The Best Bed and Breakfasts in Napa, California

Breakfast is an elevated affair at the Candlelight Inn, a romantic bed and breakfast in a 1929 Tudor-style home. The three-course breakfast served on a patio next to the pool features locally sourced ingredients in banana pancakes with caramel sauce or a golden frittata with spinach and herbs. They’re so good, in fact, guests have been known to request the recipes. The locally owned inn has good relationships with many wineries and prides itself on connecting guests with the experience that’s right for them; whether that’s an expensive cabernet tasting or down-and-dirty vineyard tour. The inn’s guest rooms include flourishes such as stained-glass windows or antique mantels.

Cabernet House transports guests to the old world with its dark-wood columns, burgundy walls and oversized stone fireplace. Guest rooms offer a whirlwind tour of Europe from the Night in Paris with its French doors and antique clawfoot bathtub to La Biblioteca with Venetian plaster walls and a crackling fire. The most requested room, the Starry Nights, is the inn’s smallest, but guests go crazy for the three large skylights over the king-sized bed and the outdoor spa tub. The communal patio has Adirondack chairs and potted plants.

Offering the amenities of a hotel but the charm of an inn, The Napa Inn & Spa is a good choice for B&B newbies. It’s in two adjacent Victorian buildings within walking distance of Downtown Napa. All 15 guest rooms have California king beds and luxury linens, and some also have fireplaces. The inn’s small spa offers Swedish massages and mani/pedis, plus treatments can be done in-room, if desired. The champagne couple’s massage, including breakfast in bed and a bottle of bubbly, is the ultimate indulgence. In fact, romance is the Napa Inn & Spa’s calling card; even breakfast is by candlelight.

Constructed in 1892 by one of San Francisco’s top architects, Cedar Gables Inn recalls a simpler time. An example of Arts & Crafts architecture, the inn looks like a grand English cottage, but jetted bathtubs and contemporary leather couches make it feel altogether more modern. Still, guests will appreciate historical details including brick fireplaces and stained-glass windows. In-room upgrades (for an additional charge) such as flowers, chocolates, special-occasion cakes, cheese and fruit platters and a wide array of wine and champagne, are all on the menu.

Chef and owner Jim Gunther, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy who even has a breakfast cookbook, has created more than 160 recipes for the Inn on First. Guests will have a unique meal on every stay, such as apple-pie pancakes and pop tarts with a fried egg. Adults-only, the mansion’s rooms come TV-free so you can reconnect as a couple. They do, however, have whirlpool tubs and gas fireplaces to help set the mood. The environmentally friendly inn offers guests stainless steel water bottles (rather than plastic), in-room recycling bins and uses only natural cleaning products, too.

Napa Valley’s oldest hotel, Maison Fleurie, was built in 1873, originally as the Magnolia, using stone from local quarries. With its central Yountville location, next to the railroad and a saloon, it was a lively gathering spot – and remains so today. Four Sisters Inns bought it in the 90s and gave it a south of France-style renovation. Each guest room, located in three different buildings surrounded by landscaped gardens, has a queen or king bed, and many feature a fireplace, patio, or jetted spa tub. An on-the-house breakfast for two, including blueberry pancakes and artichoke quiche, can be devoured at the wooden farm table next to a roaring fire in the main building.