“Your favorite inn in the Napa Valley?”...

“Your favorite inn in the Napa Valley?” asks Alice Shea of Diamond Bar.

I like Meadowood, an upscale, club-style resort near St. Helena. Rather than vineyards, this spiffy retreat with its gabled buildings is surrounded by pine, redwoods, oak and madrona trees. Golf, tennis, bicycling and the West’s slickest croquet court. One lodge focuses directly on a neatly manicured spread of lawn, where players in crisp whites pit their skills with mallet and ball. Because of its hillside position, Meadowood during summer is several degrees cooler than most inns in the valley. Fruit baskets are part of the package, along with terry-cloth robes, coffee makers, daily newspapers. This plus a refrigerator stocked with snacks.

Meadowood, 900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena, Calif. 94574, (707) 963-3646. Rates: $175-$1,400 for a four-bedroom lodge.

If that’s a trifle steep, try the Magnolia Hotel (circa 1873) in Yountville. A real charmer. Loaded with antiques. Old-fashioned Victrola/Victorian furniture in the lobby. Magnolia Hotel, 6529 Yount St., Yountville 94599, (707) 944-2056. Rates: $89-$169, including a full breakfast.

For peace and privacy, Jeff and Mary Page offer accommodations in a restored water tower that sits dead center of a 127-acre vineyard in Napa Valley. A spiral staircase leads to two rooms. Marble-top sinks, a 12-foot tub, antiques. A gigantic eucalyptus tree rises near the Pages’ Victorian farmhouse (circa 1872), a stone milk house and a marvelous old barn. That water tower has attracted the likes of actress Goldie Hawn.

Reservations c/o Jeff and Mary Page, Trubody Ranch, 5444 St. Helena Highway, Napa 94558, (707) 255-5907. Rates: $105-$130, including breakfast.

Wine Train: Napa Valley’s Wine Train continues to court tourists with a crush on the grape. Tastings are featured during a special Friday luncheon run through the valley. Thirty-five dollars for the meal plus $29 for train fare. Wine/dinner trips ($45) are also offered with a discounted train fare of $14.50. A brunch run on weekends is priced at $22-$25. Meals are served in early 1900s Pullman coaches. A lounge car has been converted into a wine car. For $5 you get four tastings of the grape. Napa’s Wine Train operates year-round.

For reservations (or to order lunch/dinner gift certificates), call (800) 427-4124 or (707) 253-2111. Outside California, dial (800) 522-4142.

A Cook’s Tour: For more than a quarter of a century, Ted Cook (formerly of Islands in the Sun) has shepherded thousands of tourists to far-flung destinations in the South Seas. It’s an odyssey that began shortly after the arrival of the first jet airplane in Tahiti. Now Cook is into the wholesale travel game, concentrating primarily on the independent traveler. For Australia-bound vacationers, Cook is selling a “Captain Cook Explorer Pass” that’s good for savings on hotels, car/camper rentals, trips to the Outback/Northern Territory. Savings on fly/drive farm stays in New Zealand. Other vacation savings in Tahiti, Fiji, the Cook Islands. Budget to deluxe hotels/resorts. Discounted motor-coach trips/cruises.

Cook’s travel career took off after his first trip to Tahiti. Returning to Los Angeles, he quit his job as an aerospace engineer for what he recalls as “the beginning of a beautiful love affair.” Since then Cook has returned to Tahiti more than 200 times. Describes himself as “the guy with bare feet and a briefcase.”

Contact Discover Wholesale Travel, Inc., 2192 Dupont Drive, Suite 105, Irvine 92715, (800) 576-7770.

More on Tahiti: To R.J. of Glendale: One of the best buys in French Polynesia is a bungalow at Hotel Matira on the island of Bora-Bora. Doubles start at about $112. Other units are ideal for families (four beds, a bath, stove/refrigerator). Thatched roofs, bamboo siding. Picnic areas with barbecues. The last time I stopped at the Matira, free outrigger canoes were part of the deal. This cottage hotel faces one of Bora-Bora’s prettiest beaches.

