Hotel Vintage Plaza

Oenophiles appreciate this Kimpton group beauty, which offers wine-themed accommodations in a stately, 1894 downtown building. Each night, guests can sip complimentary local vintages in the lobby before a leviathan marble fireplace; afterward, they can retire to one of the hotel’s 117 rooms—done up in color schemes and fine Italian linens reminiscent of Tuscany. (The guest quarters aren’t quite as delicious as those at the Hotel Monaco, but a major interior redesign is planned for late 2008, which will refresh all the fabrics and much of the slightly dated furniture.) Small but notable perks—like free Wi-Fi, newspaper, and overnight shoeshine—abound, and hotel staffers are perhaps the most attentive in town. The in-house Pazzo Ristorante serves outstanding regional Italian fare, along with a (natch) well-edited wine list that includes top-notch Tuscan Chiantis and Piedmontese Nebbiolos.

Room to Book: Any of the three Garden Spa rooms, which have private wooden decks with hot tubs. Room 910 has the best view of the downtown skyline.