brandie

I just checked out. I was with a large group. Valet parking was free. (possibly for our group?) They have to valet park due to the very small parking lot. I stayed on a ground floor vineyard view room with fire pit.

I had a meeting in one of the standard rooms. If at all possible get one of the vineyard view rooms.

I had a massage. Expensive but great.

We ate at the Market Restaurant in St Helena. Recommended.

Eujeanie

Most of you mention the great outdoor space. If you were to be there in February, and I know weather has no guarantees, but if you were unable to use the outdoor space would you still recommend this hotel? I can get a points rate of 70K for a Beringer view.

callmedtop

Looks like the property is now closed through the end of July. I still have a reservation for the last week of July that has not yet been cancelled, but expect that is coming shortly. The hotel is blocked for new reservations for the full month of July. Disappointing. Will likely hope to stay at Auberge du Soleil if the trip can still actually happen.

brandie

I was at Las Alcobas Feb 23 through Feb 28 of 2020. Beringer view is great. I live in Florida as a reference. I found it got hot during the day and cooled down at night. Most of our conference activities were outside in the evening. My problem is I had to work during the day so really could not enjoy the outside deck at my unit and the outside firepit. I used my unit's outside area maybe for 30 minutes but only due to the fact that I had to work. If I did not have to work I would have used it all day. This is a really nice place, particularly if you can use points.

Eujeanie

Thanks, brandie.

As an aside...I was looking at the restaurant and the chef's name sounded familiar - I live in Oregon and he is the chef from a restaurant actually at a Hilton in downtown Portland, the Jackrabbit, in the Duniway. I have not yet eaten there but I've heard good things. Hopefully when they reopen their service issues will get better.

callmedtop

It's now been 10 days since I noticed that July is no longer available for bookings (availability starts Aug 1), yet my reservations for mid-July are still intact and no one has contacted me. I find this a bit ridiculous - if they know they are going to be closed, the least they can do is inform guests with reservations.

Napa is has already widely opened up as of this week, with many hotels open, so that's not really an excuse anymore. Not informing a guest that their reservation is not going to happen is just poor service.

TSTraveler

California just announced June 5 that hotels are allowed to reopen for regular business with new Covid guidelines. On average, it take hotels 30-45 days to prepare for reopening in any circumstances. So it may not be obvious when they formally will reopen as of yet, only a week or so after the state reopening announcement. Not taking new reservations isn’t the same as canceling already booked reservations, after all.

If in doubt, call and ask—but prudence and common sense would expect that we all should be a bit more understanding of the uncertainty, I think. I don’t think this ridiculous as you do.

callmedtop

I've tried calling multiple times over the past couple of weeks - they don't pick up the phone and it redirects to Marriott central reservations, who obviously don't know whats going on either.

I just find it puzzling that every other luxury (defined by Virtuoso/FHR to be simple) hotel in Napa is open for July and taking reservations, while Las Alcobas is either not opening until August or is still unsure on what they will do with July reservations yet. My bet is the former, which means they should have reached out to those with reservations by now. I don't really buy that they don't know when they are opening. Auberge du Soleil has been preparing extensively between the shutdown and now, as have most other luxury properties in the area.

I would argue that if they don't know if they would be open in July by now (mid-June), they should still reach out to guests with reservations and give them a heads up. I got a lot more communication from much cheaper properties earlier on during the pandemic. I agree that we should be a little more forgiving given the circumstances, but this is a bit much.

Eujeanie

I agree with you callmedtop, since they are not taking bookings until August, and have no way to be reached, I would ask how badly you want to stay there. At the very least I would make a cancellable back-up at another property. It really is not right that they have NO information about the July reservations.

Kacee

Welcome to the hospitality business in the COVID-19 era. I've had at least four reservations (possibly more) cancelled out from under me over the past three months. In all instances, notification has been very slow or nonexistent (GH Manchester in San Diego, where it just disappeared from the app one day). One of the reasons is that properties that closed furloughed or laid off most of their staff.

callmedtop

I just find it particularly strange because it’s for July during the reopening. We are not talking about March or April. Every other luxury hotel is reopening or has already reopened.

callmedtop

Doublepost

Kacee

There's still a ton of uncertainty and properties are having difficulty (a) predicting demand, and (b) staffing up (since employees may be making more on unemployment than they would employed). And I suspect that most places that are open are operating at a loss. The question they are facing is whether they will lose more open or closed, and the potential long term consequences of an extended closure.

I've found that pre-COVID service expectations are no longer realistic. To wit, staying at Essex House, I'm just back from an early a.m. expedition to Dunkin' Donuts, since there is nothing but water available in the hotel.

VCURamFan

Looks like they have plenty of point availability in August and October, but not a SINGLE night in September?

callmedtop

Finally got the email cancelation today for my mid-July stay. They are opening 8/1.