INTRODUCTION
The Candlelight Inn, located just a few minutes west of Downtown Napa and conveniently placed between all the things both Napa and Sonoma Counties have to offer, has a very special place in my heart and I wanted to share both my experience and what they have to offer that you simply won’t find in any other Bed & Breakfast in the area.
BACK STORY
As everyone around the world is keenly aware, 2020 was a year we all would probably rather forget – or at least forget how COVID-19 affected our lives in so many ways. Being immuno-compromised, my family and I stayed in our house from mid-March, when the first lockdown in California went into effect, until the end of July. I was paranoid, like so many – washing our groceries, boxes and all, ordering in dinners – in essence we didn’t see anyone outside of our house other than when we walked our dog, and then it was from across the street.
But, by the end of July, I simply was going utterly stir-crazy and needed to get out. So we decided to rent an airbnb in Carmel, CA, and ventured out for a weekend away. By July outdoor dining was open in many areas, include Carmel, and we almost felt normal. Almost. We really enjoyed our time away – taking walks in new surroundings, enjoying time outside, and hearing other people’s conversations! Don’t get me wrong, I love my partner, but I really wanted to hear what other people were up to outside of our tiny little bubble!
We returned home that Sunday and, by Monday, I wanted to go back again. Unfortunately, the Airbnb was no available that weekend – everyone seemed to be itching to get out too – and since my partner had never been to Napa, I decided that was our next weekend staycation, being just over an hour north of where we currently lived. But, Napa County has regulations in place around how many Airbnb’s (or short term rentals) are allowed and only about 40 have been grandfathered in. Needless to say, there was no Airbnb available in Napa itself, but we did find one in neighboring Sonoma, and so we booked our next getaway and waited patiently for the weekend to arrive.
Long story short… I used to be employed at realtor.com as the Sr. Director of Social Media Marketing and being in the real estate industry for over 20 years, I always have an interest in what is for sale in new areas we visit across the States and what homes are selling for. Cupertino, CA, where we lived at the time (the mecca of all things Tech, including Apple’s headquarters, Netflix, Facebook, etc.,) was, and continues to be extremely expensive and verging on only affordable to the ultra-rich – we were paying over $8,000/mo in rent for our 3 bedroom home (granted it did have an indoor sports court, but that’s not the point..!). An average home – 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,800 sqft would run you at least $2.2M. It just wasn’t something that we were interested in pursuing.
So when we were up in Sonoma and Napa for the weekend, I pulled open my realtor.com app on my phone and started looking at properties. For the same amount of money, I found homes with twice the square footage, twice the lot size and well, the next thing my partner knew, we were scheduled to go look at four homes! And, now? Now, we live in Napa!
We had a very long escrow – almost 5 months, in fact (which I would never recommend!) and during that time we had to come up for various reasons, such as our home inspection and taking measurements for our new hardwood floors. We searched for a place to stay close-by and came across a lovely looking Bed and Breakfast, who had recently been allowed to reopen under stringent COVID-19 restrictions.
OUR STAY
Our first stay was in early August and we stayed in the beautifully appointed Majestic suite – complete with a two person hot tub and private deck overlooking the beautiful pool and deck.
The location of the Candlelight Inn was perfect – just a stone’s throw away from our house-to-be and literally 3 minutes from Downtown Napa – where we thoroughly enjoyed some amazing food at Avow Napa, Grace’s Table, and wine paired with ridiculous good popcorn (yes, popcorn!) at Gabrielle’s Collection.
Speaking of food, the breakfast in bed (which they have been serving to accommodate guests during the Pandemic, and I’m not complaining about that one bit!) at the Candlelight Inn is literally some of the best breakfast food I have ever had. Made in-house, the quiche, the french toast with apple compote, the cinnamon buns… it was all just divine! I would dare to say you would find similar meal offerings at five-star resorts…
Needless to say, we really enjoyed our first visit at the Inn and when we needed to come back for another trip to our house-to-be, it wasn’t a question where we would stay again.
The second visit didn’t disappoint either – this time we stayed in the Garden View suite – also with a two person hot tub and a large, handicap accessible bathroom, in addition to the walk-out deck, again overlooking the pool and deck. We felt very welcome and they truly did an outstanding job hosting us.
We learned that we could have had a two-person massage while we were there, and under different circumstances (you know, without a global pandemic), we would have taken them up on the offer – I believe it was around $200 for a couple’s hour massage.
For those that are new to Napa, like we were at the time, they provided us with a map of some of the places we could go along with making suggestions on their favorite spots. I believe Avow was one of those places – and it is now a place we visit regularly!
Knowing that many businesses have been struggling for over a year now with COVID-19, but what feels like a hundred years, I wanted to help the best way I knew how. I set out to meet with business owners who I had had a great experience with in my local community and help promote them online (what with having 20 years of marketing and 12 years of social media experience). The Candlelight Inn was the first on my list and getting to meet with the owners, Janet and George Kelts, was amazing! They were so open and friendly and were thrilled to meet with me and give me a tour to share with you. The video above provides some great insight as to what the Candlelight Inn has to offer and some great footage of the location and how wonderfully tucked away it is from the busy streets, but still just moments to the Valley and all it has to offer.
I hope that you enjoy this video and if you are in need of a fantastic place to stay when you visit Napa that you will give them a call first! You can reach them at 707-257-3717 or their website at www.candlelightinn.com – tell them Suzanne Hawken sent you!
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