Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa

California’s Napa Valley hasn’t exactly had trouble attracting travelers, thanks to its phenomenal food and wine scene and its incredibly pleasant climate and landscape. It’s been a touch late, however, to embrace the boutique motel trend, tending rather toward ultra-luxe wineries and resorts. With the Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa, however, that’s all changed; here’s a ’40s motor lodge reimagined in a retro-influenced contemporary style by the design firm AvroKO (whose work is on display in a fair number of other Tablet hotels).

The rooms and suites consciously recall VW Camper vans, though in a stylized way — the spaces are necessarily larger and much more comfortable than their mobile inspirations. (Not many vans can comfortably hold a king bed, or a pair of queens, not to mention walk-in rainfall showers.) Needless to say it’s several steps up from the hotel’s previous incarnation as a relatively humble motor lodge.

Meanwhile the hotel’s three pools take advantage of Calistoga’s famous geothermal springs, as does the gorgeous spring-fed spa. And while there’s no restaurant, you’re not exactly hurting for options here in one of America’s culinary capitals. Thankfully Calistoga Motor Lodge’s location places guests within walking distance of everything worth seeing in Calistoga’s compact city center — including a generous spread of extremely worthy restaurants — and bikes are available free of charge to extend your roaming range.