We live in NorCar and quite regularly come up to the Napa/Sonoma/Calistoga area to visit wineries and otherwise explore. It’s an easy drive for us, and as a result, the list of places where we have stayed is lengthy. We have our favorite regular places and also try some new ones now and then.
It is with this comparative lived experience that we express confusion about the Carneros Resort. We are trying to understand the appeal, and we failed to discover it during our stay. That said, you may absolutely love the place if your preferences and interests are different from ours. We’ll simply offer our objective thoughts and you can decide how it fits with your needs and preferences.
We’ll start with check in. We arrived a bit before check in time and did not expect our room to be ready - - and we were correct. Absolutely expected, and no problem at all! They took our cell number and assured us they would call or text as soon as our room was ready. I kept my eye on the phone as we went off to our next tasing appointment and beyond; and … we never received a call or text. So, right off the bat, this was a fail, and we were not impressed. Note to hotel management: if you break your first commitment to a guest, that’s an unforced error.
We used the hotel’s car service. However, using it involved several ridiculous, bordering on comical conversations. We started with the front desk - how do we use the car service? “Well, it’s only on availability.” Ok, we understand. But how do we use it? “Well, where do you want to go?” Of course we already knew it was within five miles of the resort, so we named the winery where we had reservations. “Well, when is your reservation?” Um, ok. I told them the time, which was quite soon, and once again, asked how did I actually use this? Their response: well, you really should talk to the concierge. Ok. So, I walked over to the concierge. Hello! How do I use the car service? “Well, it’s only on availability.” Ok, we get that…but how do we use it? “Well, where do you want to go?” I named the winery, which is nearly within walking distance if not for the highway next to this resort. “Do you have a reservation at that winery?” Yes. Yes we do. And, coming back to the original question, how exactly would we use the car service? (I mean … this was legitimately the most inane conversation I’ve ever had with two different people at a hotel.) “Well, I guess I might be able to drive you … or maybe we have a bellman that can take you.” It was at this point that I began feeling like we were living a Seinfeld episode in real life. They eventually figured it out, and the bellman who ran us over the winery was polite, friendly, and terrific. (Note to hotel management: maybe think about just putting the bellmen in charge of this place and call it good.) After that experience, at the conclusion of our outing, we paid for an Uber for our return trip rather that attempt to use the “included” hotel car service. Strike two, and this is a big one.
You either have a service mindset, or you do not. This property does not.
After we eventually got into our room, we decided to relax on the outdoor patio. We arrived to discover the outdoor furniture covered in leaves and bird droppings in a quantity that was inconsistent with the cleaning of our room having been completed only moments before we arrived. Strike three.
This seems to be much more of a family resort, and much less a couples retreat. We were here to celebrate our anniversary, and we didn’t find it to be particularly peaceful at all. Dogs barking. A wedding happening next to our room. People walking by constantly. Beeping of the golf carts backing up. Slamming car doors. Screaming babies, in the wedding party, all staging next to our patio. Then, when it was all over, the inevitable delivery truck to haul all the wedding stuff away. And, the “boom boom boom” of the DJ music as the reception went into the night. Just keep in mind that the cottages are all fairly tightly bunched; your outdoor patio is right next to the adjacent cottage, and all of them are bordered by the walkway/roadway being used by everyone. In other words, the resort may be isolated, but your cottage will not be.
The rooms, I mean cottages, are fairly spacious, but even then we found ourselves a little confused. There is one luggage rack for your suitcases; wouldn’t most people arrive with two? We used the coffee table for our other suitcase. The refrigerator is mostly devoted to being a minibar, so you have no ability to really use it for anything - including cooling a bottle of bubbles, which might be the most common thing you might be seeking to do here in Napa/Carneros. Of course there’s an ice bucket; and, of course there’s no ice anywhere around.
On the plus side, the breakfast selection and quality is very good. If not included in your rate, it will be around $75 for two, plus tip. If you are Diamond with Hilton, this is more or less the one incremental benefit you’ll receive at the hotel.
This hotel is within a 15 minute or so drive of downtown Napa, a handful of wineries, and - - - very little else in the immediate vicinity. It’s kind of an interesting contrast: crowded within the resort, but the resort itself is quite isolated and not walkable to anyplace.
We enjoyed a peaceful early morning on our day of departure, watching the morning light gradually brighten as we sipped coffee on our patio. That’s when the digging began outside our cottage by the grounds crew. And, we knew it was time to depart.
Overall, our title says it all: Confused in Carneros. If you are looking for a quiet couples getaway to celebrate an anniversary like us, there are absolutely other better alternatives in the area. If you are bringing along the extended family, you’ll probably love it, because you will have the run of the place. That makes our score average, which we think is on the brink of generous.
One final note, if you do book here, to please be careful as you drive through the resort, because you likely will encounter kids running around without supervision.
