Calistoga Ranch

From the Hideaway Report

July 2012 Hideaway Report

The second Auberge Resorts property in the Napa Valley — the Auberge du Soleil debuted in 1985 — Calistoga Ranch is implausibly constructed on what was once a trailer campground. Rather than undertake an arduous new commercial zoning process, the developers kept the old building codes and drove in a series of modular units. Fortunately, the results are conspicuously different from an RV park!

The resort comprises 48 cedar-clad guest lodges sequestered in a wooded canyon at the northern edge of the Napa Valley, just off the Silverado Trail. (A further 23 fractionally owned residences occupy the southeast section of the property). While a wide swath of activities is available, from hot air ballooning to wine-blending classes, the resort seems primarily intended to host couples who seek to be alone amid idyllic surroundings.

The stone-and-wood guest lodges blend seamlessly with shady stands of moss-covered live oaks. Owing to the original size restrictions, the units are connected by decks that are designed as outdoor living spaces, with fireplaces, comfortable lounge chairs and dining tables. In the one- and two-bedroom lodges, for example, guests must walk across the decks to go between the bedrooms and the living rooms. On a recent cool spring evening in a Bay Forest Lodge, I found this to be quite refreshing and agreeable, but then, I didn’t have to do it in a gale! All of the lodges have outdoor shower areas, their screens draped with hanging wildflowers.

There are no grand public spaces at Calistoga Ranch. Visitors can stroll or be shuttled in golf carts between a pool area and private Cabernet vineyard at one end of the property and a lakeview restaurant and spa at the other. Other guest sightings are scarce.

Calistoga is famously a spa destination; its natural hot springs have been popular since the Gold Rush days, and the town’s name is a conflation of California and Saratoga Springs (of which it was intended to be a Western imitation). The small spa complex at the resort has a natural mineral pool, an outdoor Jacuzzi and a fetching outdoor relaxation area.

The Lakehouse, under the direction chef Christian Ojeda (formerly at Fleur de Lys, and Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas), has a superb three-course dinner tasting menu. A bright, citrusy starter of roasted golden beets was followed by creamy ricotta and yam agnolotti and a perfectly roasted Niman Ranch pork tenderloin enlivened with an aromatic mole sauce. (Room service meals were also of restaurant quality.)

There is a gym by the pool, stocked with all the latest cardio machines, but I skipped it in favor of a hike. Two trailheads on the property climb to opposing ridges; both switchback through low-lying coastal redwood trees to peaceful copses of twisted, red-barked manzanita. From a lookout point on a Palisades ridge, you can watch the morning mist tumble down the Mayacamas range across the valley.

Wine-tasting excursions from Calistoga Ranch are enhanced by the property’s a small, gleaming fleet of late-model Mercedes-Benz automobiles, which are available for guests to use at their discretion. One late afternoon, I found myself zipping along the Silverado Trail in an S350 convertible with the top down, a concierge-annotated winery map at my side.

Calistoga Ranch is priced between its sister properties Auberge du Soleil and Solage. Given that it is not inexpensive, I was slightly underwhelmed by the interior décor, which was functional and rather bland. And the individual rooms are somewhat small, owing to the zoning restrictions. I was also surprised to learn that the spa frowns on guests showing up to use the facilities without any scheduled treatments. These criticisms aside, I commend the resort for its flawless service, excellent food and ineffably tranquil setting.

Illustration © Melissa Colson

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