Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley marks its first anniversary by continuing to surprise guests at every turn.
Lush landscape surrounds the property.
Before cruising down the driveway of resorts, I like to play a little game of guess which rides are sitting out front. Sometimes, it beats attending a luxe car show. New Maseratis and vintage Porches aside, it was particularly thrilling this winter to see Sweden-based Polestar (polestar.com) electric vehicles parked in front of Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley, which just celebrated its first anniversary with the news that it earned a Forbes Travel Guide five-star award.
The difference with the shiny new Polestars at the 85-room Four Seasons? They aren’t owned by hotel patrons. The property recently teamed up with the EV brand to offer guests the opportunity to drive in sustainable style or ride as a part of a complimentary house car service. “Polestar is focused on exceptional design and refined performance, making this collaboration a natural fit for our property,” says Mehdi Eftekari, the property’s general manager. Which means guests can now cruise a Polestar 2 (and its impressive Google infotainment system) or Polestar 1 (619 horsepower) performance GT vehicle around Calistoga or to wineries across Napa Valley.
Guests now have the opportunity to cruise around wine country in a Polestar 1 or Polestar 2 EV.
After spending nearly two hours in the Polestar 2, I realized the vehicle, which has a fully charged battery range of 270 miles, takes the idea of a smart car to next-level performance. The voice-activated Google assistant— an iPad-size touchscreen in the middle of the dash—turned out to be the perfect driving companion.
Gianduja chocolate pave
The infotainment component showcased the brains and capabilities of the sleek coupe, including mapping, key components (e.g., safety assessment) and, at least for me, the soundtrack to an afternoon. I asked the Spotify-based feature to find and play random songs (“Google, play ‘Seven Steps to Heaven’ by Miles Davis!”), and it performed flawlessly with mammoth sound on the Bowers & Wilkins speakers. Guests have come to expect brilliant amenities from Four Seasons, but maybe nothing quite as buff and memorable. This one is a knockout.
Chef Rogelio Garcia
Of course, if chef Rogelio Garcia has any say in the matter, his cooking may persuade guests to never leave the property. The Mexico City-born, Los Angeles- and Napa-raised chef, who now leads the kitchen at the newly opened 88-seat Auro, has a culinary pedigree that includes stints at Michelin-starred venues like The Commissary, The French Laundry and Spruce. He also starred on Bravo’s Top Chef Season 15 and is the author of the new book Convivir: Modern Mexican Cooking in California’s Wine Country. The star attraction is the restaurant’s tasting menu (don’t overlook the excellent California wine pairings), which changes weekly and reflects Garcia’s longtime relationships with local producers like Triple S Ranch and Elysian Fields Lamb.
On the night I visited, Garcia rolled out a parade of amuse-bouches that were delicate pieces of art on a plate, including golden turnip with truffle Bergamino, and cherry-smoked salmon with endive and mustard. The hits continued with seven-day-dryaged Japanese kampachi cradled in California golden kiwi and avocado, adding a sweet and savory punch to the dish. The chef also impressed with his rendition of sweet Maine lobster, amped beautifully with bok choy ravioli, golden chanterelles and bathed in sauce vin blanc. The standout dessert trophy: gianduja chocolate pave, with delicate hazelnut praline and golden dentelle for decadent ornamentation.
Four Seasons Napa Valley sits in the middle of Elusa Winery.
Guests also will find a top-flight spa (don’t miss the mud baths and treatments) here, but the buzz from the beginning has been the resort’s placement in the middle of a nearly 5-acre boutique winery known as Elusa (elusawinery.com). Renowned winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown works with Jonathan Walden to craft expressive cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc. The first grapes were planted more than two decades ago, and Elusa now has a gorgeous tasting room directly below TRUSS, the main dining area at Four Seasons. Sure, guests may tour the winery, but nothing surpasses a towering glass of cab as the sun does a slow fade behind the surrounding hills. Commit to the moment; ride in EV style in the morning. 400 Silverado Trail N., Calistoga,707.709.2100, fourseasons.com
Photography by: COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS NAPA VALLEY; KIM CARROLL
Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley marks its first anniversary by continuing to surprise guests at every turn.
