The Carneros Inn ~ Restore Yourself In This Truly Breathless and Indescribable Getaway

Jun 24th, 2011 | By Lulu del Rosario | Category: Hotels, Relax and Rewind

The Carneros Inn

Registration Building at The Carneros Inn

I don’t really know how to begin describing our experience at this spectacularly amazing destination that my husband and I visited a couple of weeks ago. I had read about it , saw a few videos online and looked at a few reviews. It was highly recommended by some of our readers but we had to see it for ourselves. I kept pinching myself when we were there. It is difficult to give justice by my mere words to this spectacularly relaxing farm-like and downright country touchy feely Napa Valley self contained resort off Highway 29, on the Sonoma Highway.

It is First Class luxury.

The Carneros Inn was immediately welcoming. I felt giddy with excitement when we first turned into the property. My husband and I were early for regular check in but there was so much of this expansive and spread out property to discover just by ourselves while we waited. We pre-registered anyway and were greeted by the friendliest of staff, courteous and already making us feel at home. A bucketful of beverages on ice awaited the thirsty traveler. We provided staff with our cell phone number so they could call us when our room was ready. In the meantime, the rest of the property was ours to see, feel, experience and photograph ~ and that’s exactly what we did.

First up was The Hilltop infinity pool. [note to self: next time, travel in a bathing suit!]

The Hilltop Pool at The Carneros Inn

From the pool, looking at The Hilltop dining rooms

In it’s ranch style splendor, this gorgeous and inviting pool sits atop of The Hill overlooking the vineyards of the Carneros countryside. It’s peaceful here and while my husband explored the land around it, I momentarily sat on one of the loungers to savor my moment. I could’ve stayed in my spot for a while. I wasn’t at all antsy while waiting for our room to be ready. Our experience was just beginning and we wanted time to stand still.

We spent a little bit of time in The Market. Manager Lori Harrison immediately made me feel like I had found a long lost friend. As soon as she knew I was taking my beer-loving husband on a wine country journey, she made him feel right at home and presented him with a cold bottle of Napa Smith Pale Ale. Indeed, the man was relieved and relaxed. We returned to The Market later in the evening to purchase our snacks, more beverages and dinner! The resort is self contained and within the premises, you’ll find a mini Post Office, 3 dining areas, meeting spaces for corporate events or receptions, designated areas for a destination wedding and a Spa that will enhance anyone’s well being. Paradise and all the amenities easily at your beck and call, or a skip and a hop.

This PlumpJack resort is a favorite wedding destination and a photographer’s dream. As you will see, I took a ton of photos; only about half are presented here.

It was also a privilege to meet the very gracious Diane Wesley, The Carneros Inn’s Director of Sales and Marketing. I kept thinking to myself at this time how friendly everyone was ~ and we hadn’t really officially been checked in yet! We were still exploring!

Soon enough, our phone rang and we returned to the Registration building to complete our check in. Even that building was something else! I mean, really. How can you fall in love with a building, right? But I did!

Registration Desk at The Carneros Inn

The inscription on the mantle says “If You Can Dream” [click on images to enlarge]

We were escorted to our cottage as we entered our 3rd hour at the resort. We thought we were already feeling like we belonged here and felt right at home. In fact, we didn’t think we could be any more surprised ~ until we entered our 2 room suite. And then we were over the moon, jaw dropping blown away. I will let you view all the photographs on the presentation at the end of this post. There are 109 photographs! It was THAT COOL !! I’ll throw a few here for a mini look-see.

Our front porches look out into a little apple orchard

Our two room suite and a patio that had a heat lamp. Yes, we looked up at the stars at night.

Are you feeling it ? I haven’t shown you the bathroom yet. There’s a fun feature there! The indoor shower doors open out to an outdoor shower. Want to see? Well, let me show you! [Please hover over photos for description or enlarge for full viewing pleasure].

Needless to say, it was a lot of fun. In the afternoon, we picked up our deli sandwiches and had our snacks and then dinner outdoor. We also walked around the property to look at it at dusk, it was gorgeous. After the sun set, we hung outside in the chaise lounge and turn on the overhead heater. A barn owl flew above our heads ~ I’d say about a couple feet above our heads and I told my friends on Facebook. One of them replied back and said “you city girls should come out to the country more!” Truly, an understatement! I was loving the country feeling and didn’t want the night to end.

Neither did my beer guy in wine country!

We reconnected while we were here. It was a retreat from the world. We found our souls again, temporarily (and unknowingly) lost because of our daily schedules; we found togetherness ~ sounds cliche, but there was definitely a re-discovery. It was difficult to pry our rejuvenated spirits away but we somehow managed. “It’s only an hour away”, we consoled ourselves.

Rest your weary soul

The Carneros Inn truly deserves all the accolades it has won. It is splendor in the valley. Time should stand still when immerse yourself in a place like this and in all this property has to offer. We savored every second, minute and moment and now we have our memories to relive this amazing experience. I hope you’ll find yourselves here someday. If you do, tell them we sent you to relax, rekindle and restore yourself.

Please enjoy more photographs that I hope (at the very least) allows you to experience the time we spent here.