The Inn on First — Hotel in Napa

This is a very specific review concerning accessibility of the premises for travelers in wheelchairs and the persons accompanying them. All the other great reviews you have read about the warmth of the hosts, the fantastic food, etc. are certainly accurate, but other reviewers write better than I do, so you should read their accounts instead to learn about those amenities.

Despite federal and state laws to standardize accomodations, there are many interpretations of what makes a particuar facility "accessible". This can lead to surprise. followed quickly by disappointment, for a mobility-impaired traveler. Have no fear at The Inn On First. Jamie and Jim have got a room which goes beyond the minimum standards of accessibility set by the ADA and/or California's equivalent of an environmental barriers act.

The carpet in the sleeping area has a very low pile, and is easy to propel a wheelchair across. The bed is the right height for a wheelchair transfer--unlike many hotel beds with pillowtop mattresses that are far too high for a safe transfer. There is a cast iron bed frame which provides safe and convenient grab points, unike the pre-fab headboards pasted to the walls in many hotels. If needed, there is also space underneath the bed to use a Hoyer or other lift. The king-sized bed is agreeably firm.

The floor in the remainder of the room has a non-skid tile surface. There are two wall-mounted sinks that are high enough to allow a wheelchair user to roll under. Although the mirrors mounted above the sinks are just a little too high for this user, there is a makeup mirror on a flexible arm which can be reached easily.

The commode is in a separate water closet with lots of turning room. There are sturdy grab bars behind the commode and on the left side wall. The roll-in shower is in a separate enclosure on the other side of the room. It is a very spacious area, with two separate shower heads. One is conventionally mounted for standing users, but the other is mounted within easy reach of a seated user. There is a wall-mounted shower seat which is quite sturdy, easily accommodating a 200 pound user, but it is also removable, in the event a guest wants to use their own rolling shower chair.

Light switches and temperature controls are all mounted at reachable heights and are not obstructed by furniture. I did not have occasion to ask whether there are any other accommodations for vision- or hearing-impaired guests.

There is a ramp from the ground floor level of the garden suites to the mansion, where breakfast is served. It has a gentle slope (I estimate 1:12, or less) and a non-skid surface, with sturdy hand rails. The dining room has an incredible cherry table which is accessible all the way around, because it is built on a pedestal and does not have any legs to obstruct the footplate of a wheelchair.

In sum, although I cannot see myself returning to Napa without my spouse, I would have no concerns about staying at The Inn On First as a solo wheelchair traveler. Just as important as the accessibility of the premises, however, was the fact that neither Jim nor Jamie treated me any differently than their other, (temporarily) able-bodied guests. They really have this innkeeper thing...

