Bardessono
Tranquility and luxury with a low carbon footprint are among the goals of this ultragreen wood, steel, and glass resortlike property in downtown Yountville, but there's nothing spartan about the accommodations, arranged around four landscaped courtyards. Spacious rooms with private patios or balconies have high-thread-count organic bedding, gas fireplaces, and huge bathrooms with walnut floors. About half the rooms have combination showers/steam rooms, outdoor showers, or both. All the accommodations come equipped with the high-tech touches you'd expect of a contemporary upscale hotel—virtual-surround speaker systems, flat-screen TVs, and cordless phones—plus front doors you can open using your smartphone and motion sensors that detect when you're gone and adjust the blinds for energy efficiency. At the hotel's restaurant, Lucy, the chef uses mostly local ingredients, some grown in the hotel's garden, to craft the menu.