Lush landscape surrounds the property.
Before cruising down the driveway of resorts, I like to play a little game of guess which rides are sitting out front. Sometimes, it beats attending a luxe car show. New Maseratis and vintage Porches aside, it was particularly thrilling this winter to see Sweden-based Polestar (polestar.com) electric vehicles parked in front of Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley, which just celebrated its first anniversary with the news that it earned a Forbes Travel Guide five-star award.
The difference with the shiny new Polestars at the 85-room Four Seasons? They aren’t owned by hotel patrons. The property recently teamed up with the EV brand to offer guests the opportunity to drive in sustainable style or ride as a part of a complimentary house car service. “Polestar is focused on exceptional design and refined performance, making this collaboration a natural fit for our property,” says Mehdi Eftekari, the property’s general manager. Which means guests can now cruise a Polestar 2 (and its impressive Google infotainment system) or Polestar 1 (619 horsepower) performance GT vehicle around Calistoga or to wineries across Napa Valley.
Guests now have the opportunity to cruise around wine country in a Polestar 1 or Polestar 2 EV.
After spending nearly two hours in the Polestar 2, I realized the vehicle, which has a fully charged battery range of 270 miles, takes the idea of a smart car to next-level performance. The voice-activated Google assistant— an iPad-size touchscreen in the middle of the dash—turned out to be the perfect driving companion.
Gianduja chocolate pave
The infotainment component showcased the brains and capabilities of the sleek coupe, including mapping, key components (e.g., safety assessment) and, at least for me, the soundtrack to an afternoon. I asked the Spotify-based feature to find and play random songs (“Google, play ‘Seven Steps to Heaven’ by Miles Davis!”), and it performed flawlessly with mammoth sound on the Bowers & Wilkins speakers. Guests have come to expect brilliant amenities from Four Seasons, but maybe nothing quite as buff and memorable. This one is a knockout.
Chef Rogelio Garcia
Of course, if chef Rogelio Garcia has any say in the matter, his cooking may persuade guests to never leave the property. The Mexico City-born, Los Angeles- and Napa-raised chef, who now leads the kitchen at the newly opened 88-seat Auro, has a culinary pedigree that includes stints at Michelin-starred venues like The Commissary, The French Laundry and Spruce. He also starred on Bravo’s Top Chef Season 15 and is the author of the new book Convivir: Modern Mexican Cooking in California’s Wine Country. The star attraction is the restaurant’s tasting menu (don’t overlook the excellent California wine pairings), which changes weekly and reflects Garcia’s longtime relationships with local producers like Triple S Ranch and Elysian Fields Lamb.
On the night I visited, Garcia rolled out a parade of amuse-bouches that were delicate pieces of art on a plate, including golden turnip with truffle Bergamino, and cherry-smoked salmon with endive and mustard. The hits continued with seven-day-dryaged Japanese kampachi cradled in California golden kiwi and avocado, adding a sweet and savory punch to the dish. The chef also impressed with his rendition of sweet Maine lobster, amped beautifully with bok choy ravioli, golden chanterelles and bathed in sauce vin blanc. The standout dessert trophy: gianduja chocolate pave, with delicate hazelnut praline and golden dentelle for decadent ornamentation.
Four Seasons Napa Valley sits in the middle of Elusa Winery.
Guests also will find a top-flight spa (don’t miss the mud baths and treatments) here, but the buzz from the beginning has been the resort’s placement in the middle of a nearly 5-acre boutique winery known as Elusa (elusawinery.com). Renowned winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown works with Jonathan Walden to craft expressive cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc. The first grapes were planted more than two decades ago, and Elusa now has a gorgeous tasting room directly below TRUSS, the main dining area at Four Seasons. Sure, guests may tour the winery, but nothing surpasses a towering glass of cab as the sun does a slow fade behind the surrounding hills. Commit to the moment; ride in EV style in the morning. 400 Silverado Trail N., Calistoga,707.709.2100, fourseasons.com
Photography by: COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS NAPA VALLEY; KIM CARROLL