Excellent B&B and it was a very pleasant experience. The only reason why I didn't give it a 5* rating is I was under the impression it was run by Jim & Jamie (if you read past reviews), and that is not the case. A corporation purchased it, so you will not meet the owners, and it won't have that personal touch. You will not be greeted by anyone, in fact, the only time you encounter staff is at breakfast. By the way Isabella is amazing, so sweet and has the biggest smile, you can tell she loves the Inn and she will make you feel very welcomed. ||The location is perfect and easily walk- able to downtown Napa - about 5 to 10 minutes. Free parking in the back, and there are little areas around the outside for seating. The Inn only had a few guest at the time, so we sat on the front porch and had it all to ourselves. ||This was a special birthday for me, and my husband worked with the staff to make it special and helped to arrange a bottle of champagne and balloons. He said they were pleasant to work with and made it happen seamlessly.||Our room was a great size and had everything we needed. It was very clean! It had a corner bathtub, comfortable bed and plenty of storage area. Our room was at the front and being on the main drag, you can hear traffic, but it didn't bother us. If you are a light sleeper you might want to bring earplugs. Note to staff: perhaps you can provide a white noise machine for those light sleepers :)||I was surprised by all the labels saying don't do this, or don't do that. I get it - we have a rental property and you want to communicate things to your guest on how to operate things, but they can be toned down a bit, or perhaps smaller labels? ||Check in was easy, but you need to make sure you read everything on how to get in, as no one is there to greet you. They have cookies downstairs when we checked in during the day - what a nice touch. ||Getting to the wifi was an issue. You have to go to the provided ipad in your room and select the wifi icon. Since the ipad is not locked down and past guests must have modify it, and we had to dig for the App. Fortunately my husband is in IT and is a tech person, so he was able to figure it out, otherwise we would of had an issue. Also, in order to know how to adjust the heating in the room, you had to go to the ipad. Having an ipad in each room to facilitate things, just didn't make sense. This isn't a modern B&B, so not sure why the owners want it to be high tech. I think they complicated things - a simple book or one page summary would have made things simple. ||Breakfast is amazing!!! We spent 2 nights at the Inn, but missed the first morning's breakfast as we had an early hot air balloon flight. We reached out to the staff and they arranged a grab and go breakfast for us - thank you! The second morning we were greeted by Isabella and had coffee and orange juice as we wait for the breakfast to be made (made to order and fresh). It was pouched eggs, over rosemary potatoes and homemade break and homemade jam - it was delicious and gourmet, restaurant quality for sure!||Overall, would I stay again - of course! Like I said, there were just a few hiccups, but overall it was a...

Trust the ratings! Our stay here with Jim and Jaime was so pleasant, comfortable, and enjoyable. We checked in early (thanks, Jaime!) because no one had stayed in our room the night before and left for a day of wine tasting. The Inn on First feels like you're staying with relatives for the holidays -- things are special, there's always delicious food out for you to much on, and the fridge is always full.

THE COMMON AREA They greet you with a small bottle of Mumm champagne in the fridge downstairs just for your room and some Prager Port out at all times for guests to enjoy. There's a stellar tea and coffee bar in the corner of the living room with amazing steeping cups and every flavor of tea you could hope for. If that's not your thing, there's also coffee, hot coco, etc. You name it. They provide water canteens for the rooms as well as for guests to take to wineries for the day with them -- and recommend 1 bottle per winery tasting. Very thoughtful and very smart. There's a grand piano and a fireplace in the common area, as well as a nice window to read the morning paper by.

THE ROOMS Each room is beautiful and cozy, with a fireplace-heater that warms the rooms up very efficiently. We booked the smallest room at the Inn and it was still very good sized. We had a desk and the fireplace connected the bedroom to the bathroom. Specifically - we got to sit in the couples-sided hot tub with the heater-fire going, looking out onto the fall leaves. THE NAPA B&B experience! There's also a huge shower and a nice bathroom in each room. They provide an insulated, wine carrier backpack for each room to borrow, in case you want to picnic rather than go wine tasting. They also have an iPad, which serves as the guestbook, with tips, recommendations, and lovely music to greet you as you enter the room.

THE FOOD The food was amazing! I can see why Chef Jaime is so popular and famous! Our breakfast was a Matzo-ball in a vegetable broth with homemade bread. I swear, I would not have known it was vegetarian if I hadn't been told; it was so savory and amazing. They leave the most amazing chocolate truffles in a small baggie in your room -- I had mine on my drive back to the bay area and just about melted and died. These are divine. There's also fresh-baked cookies out at all times, and a yoghurt/granola/berries bar at breakfast. There's fresh pastries and other "cold" breakfast items available, with your hot entree coming out when you sit at their beautiful communal table. Coffee was hot, and OJ was fresh squeezed.

THE SERVICE Jim and Jaime were kind, thoughtful, and so professional throughout our stay. They recommended SolBar, Vincent Arroyo Winery, and Market to us, and were eager to share their favorite details about the area. The rest of the staff was friendly and very professional.

OVERALL I would happily stay here again and recommend it to anyone who wants to have a weekend getaway, romantic rendezvous, girls trip, or...