ps9a

I didn't know there was a website to check on current resort properties, but this property has always told me that it's a resort and therefore exempt from 4pm checkout. As a result, the times I've wanted a 4pm checkout, I've just FHR rates. We really like this property, but the service is not in line with other valley hotels in this price range.

SanDiego1K

I should have gone back to this thread and read it from the beginning. It would have set my expectations better. We arrived at night. The only sign we saw was for valet parking in front of the central structure. We stopped but there was no valet. It turned out we were in front of the restaurant. It took some effort to figure out where to check in. There is a small side room. Once there, we found 4 employees and a very disjointed check in process. When I commented on it, I was chided for not driving all the way to the end of the driveway. There we would have been met by the valet who would have taken our name. Someone would have then come and taken us to our room for check in. It would have been nice if we had been made to feel welcome regardless.

We received no upgrade. The hotel was fully booked both nights we were in house. We are celebrating a milestone birthday for my husband. No comment was made about that though there was a cookie in the room with a Happy Birthday chocolate on it. We were given a ground floor room that we entered from the outside facing the driveway like an old school motel. We weren't given any information about the room or our benefits as a titanium. Early reports said that the minibar contents were free. That's not true now. Only the water is free. Breakfast is continental.

The room itself is very spacious.

Advice is given upthread about avoiding the room level we have and using points for an upgraded room. I tried to do so several months back and was unable to do so. I don't believe it is possible in a Bonvoy world.

bhrubin

damon88

SanDiego1K

With the poor check in behind us, we had a positive experience going forward.

Breakfast at Acacia Restaurant was excellent. The continental breakfast costs $39. We were allowed that as a credit on anything on their menu. The 3 course weekend brunch was $29 plus beverages. There were a number of very interesting choices on the menu and we enjoyed a superb meal. Service was excellent from every member of the staff.

We ended up liking our ground level room. It was a quick walk straight out across the driveway to the valet or to the restaurant. Each room has a balcony with a firepit and comfortable seating. The balcony side of our room was substantially higher than the ground outside so was very private. There was a stream running below so we had the pleasant sound of water when outside. Yes, we saw the road that runs by the hotel but our view was mostly trees and greenery. It was a pleasure to sit on the balcony with the firepit going. TIP: there is a throw in the cabinet adjacent to the refrigerator.

The room has fancy electronic lighting controls that are challenging to figure out. We inadvertently left the DND light on when we went out for the day and returned to a room needing housekeeping. That's on us, but the light inside the room was literally the size of a pinprick and not visible with any lighting on in the corridor.

jbeans

We just stayed there last month, so I'll chime in with my experience as well. It was mixed, and I can't say we plan on going back.

1. Arrival also confusing, took a few minutes to figure out where to park and check-in.
2. We were upgraded from a ground floor vineyard view to one on the 3rd floor. Beautiful room with great view. That was the highlight of the entire stay. Everything else went downhill from there.
3. We were there for 3 full days, and 2 of the days our room did not get serviced despite the "make up room" light being on. (I tripled checked after they didn't show up on the first day.)
When we asked for housekeeping and fresh towels, we were told to grab drinks at the restaurant bar while they find a housekeeping staff. On one of the nights, the front desk staff apologized and said "have a round of drinks on us." However, we were still presented with the bill and drinks were NOT comped. We complained twice to staff, as the issue did not seem to resolve itself. Only on check-out we were able to talk to a manager, and she only agreed to comping a small lunch we had, saying she did not know anything about comping drinks.

TLDR: great hard product, but service leaves a lot to be desired. We plan on trying one of the other properties in the area next time, maybe Auberge.

bhrubin

MSPeconomist

bhrubin

Dinner at Solbar at Solage on Thurs night. Served terrible Sazerac from bar, followed up with weak Manhattan. It was 50 min before our order was even taken. Sommelier didn't come over for almost 30 min. Sommelier didn't recognize our Napa Valley wine (Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge), gave unimpressive accounting on what dishes might best pair with wine, further delaying ordering. Most unimpressive sommelier interaction we'd ever had. Server was very quirky. Server was literally running or walking super fast between tables and kitchen and bar as if everything was behind/late (explaining why it took 50 min for her to take our order). She always seem exasperated whenever she (rarely) stopped by our table. Very disconcerting for a fine dining experience. Took another 45 min to actually get our appetizers, another 30 min to get our entrees. Lots of bread first, but had to stop busboys to ask for more water and more bread. Service was so tedious and bad, we skipped dessert despite the options looking good and the food being pretty good. It was too late and we had no confidence that we wouldn't be there another hour!

Calistoga Ranch--room rate of $1063 per night for 3 nights. Lakehouse breakfast (not included in rate). First morning, asked for sweetener for mocha, waited 10 min, had to ask again, mocha got cold before consumed. Served lukewarm waffle, waffle not too good. Service was slow again. Let it go--didn't say anything. Staff later that day happened to ask so we shared the disappointment about breakfast service/quality. Second morning, message was received and got mocha with sweetener...then got served cold eggs Benedict (and our friend got cold eggs, as well). I complained and sent mine back. Chef came out 10 min later with my new eggs Benedict and to apologize...but the new eggs were totally raw. I was disgusted and left. Three strikes and you're out. I never ate at the Lakehouse again during my stay. My friends told me their dishes were lukewarm or cold, too, but no one else complained.

bhrubin

trekwars2000

So I booked a pts reservation in Feb for the fall and don't remember seeing a resort fee. (The good news is I got the room for 60k points vs 85k per night now). My conformation email says "all taxes and fees included" and now when I go into the reservation it says $150 resort fee plus about $27 in taxes and fees.

Is there a $50/night resort fee here now? Anyone know what that gets you?

Kacee

If there was no fee when you booked, it should be waived for you.

They provide no information anywhere about the $50 resort fee. Very poor form.

boolean64

This must be new. I was there last weekend and no resort fee...in fact no taxes or fees whatsoever.

Fifth stay here. Booked the estate view base room and that is what i got as the hotel was sold out for the auction weekend. Continue to be impressed by the hard product. noise from the highway was not bothersome. although i continue to think the vineyard view room is a meaningful upgrade that depending on circumstances could warrant use of a SNA despite not being a suite. Just doesn't get much better than sitting on your patio and looking out at the vines.

Service was blah, but we didn't really need anything.

Giving platinum and titanium members a credit in the amount of the (very pricey) continental breakfast is a big improvement over just getting the continental breakfast in the past. The way they price it, you can put together a nice breakfast from anything on the menu and come in under the credit amount.

I believe they downgraded the toiletries. And as others have mentioned the non alcoholic minibar is no longer complimentary, just the water and i believe the coffee. They also got rid of Fiji water and now have las alcobas branded water.

Location continues to be the best feature here. Walkable to downtown St Helena, easy access to the core grouping of wineries. If you are planning on eating primarily in yountville then it's a bit of a schlep (15 minutes plus traffic).

I continue to be shocked this property can command the prices it does relative to the other high-end properties like bardessono. But demand clearly outstrips supply for this price point.

I will have a tough time stomaching the 105k points for peak pricing (which i'm sure will be every weekend from march through october). The experience, at least for someone who lives in the bay area and is in wine country relatively often, is just not even close to other tippy top properties like StR Punta Mita.

damon88

daisydog123

They just started charging a $50 resort fee.