There’s no greater feeling of escape than waking up in wine country. Hot-air balloons fly overhead, and vineyard views and gourmet breakfasts await you each morning. Temecula’s resort-style winery hotels all include a visit to their on-site tasting rooms, but each has a distinct ambiance and different amenities. Here’s what you can expect from each one.
TOP PICK
Ponte Vineyard Inn
Amenities: Restaurant • Bar • Pool • Fitness Room
Rooms from $259 • Four Diamond rating from AAA
I’m admittedly biased since this Spanish mission-style inn is where my husband and I were married, but the Ponte Vineyard Inn is our top pick for more reasons than nostalgia. The beautifully hotel is in a prime location, perfect for exploring wine country. Your stay includes tastings at Ponte Winery, which is only a winding footpath away, and there are two more wineries within walking distance. Your stay also includes complimentary tastings for their sister winery, Bottaia Winery, just down the road. With two restaurants at the hotel and another next door at Ponte Winery, you could arrive for the weekend and not touch your car again before you leave. Bouquet Restaurant offers a lovely breakfast menu and a patio in a gorgeous courtyard setting. If you’re looking for some nightlife after your day in the valley, The Cellar Bar, a speakeasy-style joint below the lobby, has live music, terrific cocktails, and a menu of upscale bar food.
The rooms are attractive, spacious, and nicely appointed, if a bit spartan in design touches. To me, it’s worth paying a small amount extra for a room with a vineyard view. But don’t just take my word for it; Ponte Vineyard Inn also ranks highly on Trip Advisor, Expedia, AAA, and Google.
South Coast Winery Resort & Spa
Amenities: Restaurant • Pool • Spa • Fitness Room • Pet-Friendly
Rooms from $204
At South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, we recommend staying in the villas over the tower hotel rooms for a more private getaway. While the exteriors may show some age, each villa is well-kept and has a private patio where you can enjoy breakfast while gazing out onto the vines—a stunning way to start the day. The rooms have a classic wine country feel, decorated in dark woods and burgundy, and some villas connect, perfect if you’re traveling with a family. South Coast has a restaurant, The Vineyard Rose, that we lunch at regularly, and a spa I like visiting for a pedicure even if I’m not staying there. The restaurant design is old school and clubby, and it feels the best during the fall and winter when you can cozy up in the big booths with your date. The spa is intimate, with excellent service, and the small pool just outside is open to all hotel guests. Your stay includes two tastings at South Coast Winery, which has won the California State Winery of the Year Wine Competition five times. Ponte Winery is adjacent and walkable, and hotel guests can access a free shuttle over to their sister property, Carter Estate Winery.
When you book through the link above, Two Days in Temecula receives a small commission at no extra cost to you which help pay for the production of this website. The opinions on this page are entirely our own.
Carter Estate Winery and Resort
Amenities: Pool • Fitness Room • Pet Friendly
Rooms from $240
Carter Estate has sixty bungalows that stretch out into the winery’s vineyards, each with a far-reaching view of the vines from a private patio. The California-style bungalows have soaking tubs large enough for two, sofas, and gas fireplaces. This resort has no restaurant, but guests can order food from the restaurant at their sister property, South Coast Winery, to enjoy on the patio or take Carter Estate’s shuttle over to the restaurant to dine in person. Food can also be ordered poolside on the weekends, and cabanas are available to rent. Despite their generous size (500-600 square feet), some of the rooms have Murphy beds rather than traditional beds, so read the description carefully of the room you’re booking to ensure you have the bed style you prefer.
When you book through the link above, Two Days in Temecula receives a small commission at no extra cost to you which help pay for the production of this website. The opinions on this page are entirely our own.
Europa Village
Amenities: Two restaurants • Three wineries on property
Rooms from $205
Europa Village has two distinct places options for places to stay. Travelers can book a room at the center of the action at the Bolero Casitas, where you’ll be just steps away from the Bolero restaurant and tasting room, as well as Europa’s other wineries, the Italian-inspired Vienza, and C’est La Vie, which serves French wine and food. The other option is the Inn at Europa Village, which sits above the main property with more privacy and wine country views but still has easy access to Europa’s wineries. Baily Vineyard is next door and walkable from both options.
When you book through the link above, Two Days in Temecula receives a small commission at no extra cost to you which help pay for the production of this website. The opinions on this page are entirely our own.
The Inn at Churon Winery
Amenities: Restaurant
Rooms from $225
The Inn at Churon Winery is a French Chateau-style hotel that sits high on a hill on top of the winery’s tasting room. The interiors of the common spaces are decorated with trompe-l’oeil paintings of French architectural elements and murals depicting a boulangerie and fromagerie. Rooms evoke an old-world charm with turned-wood headboards and curved metal railings on the private balconies. The on-site restaurant serves breakfast and a lunch menu of wine country staples, like charcuterie, flatbreads, and salads. The real attraction at the Inn is the view and the generous outdoor spaces created to appreciate it. The casual cafe has a sizeable al-fresco patio where you can start your day gazing out at the vineyards and hot-air balloons rising over the valley, and down below, there are tiers of garden walkways and patios to stroll with your glass of wine from the tasting room.
When you book through the link above, Two Days in Temecula receives a small commission at no extra cost to you which help pay for the production of this website. The opinions on this page are entirely our own.
