Eujeanie

That stinks, such short notice. Where are you going to stay as a substitute?

callmedtop

Paying cash for Auberge du Soleil - hopefully will make for a nice trip paired with Ventana Big Sur.

Eujeanie

Nice.

Eujeanie

What dates will you be at Ventana? Hope your "middle of July" is after the 15th.

callmedtop

18-21. Don't love being the guinea pigs for the new service conditions but worth it given its all-inclusive and its already been rescheduled twice before. Just hope nothing happens in next two weeks...

Duke787

This hotel seems to be playing games with award reservations for 2021 (starting May 14). We had a booking for this year for a wedding since canceled. Booking for the rescheduled date next summer and it appears that throughout the month of June, this property seems to be requiring a 3 night minimum for award stays and requires a Thursday check-in if you want to stay through Sunday.

Any way around this? Is this even allowed by Marriott rules? I assume they are playing games with the eligible rooms for an award booking by adding a minimum stay requirement to the revenue bookings.

This isn't a question of peak vs. non-peak, I understand if the weekend is peak, but we don't arrive until Friday and I don't want to be forced into a Thursday - Sunday booking when we are only there Friday - Sunday.

Kacee

Stealing a page from the Hyatt playbook.

Duke787

Exactly what I was thinking — I’ve seen this playbook before. The problem is that even if I wanted to do 3 nights, since we are coming from the East Coast we either have a late arrival Thursday night or leave early Monday and so it’s a wasted day that I have to pay Cat 8 peak award prices for.

Kacee

I believe the trick with Hyatt (for Globalists at least) is to book the minimum stay online and then call to change the reservation. No idea if that will work with Marriott.

boolean64

They have a "superior room" that books into either the standard room in the Acacia House or one of the estate view rooms which they use to play games. So they'll set these three day minimums on the "superior room" that they don't even really try to sell. Often the estate view room is also open to book as an award. But as you've seen, sometimes they do not make the estate view room available for awards in which case you're subject to whatever restrictions they've placed on the superior room. With the switchover to having capacity controls (which is different than "no blackout dates") i feel like all bets are off on holding hotels accountable for award availability anyway.

Agree with others that you should try to book then shorten the reservation. Works well with Hyatt (in the limited number of properties where this a real issue) but i seem to recall that when you change a reservation with marriott they had to have additional inventory availabile to make a change. So you would still be subject to the minimum stay requirement. But i haven't tried that in a long time so maybe things have changed.

Duke787

Update and good news.

They seem to have removed these restrictions and you can now book with no 3 night requirement next summer. Was able to grab the Deluxe Estate View for the 2 nights we needed at the painful price of 100k/night and apply my [mostly] useless SNAs but at least we've got the room for the dates we need (assuming wedding is able to happen next year, etc., etc.)

beofotch

Heading in early October for 3 nights with the wife. First time in Napa/Sonoma. In the Post COVID environment can anyone suggest nearby wine tours/tastings that we should make reservations for? Goal is to get educated on wine, the area, and do some tastings. Would be glad to take recommendations from those who know the area well. We will have a rental car.

boolean64

I'd imagine everything will still be outdoor only in early october, which makes reservations a must...so definitely plan this out soon. hard to give advice on specific wineries as there are dozens in the immediate area with a wide variety of experiences (e.g., some specialize in certain varietals while others have a much broader range to taste through, some have a more formal tour and/or explanation whereas others are truly focused on tasting and sales, and of course there are a range of price points). If you want help here or with the concierge you'll have to give a bit more direction. You should try the concierge who probably has few go-to spots based on some rough guidelines.

I will throw in one plug, which is if you are at all a beer geek, head to Mad Fritz taproom on the other side of town (probably a 25 minute walk). They do a lot of very craft beers with all locally sourced ingredients. Pricey for beer at $25 for a 750 for takeaway but a delicious treat if you enjoy beer.

DJ_Iceman

I recommend Robert Mondavi, Beringer, and Sterling. All are huge mainstream wineries, but each offers a slightly different experience. Beringer and Mondavi, at least pre-COVID, offered decent educational experiences and tours, not just tastings. And Sterling has an aerial tramway to get up to their tasting room, which is unique.

beofotch

Great advice. I tried calling just now and their voicemail said they have ceased operations until further notice. The Marriott website doesn't give an update although when you search rooms/rates nothing shows as available until October 1. So my sense is that is their reopening date. I will start to call nearby wineries for reservations for tastings for our dates in October.