Hotel Matira, B.P. 32, Vaitape, Bora-Bora, French Polynesia.

For the dedicated bargain hunter, try the Revatua Club on Bora-Bora. While the Matira’s setting is superior, you’ll pay only about $58 for a double at Revatua. Sixteen units, a restaurant/bar, laundry. Free use of pedal boats, small sailing boats, snorkeling equipment.

Revatua Club, P.O. Box 159, Bora-Bora, French Polynesia.

Dream’s End: Joan DeBrine, a part-time Californian, tells us her “lifetime dream” was fulfilled when she opened an inn in New Hampshire she calls MapleHedge. The inn has been described as a “showplace of the Connecticut River Valley.” An 18th-Century home set amid meadows, ancient cedars/maples. Five guest rooms, each with its own theme. High artichoke beds in one, wicker furniture in another. One with a claw-foot tub. Another features a porcelain sink, circa 1861. Loads of antiques. Guest activities include antiquing, attending country auctions. Golf courses nearby. Water sports on a close-by river. MapleHedge opened for the season not long ago. DeBrine is waiting at the end of her rainbow.

MapleHedge Inn, P.O. Box 638, Charleston, N.H. 03603, (603) 826-5237. Rates: $80-$90 with a three-course breakfast, wine/cheese in the afternoon.

Washington State Giveaway: A new Washington state guide is packed with information for travelers. Contains a handy pullout map/travel planner. Details on ferry routes, weather, camp grounds, bicycling, fishing, river rafting, outfitters/guides, wineries. Background on the San Juan Islands, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Olympus, Glacier Peak, Mt. St. Helens. The 184-page guide lists hundreds of inns, hotels, motels, campgrounds, B&Bs; together with addresses/telephone numbers for visitor information centers throughout the state. Other pages devoted to a climbing school, parks, the best spots for viewing wildflowers, the village of Leavenworth with its Bavarian theme (German/Austrian cuisine, oompah bands). Spotlights Seattle’s underground city. Other sections offer details on steam trains, off-the-beaten-path charters/tours, festivals, restaurants.

Free copies from the Washington State Tourism Division, P.O. Box 42500, Olympia, Wash. 98504-2500, or by calling (800) 544-1800.

Potpourri: For a new foreign currency guide, contact Ruesch International at (800) 424-2923 . . . . A bicycle guide featuring northeast Connecticut is available by writing to P.O. Box 598 M, Putnam, Conn. 06260 . . . . Copies of a new visitor guide to southwestern Colorado’s Mesa Verde country are free by calling (800) 253-1616 . . . . Maps plus information on hotels, motels, B&Bs;, wineries are featured in a new 50-page guide published by the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, 453 First St. East, Sonoma, Calif. 95476 . . . . Twenty hotels on the Caribbean island of Aruba are participating in a honeymooner’s package priced from $673 to $1,408 for eight days/seven nights. Details from the Aruba Tourism Authority, 521 Fifth Ave., 12th Floor, New York 10175, (212) 246-765-8833 . . . . The Assn. of Historic Hotels of the Rocky Mountain West represents accommodations in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico. For a free brochure, call (800) 626-4886.

Reader Recommendations

Montana--Linda L. Cox, Culver City: “A great bed and breakfast, Ravencrest, 844 W. Broadway, Butte 59701. This three-story brick Victorian is the epitome of style, grace, comfort. Feather beds, a deck to enjoy mountain views. Rates: $56 single/$60 double.”

Ireland--P. Peterson, Los Angeles: “A restaurant called Odells, 49 Sandycove Road, Dunlanghaire (near Dublin). Dined there four times!”

Australia--Victoria Wareing, Costa Mesa: High praise for the sailing vessel Coral Princess, Level One, Breakwater Marina, Townsville, Queensland 4810. “Four days, three nights, $670/$870 U.S. per person. Cruise the Great Barrier Reef, plus scuba and snorkeling, food, drinks, extra scuba diving on a 105-foot catamaran.”

We regret that only a select few recommendations can be used. They must be brief (typewritten or printed). Only one recommendation per reader, please. Include prices and addresses.