed ceilings, countryside views, and bathrooms stocked with “vinotherapy” products made from the estate’s Sangiovese Brunello. A central garden with a pergola, a heated outdoor pool, secluded lounging spaces, and alfresco massage tents offer plenty of ways to take in the surrounding vineyards. If you’re feeling more active, take a cooking class with the chef (held a short drive away at the estate farmhouse), tour the Banfi winery, or venture out to nearby historic towns like Montalcino and Siena.

About an hour outside of Cape Town, Babylonstoren is one of South Africa’s oldest werfs, or farmyards. In 2010, Karen Roos, a former editor at South Africa’s Elle Decoration, reimagined the property as a fantasy farm stay with an eight-acre garden that grows 300 varieties of fruits and vegetables. Guests are welcome to help the head gardener prune and plant, and to join the chef in his daily harvest. Some of the 13 laborers’ cottages that have been rebuilt as guestrooms feature kitchens for those who want to pick and prep their own meals.

How tempting is it to run off to a rustic Tuscan villa? To just drive the rolling, vineyard- and olive grove–lined hills of Tuscany until you find the perfect one to painstakingly, lovingly restore, à la Under the Tuscan Sun, where you can produce your own olive oil and wine, grow your own vegetables, go for long bike rides in search of Etruscan ruins, and befriend the locals in the nearest village despite speaking nary a word of Italian? That’s pretty much what a stay at the Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort is like, except they’ve done the heavy lifting for you. The Pasquali family spent two years transforming the 17th-century villa, once the domain of the noble Florentine Roti Michelozzi family, into a rustic retreat and working olive oil farm. Now, guests can waltz in and lounge by the pool, take long walks through the orchards, sample the house olive oils, dine alfresco on fresh local cuisine, and learn to cook Tuscan specialties with the chef. The surrounding countryside is yours for the taking, with horseback riding, biking, and hiking excursions on nature trails up to Monte Giovi.

On the North Fork of Long Island, Shinn Estate Farmhouse Inn is tucked away on a peaceful vineyard. Rooms are in the estate’s historic 1880s homestead, and guests get to experience life on the vineyard—and taste the final product in the winery’s tasting rooms. There is also a lovely front porch and gazebo for kicking back with a glass of wine. A cozy wood-burning stove in the reception area is an ideal spot on a chilly day. Breakfast here is a slow and civilized affair, starting with hot coffee and finishing with a full farmhouse hot breakfast from chef David Page, made from farm-fresh ingredients. This is the pastoral North Fork at its best, designed for lazy afternoons, sleeping in, and one too many glasses of wine.