Napa Valley is a few hours up the coast from Carmel, and for this one I made the drive and stayed the night. I was there to photograph the grand opening of The Charles Napa Valley, designer Charles Gruwell's boutique hotel inside a 1906 Victorian at 1301 Jefferson Street, a short walk from downtown Napa. Once the celebration wound down I stayed on to shoot the property the way I approach any hotel and interior commission: the courtyard in full daylight, the lamplight after dark, and the guest rooms the next morning, all on the Fujifilm GFX 100 II.
The Charles Napa Valley, at a glance
- Property: The Charles Napa Valley, the second Charles hotel after The Charles Pacific Grove
- Designer: Charles Gruwell, Charles Gruwell Design Studio, Pacific Grove
- Address: 1301 Jefferson Street, Napa, CA 94559
- The building: 1906 Victorian by Napa craftsman E.W. Doughty, formerly Cabernet House, an Old World Inn
- Grand opening: Saturday, February 21, 2026, with a California State Senate Certificate of Recognition
- Signature details: guest room fireplaces, gold velvet, navy patterned carpet, repurposed antiques
- Photography: Manny Espinoza · Fujifilm GFX 100 II · grand opening through overnight, day into dusk
The grand opening and ribbon-cutting
The garden courtyard filled early on Saturday, February 21, 2026, and the afternoon ran the way a good opening should: a public toast and remarks, property tours with the staff, Napa Valley wines, and a raffle benefiting LGBTQ Connection. Charles Gruwell spoke about the years of work behind the hotel and what it meant to bring the spirit of his Pacific Grove property into wine country. The office of State Senator Christopher Cabaldon presented a California State Senate Certificate of Recognition to Charles and the team, dated that same day.
The entertainment was San Francisco cabaret star Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, who performed two sets under the citrus trees in a red satin gown and a fistful of rhinestones. It was the right act for a hotel that has built its name on a stylish, inclusive welcome, and it gave me the kind of color and movement an event photographer hopes for at a ribbon-cutting.
Where the work with Charles Gruwell started
This was actually my first project with Charles. Not long after, he brought me back to photograph his renovation of the Cypress Inn in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the historic property once owned by Doris Day, where he led the redesign of the lobby, Terry's Lounge and the guest rooms. The Charles Napa Valley is where that working relationship started, room by room and detail by detail.
Who is Charles Gruwell?
Charles Gruwell was born in Pacific Grove and spent 45 years designing hotels, from Cannery Row to Beverly Hills to Bali, before coming home in 2020 to found Charles Gruwell Design Studio. Along the way he earned two Gold Key Awards for the Spindrift Inn, an ASID Design Excellence Award, and three features in Architectural Digest. His portfolio on the Monterey Peninsula includes the Spindrift Inn and Hotel Pacific on Cannery Row, rooms and suites at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, the Tickle Pink Inn in the Carmel Highlands, and, most recently, his own hotel, The Charles Pacific Grove, which opened in 2025 in his hometown.
Bringing the Pacific Grove signature to wine country
The Charles Napa Valley is Charles's second hotel under his own name, and it carries the same DNA as the original: fireplaces in the guest rooms, gold velvet upholstery, and the navy patterned carpet that has become something of a signature, down to the same fabrics and wallpaper used in Pacific Grove. Much of what fills the rooms is repurposed, antiques and artwork sourced from estate sales and consignment shops rather than bought new. Standing in one of the rooms with its canopy bed and antique settee, you can see the throughline between his Pacific Grove flagship and this Napa property: the same residential styling and sense of history, applied to a 1906 house in a different landscape.
Overnight for the full range of light
Staying over gave me the courtyard twice, once in the stone-and-flower stillness of the afternoon, and again after dark with the fire pits lit and string lights on in the citrus trees. That second version is the one most guests actually experience, since a boutique hotel like this lives as much by lamplight as by daylight, and I wanted a set of images that showed both. It is the same reason I shoot twilight exteriors for homes and estates: the building tells you what it is once the lights come on.
A hotel that made headlines
The Charles Napa Valley drew press coverage well beyond wine country when it opened, from the Napa Valley Register and KTVU Fox 2 to the San Francisco Bay Times and travel press across the country, much of it built around the hotel's stylish, inclusive welcome for every traveler. Among the outlets that covered it was 65º Magazine, where I serve as Creative Director and photographer, which made this shoot feel like a small full circle moment: a property I photographed for its designer, covered in a magazine I help put together.
Common questions
Who designed The Charles Napa Valley?
Charles Gruwell, a Pacific Grove-born interior designer with more than 45 years of experience and over 40 boutique hotels to his name, including three features in Architectural Digest. The Charles Napa Valley is the second hotel to carry his name, after The Charles Pacific Grove, which opened in 2025.
Where is The Charles Napa Valley located?
At 1301 Jefferson Street in downtown Napa, California, inside a 1906 Victorian built by Napa craftsman E.W. Doughty. The property was formerly known as Cabernet House, an Old World Inn, and is a short walk from downtown Napa's tasting rooms and restaurants.
When did The Charles Napa Valley have its grand opening?
The grand opening and ribbon-cutting was held on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in the hotel's garden courtyard. A California State Senate Certificate of Recognition from the office of Senator Christopher Cabaldon was presented that day, and San Francisco cabaret star Katya Smirnoff-Skyy performed.
Who photographed The Charles Napa Valley?
I did. I'm Manny Espinoza, a commercial and architectural photographer based in Carmel-by-the-Sea. I drove up from the Monterey Peninsula to photograph the grand opening, then stayed overnight to photograph the property in both daylight and evening light, shooting on the Fujifilm GFX 100 II.
What is the design style of The Charles Napa Valley?
Fireplaces, gold velvet upholstery and navy patterned carpet carry Charles Gruwell's Pacific Grove signature into wine country, layered with repurposed antiques and artwork sourced from estate sales and consignment shops, inside the historic bones of the 1906 Jefferson Street Victorian.
Do you photograph hotels and inns outside the Monterey Peninsula?
Yes. I'm based in Carmel-by-the-Sea and travel for hospitality and architectural photography throughout Northern California, including Napa Valley, the Bay Area and Big Sur. Overnight stays are often part of a hotel shoot so the property can be photographed in daylight, at dusk and by lamplight.