2 Best Hotels in Rutherford, Napa and Sonoma

Taking a cue from the olive-tree-studded landscape, this hotel with a renowned restaurant and spa cultivates a luxurious look that blends French and California style. It backs up that look—custom wood furnishings, original art, and soft yellow hues—with lavish amenities that include private terraces, jetted soaking tubs, and extra-large showers. Superlative service and valley views that stun at nearly every turn add to the romance of this hillside hideaway whose French name translates to "inn of the sun."

A romantic hacienda-away-from-home that off-season may be the Napa Valley's best value in its price range, this upscale-contemporary boutique hotel near Inglenook and the Rutherford Grill contains rooms whose decor and artworks evoke the area's Mexican heritage. The large guest rooms, most of them split-level, all with patios, and some with vaulted exposed-beam ceilings, have textured-plaster walls, brown leather furniture, and contemporary variations on stovepipe fireplaces. Hanging plants, ceramic-tile friezes, a mass of wrought iron, and a series of graceful arches contribute to the movie-set glamour of the brick-lined courtyard that contains the rectangular wading pool and adjacent hot tub. The pool isn't huge, but it'll cool you off on a hot summer day, and the courtyard is a peaceful retreat.