The Westin Verasa Napa [Master Thread]
I'll call in the morning to see how many points they want to just book a suite outright, but would of course love to hear from my FT friends.
- Standard room: 20k/night or $385/night
- 1 BR/2 BA Premium Suite: 60k/night or $500-something/night
I booked the standard room and the Premium Suite was the only choice for SNA, so I applied the SNA request for them.
By math, not the best point value in the world, but it's not like I can invest *points or SNAs.
OTOH, spending a couple days in SF afterward and the Westin St. Francis is 12k/night or $800/night. So I guess I make up some cash value there if we're counting.
The Westin Verasa Napa
1314 McKinstry Street Napa, CA US 94559
Noisy Stay in Napa (0 Photo)
The Westin Verasa Napa
We stayed at the Westin Verasa Napa last week on points Wednesday to Saturday. I had requested suite night awards well in advance, but was informed prior to arrival that they could not be filled. I saw no evidence of earthquake damage - in fact it never crossed my mind until I read up in this thread to see that it had been an issue.
The week before our arrival, someone from "Westin Experience" emailed and asked about special requests that we had. The only thing I mentioned is that we were celebrating a birthday and would also like to go on a long run one morning, so it would be nice if they had routes they could share.
Check-in was pretty smooth. We were charged an "Amenity Fee" of $15/night (though the website states $20) plus tax for a total of $17.13 per night. It does include the valet parking in addition to other standard things that as a Platinum should be free anyway. They offer a wine tasting in the lobby each evening that is also listed as a benefit of this fee. We were told that we were upgraded to a 1 Bedroom Suite. I'm not sure why they didn't collect the SNA's from SPG, but we ended up with the upgrade without using them.
When we got into the room, they had set out a split of sparkling wine and 2 gourmet chocolates with a Happy Birthday card. They also gave us the standard running map cards (also available in the workout center). Quick note on the running routes - there is a 5k and an 8k listed, but the distances are off by at least a K as measured on my Garmin watch. Also, you run up a mountain (or at least what those of us from Indiana would consider a mountain) :)
The pool and hot tub were nice enough. I was surprised at the number of small children there. I'm not one to take my kids to Napa, but I guess others are different!
We opted to take the breakfast amenity. The options for the platinum breakfast at the restaurant are: a choice of cereal or fruit, a choice of bread, and a choice of yogurt. Nothing extraordinary, but decent anyway.
It's a really easy walk into the town of Napa where there are lots of restaurants and shops. The Concierge provided us with a map and a couple of dinner recommendations. We spent most of our time in Yountville and areas north, though. Had it not been for the points stay, I think we would have stayed farther north just for the convenience to the wineries we wanted to visit. In Napa, though, Uber was readily accessible.
I have one very big complaint specific to our stay and the time we were there. There was a big music/food/wine festival called Live in the Vineyard that took place starting the Thursday of our stay. I was not aware of it when I booked and wasn't told anything about it when we checked in. On Friday, they filled the lobby with a bunch of aloft and Southwest Airlines signage (evidently sponsors of the event) and had a relatively large number of people milling about.
Later that night (around 10pm) as we attempted to go to sleep (on an east coast schedule, planning on a 10 mile run in the morning) there were loudspeakers blaring in the courtyard for a concert about 20 feet from our balcony. I called and asked how late the party would last and was told 1:30am. I asked about availability of rooms not facing the courtyard (there were none) and was offered earplugs instead. Needless to say, we had a terrible night's sleep.
For a $500/night hotel, this sort of thing doesn't seem at all reasonable. No one told us about the concert planned for outside our room or gave us a chance opt into a different lodging option. The whole thing made the place feel "cheap" and not what a luxury spa & resort should be like.
While most of our stay was great, that noisy night is what I will remember. And the next time we go to the Napa Valley, we're likely to stay in Yountville or Calistoga and skip this place altogether.
EDIT: I did receive a reply from the GM apologizing for the breakdown in communication about the event that evening.
This is not unusual comment for this property. I too had a miserable stay several years ago and hence stop staying here for my client wine tasting annual event. The sound proofing in the main lobby bar area is non existent, nor are they sensitive to sleeping guest. My comment to them went most ignored. So the result was they have lost out on annual business and I have recommended that many people NOT stay here
I’ve found the experience here to be a delight in most every way: the room is well appointed with a full kitchen and two sizable bedrooms and bathrooms; we have a river view with lots of trees and lots of quiet, everything is pretty on brand standard.
I have no noise concerns like previous posters, though this suite is all the way at the very farthest end of the hotel on the top floor, so it‘s probably the quietest room on the whole property.
Went to the bar to use the welcome amenity voucher, and the bartenders made some fantastic cocktails for us. The patio is fantastic for November weather in California, with heat lamps everywhere.
The valet parking operation is seamless and makes the “amenity fee” not feel like a ripoff at all.
I was worried that the location might feel a little isolated from the rest of Downtown Napa, and it does, but it’s maybe a ten minute walk from most of downtown and a five minute walk from the fantastic Oxbow Public Market.
Overall it’s fantastic. Would happily return any time.
I’ve found the experience here to be a delight in most every way: the room is well appointed with a full kitchen and two sizable bedrooms and bathrooms; we have a river view with lots of trees and lots of quiet, everything is pretty on brand standard.
I have no noise concerns like previous posters, though this suite is all the way at the very farthest end of the hotel on the top floor, so it‘s probably the quietest room on the whole property.
Went to the bar to use the welcome amenity voucher, and the bartenders made some fantastic cocktails for us. The patio is fantastic for November weather in California, with heat lamps everywhere.
The valet parking operation is seamless and makes the “amenity fee” not feel like a ripoff at all.
I was worried that the location might feel a little isolated from the rest of Downtown Napa, and it does, but it’s maybe a ten minute walk from most of downtown and a five minute walk from the fantastic Oxbow Public Market.
Overall it’s fantastic. Would happily return any time.