The Inn at Europa Village

On our last trip to Temecula Wine Country, we spoiled ourselves a little and spent one night at The INN at Europa Village. I highly recommend doing this. We were in town to taste and go to a wine dinner at Europa Village and figured it would be a convenient time to treat ourselves to a stay at the Inn. It was an amazing experience.

Europa Inn Temecula

The Inn was built in the 80’s by Dick and Betty Ryan and at that time was called Loma Vista Bed and Breakfast. The Inn offered 10 guest rooms, a 10 person Jacuzzi tub and full gourmet breakfast. In 2006 Karl and Connie Sweigart bought the Inn and decorated each of the room with a wine theme. Now owned by the Rancon Group who owns Europa Village it has been beautifully redecorated and is now run by Innkeepers Chef Dean and Nicole.

Europa inn Patio Drink

Chef Dean has an extensive culinary resume and has taught at several culinary institutes. When we drove up to the Inn, which is situated, on a hill overlooking Europa Village and it’s vineyards, we were greeted by the aromas of a smoker that was cooking up dinner for the evening’s event at Europa Village. I am very glad we were attending or I would not have been able to keep myself from going downstairs and begging for a bite! It smelled fantastic. We entered the Inn and Nicole greeted us and took us on a brief tour of the Inn and then to our room. We were staying in the Viognier room, which has a balcony and unobstructed views of winery and vineyards. She started to ask if we would like a white sangria to enjoy on the balcony, when Chef Dean walked in with two for us! We took their advice to just relax and unwind and sat on the balcony to enjoy the view the sangria and the smell of dinner cooking.

The idea here is peace and serenity. There is a TV in the Main sitting room that is typically turned to a music station. The rooms themselves are TV free. The rooms, still named after wine grape varieties range from the Cabernet Sauvignon which is spacious with a private entrance a brick fireplace, Jacuzzi tub for 2 and French doors that open up onto the patio to the Sangiovese which is cozy with a window view of the front courtyard. Treat yourself to a room with a view here and you can wake up to the sounds of hot air balloons landing behind nearby Callaway. The rooms are beautiful and serene with beautiful artwork and clean lines all with a European feel. You will find comfy robes in the closet, which will come in handy for a trip to the 8-person hot tub on the patio. They also have a fire pit to gather around and watch sunset with a glass of wine.

Morning Coffee with Balloons

After an amazing dinner at Europa Village prepared by Chef Dean we had a restful night of sleep and awoke in the morning in time to see several balloons landing nearby. We got up and headed down for breakfast. There is a community table in the dinning room as well as places set out on the patio. We grabbed a cup of tea and coffee and found a table with a view on the patio. As we sipped our beverages and started to wake up, two more hot air balloons flew into view and landed over the hill.

Europe Inn Fruit Salad Plate

Chef Dean arrived with our first course of breakfast, which included a bruleed banana over a citrus custard with melon with bee pollen and strawberries in a mojito sugar glaze. The citrus came from the citrus orchards right on the property. The rest of the ingredients are sourced locally. Chef Dean frequents the local family farms.

Europa Inn Breakfast Crepe

The main course was a Briton style crepe with mushrooms & Gruyere a sunny side up egg with chive oil, a fresh salad arugula and crisp green apples. There was also a crème sauce for the crepe with fennel pollen. I’m sure I’m leaving something out. It was really delicious. We stayed loitering not wanting to leave. The roses were in bloom the morning was beautiful…I really could have stayed forever.

As we left, they said to come back. We will… I have this tucked away now as my rejuvenation center. Thanks Nicole and Chef Dean for an amazing stay.