The King lives! Enjoy “Wild in the Country,” Elvis Presley’s 1961 Twentieth Century-Fox film on DVD and relax in the movie’s actual setting. No, this is not virtual reality. This is the real McCoy; at least for the lodgers at what is today the Ink House Inn. The only northern California location for an Elvis film, the anything but “wild” Napa County wine country is where sophistication salutes its rural agricultural roots. The inn, a private residence in St. Helena at the time, was a principal film location as well as Elvis’s temporary sanctuary, leaving his crew at a Napa hotel to deal with the fans.

Whether a starry-eyed foray through Hollywood nostalgia captures the fancy or not, the 1884 historic mansion, tucked on four acres, mesmerizes guests with fruit trees, an olive orchard and petite sirah vineyard, nuances of the gastronomic surprises at the inn.

It stands to reason, what was good enough for the “King of Rock and Roll” is good enough for people who hanker for accommodations that raise the bar. The small inn has a mammoth reputation, ranked “Best of” small inns for decades. The two first-floor parlors boast a concert grand piano (Elvis may have tinkered with the keys), fireplace, circa-1870 pump organ, crystal chandeliers and original stained-glass windows. Familiar surroundings in “Wild in the Country,” the rooms are now the initial greeting area and backdrop for the evening’s complimentary wine and appetizers.

The inn’s six bedrooms offer three different sizes and one suite. Each provides luxurious bedding, vineyard views, antique décor and full-modern amenities including full bathrooms, flat-screen televisions, mini-bar fridges and wireless internet. For everlasting memories, reserve the iconic French Room, also known as the “Elvis Room.” Definitely fit for a king, Elvis slept in the original master bedroom, the largest room in the house, for his three-month filming stint. Guests are enveloped with the same scrumptious surroundings—headboard, nightstands, armoire and loveseat. View the1930s photo of two-year-old Elvis with his mother and father.

“The king bed is new and the bathroom has been redone -- but that doesn't dissuade Elvis fans from having an experience where they live like the ‘King,’ says innkeeper and owner Kevin Outcalt, and explains, “Many guests have reported romantic evenings where they swore they could hear the faint notes of ‘Love Me Tender’ during the night.”

Elvis novelty aside, not many can say they lodged in a mansion that takes form of a giant inkwell. However, if your name is Theron H. Ink and you married into money, engaged in profitable business dealings, and have a bent toward eccentricity, an inkwell replica makes sense. In the late 1870s, Theron began to construct a thousand-acre ranch; inspired by the weather, he named it Helios Ranch after the Greek Sun Goddess. As time passed, so did the owners, leaving behind some of the furnishings like the pump organ that has sat in the corner of the main parlor for 124 years! It was George Clark, the then president of Napa Valley College, and his wife, who turned the house into a bed and breakfast in 1979.

Another legacy, the Grand Oval back lawn, hosting many of Napa County’s major political and social events in the past, remains a popular wedding and special event venue for up to 300 guests. The original circular gravel drive that connects the house to the 1885 barn and to the carriage house delineates the pastoral area. Larger groups can reserve the three-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot, amenity-rich carriage house with a wood-burning fireplace, deck and private backyard.

Outdoors in the photo-perfect montage, pick fresh fruit off the bevy of trees, play croquet, bocce, or pitch horseshoes. Although some seven or eight first-class wineries (what the Napa Valley is known for!) and 30 restaurants, many some of the finest in the country, are in walking distance, the inn gives complimentary bicycles.

Indoors, morning calls with home baked goodness and signature egg dishes like Bell Torta, an egg and cheese soufflé topped with spinach, sun-dried tomato and pine nuts. Daytime pleasures extend to the rustic game room in the stone basement where the amusements include a pool table, poker table, dartboard and upright piano, there since the Elvis days.

“At the top of the house is the famous Observatory, which is a 16 x 20-foot room that Mr. Ink used as his office. It is a glass wall with original stained glass and pressed tin ceiling, and we have it set up as a lounge for our guests to relax in the evenings with a glass of wine. It has been voted as one of the best places to kiss in the Napa Valley and is the highest point on the valley floor for 10 miles in either direction,” Kevin notes.

An ideal destination for every season, winter specials are hard to resist. “A visit to Napa from late November through January is a great experience as lodging is discounted, reservations are not needed at restaurants, you receive more personal attention at the wineries, the roads and stores are much less crowded, and everything is open,” he adds.

In any season, guests realize that you don’t have to be Elvis to be king.