Auberge du Soleil
Hotel Name: Auberge de Soleil
Number Rooms: 50
Location: Approximately 90 minutes from both San Francisco and Sacramento Airports; 35 minutes from Napa County Airport.
This elegant, Provençal-inspired property in California’s wine country is one of the most romantic spots in the United States, making it perfect for a weekend getaway. Most of the guestrooms are dispersed throughout the property’s fifty individual maisons, and their style is cottagey, with slanted ceilings, wooden beams, luxe fabrics, and fireplaces. However, contemporary touches – such as the modern sculpture garden – give the hotel a stylish edge. The spa is wonderful and Auberge has many delightful walking trails. Like many other hotels in Napa, eating and drinking takes priority, and a spot on the gorgeous dining terrace is considered one of the best in town.
What We Loved: Sure, you can have a freshly baked croissant to start your day, but we recommend diving headfirst into the property’s Chinese and Japanese breakfast menu. Once you start that morning miso soup habit, it’s hard to break. Plus, the wine cellar is guarding some 15,000 bottles, so you don’t even need to leave property to have a full-on winocation (our original portmanteau that can mean both “wine-vacation” and “wine-education” – you’re welcome).
What We Didn’t Love: The hotel is a perfect place for a wedding and booked accordingly every Saturday evening of the season – great if you’re a guest of the bride and groom, and less so if you’re a traveler looking to enjoy some r&r.
Right For: A quick trip that feels like a great escape – Napa and Provence share major good-life DNA. The charming maisons are named after French towns, like Vence and St Remy – so you can tell your coworkers you’re headed to St Tropez for the weekend (after all, it houses our favorite Deluxe Garden Suite.)
Wrong For: The property doesn’t take kids under 16.
Best Time to Visit: March to November.
TLF Tip: Take a guided stroll through the incredible sculpture garden, which features over 100 works by more than 60 local artists; afterward, roll up to your private picnic in the olive grove, where kale salads, charcuterie, baguettes, macarons, and rose appear as if by magic from a perfectly packed basket. We won’t tell if you “accidentally” geotag your Instagram post to Gordes.