Words by Eve Glover
Bardessono is an award-winning hotel and spa in Napa Valley, and pioneer of a new modernity. Going “deep green” to protect the environment, while simultaneously offering luxurious amenities is no longer a foreign or impossible concept, but a beautiful coexistence and way of life. At Bardessono, nature and cutting edge technology facilitate each other, and history is a part of everything.
John and Lucy Bardessono immigrated to Napa Valley in 1926 because it was so reminiscent of the sprawling Italian countryside they called home. Their children hired eco-developers to expand the property using some of the original salvaged materials.
Beautiful beige stone tiles in the entryway are made from the very same stone that was in the Bardessono home 80 years ago, and richly grained original wood can be found on doors, floors, and walls of the hotel.
Bardessono is LEED platinum certified, the highest level of eco-friendly certification. Heavy and expansive glass covering large spaces throughout the hotel allows for natural sunlight to get through, helping to curtail the amount of electricity used. All glass is low emissivity, which means the amount of heat or cold air that gets through from outside is minimal.
The way motion sensors work in guestrooms makes you feel like you have just stepped into the future. Blinds close, window shades come down, and lights and electrical devices shut off as soon as you vacate the room. Temperature is also adjusted automatically, so guests don’t have to keep turning on and off heat or air conditioning, which expends extra energy.
State-of- the-art bathroom fixtures with low water flow reduce the hotel’s overall water usage. Bardessono is a great place for allergy sufferers to stay because all paints, carpets, and finishes are of the highest quality tested standards, carpeting and fabrics used on indoor furniture are green certified, and bed linens are organic. These are just a few examples of Bardessono’s unparalleled commitment to environmental sustainability, and conscientiousness of guest comfortability.
Lucy Bardessono used to care for a vegetable garden on her property, and today the Bardessono Hotel & Spa has an award winning, certified organic restaurant named after her. Lucy Restaurant & Bar serves garden and seasonally inspired cuisine, and is a unique farm- to-table experience.
Specialties include Curry Carrot and White Asparagus Bisques, and cocktails and desserts garnished with delectable chocolate and pineapple mint handpicked from the garden. The Bardessono garden is so lush and fanciful, it looks like something out of a fable or storybook.
It is filled with an abundance of every kind of vegetable you can imagine, along with fruit such as Pakistani mulberries, pineapple guavas, melons, and pumpkins. There are also herbs you can season with, like tarragon, cilantro, and basil, and make tea out of, such as lemon balm, and lemon verbena.
Surrounding the area are succulent fig, nectarine, peach, citrus, and mini apple and pear trees. Executive chef Nate Lindsay sources most of the meat and dairy products from local farmers, but he is also ingenuitive and always on the look out for the very highest quality ingredients from all over the world.
He imports truffle cream (tartufata) from Italy, maple syrup and butter from Vermont, and Tasmanian beef all the way from Cape Grim, Australia, because it’s 100 percent grass fed. Lucy Restaurant & Bar is open all day and night, and even offers a “Bone Appetite Menu” for pampered, four-legged, furry guests who stay at the hotel.
The B Spa Therapy Center is a tranquil, luxurious sanctuary at Bardessono that offers seasonal and specialty treatments. The Yountville Signature Experience is a combination of exfoliation and massage; organic sugar mixed with shea butter scrubs away dead skin cells, then antioxidant rich oil from Chardonnay wine is massaged into the body, hair, and scalp to nourish and repair.
Farm to Spa is a an aromatherapy massage and exfoliation treatment using locally grown herbs and flower elixirs, followed by a heavenly lavender scented mud wrap. These and other nature inspired, therapeutic experiences leave guests feeling relaxed and refreshed.
The chefs at Bardessono plant an herb in honour of each guest who stays there. Just a single herb can make a positive impact on air quality. Bardessono’s care for nature and integration with its surroundings leave an environmentally friendly footprint that hotels everywhere should follow. After all, we have no future if the world we live in is neglected, and nature is the greatest luxury there is.
Address: 6526 Yount St, Yountville, CA 94599, USA
Phone: +1 707-204-6000
