at Milliken Creek Inn

Reviews

Conde Nast Traveler Top 100
2001
Up at the edge of town, next to the Occidental Community Church, I found Jack Bullard checking on his wine collection at the Inn at Occidental. He's what might be called a late bloomer in hotelkeeping. Five years ago, at the age of fifty-seven, after a career as a law-firm administrator, he bought the inn (then called, believe it or not, the Heart's Desire) and set about applying his singular personality to it. The eight rooms have been loaded with a combination of family heirlooms and antiques and an eclectic trove of stuff picked up by BulIard in the course of a life that must have involved little self-restraint: Tiffany silver, old marbles, Irish cut glass jars, ivory netsuke-the style of each room taking its hue from a particular collection or piece of art.

Sunset
November 2001
Overlooking the Napa River, the ten rooms hint at the exotic, with fresh flowers, burl wood-type flooring, and sea grass lounges along with fireplaces and spa tubs, and beds mounded with Italian lined sheets and white comforters. You can stroll the tranquil gardens.

Diablo
January 2002
A gurgling waterfall provides the soundtrack as you nestle into a white Adirondack chair and watch the river glide past mighty oaks and redwoods. Or you can stretch your sinews on the riverside yoga deck before heading off to the evening wine and cheese tasting. Of course, a spa is part of the package, as is a dock for kayaking and other aquatic activities.

San Francisco Magazine
September 20, 2001
Last year, Lisa Holt and David Shapiro bought the Country Garden Inn, a frilly pink and blue confection at the foot of the Silverado trail, and went at it full bore with sanders, blasters, and strippers. A half=dozen layers of wallpaper and paint later, a charming, stylish hotel in a palette of olive, putty, and white on white emerged.