Perfect base location for Napa Wineries - but watch the showers!!
Written: Sep 11 '05 (Updated Sep 12 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good base for wine touring with stores across the street
Cons: The showers would run extremely hot and extremely cold
The Bottom Line: This is a good base location with the stores and the guest laundry. We weren't looking for charm and this suited our needs.
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| theblackcat's Full Review: Marriott Napa Valley |
We stayed at the Napa Valley Marriott from 08/30/2005 to 09/05/2005 in Room 2009. It was a typical Marriott - reminded me more of a Courtyard by Marriott - sort of spartan but it served our purposes. We were there to visit the wineries and not lounge around - we wanted a base to throw our clothes, take a shower and sleep. And just to correct one of the reviews, not all second floor rooms have balconies - our room did not and it faced the parking lot. I got the room on Priceline.com for $122/night. Just look for Napa and 3 stars on Priceline - it will bring up two hotels: Napa Valley Marriott and the Embassy Suites.
The hotel is located right off of Route 29 at Redwood Road. Across the street from the hotel (and the Wine Train Railroad tracks) is a shopping center - Target, Ralph's Supermarket, Longs Drug Store, etc. I thought this was great since we forgot a few things for the trip and drove over to pick up supplies. And since the hotel offer bottled water in the hotel room for $4.50, we picked up a 12 pack of Poland Spring water from Ralph's for $4.00.
The hotel itself was nice. They offered a wine tasting from 5:30 - 6:30 but it was the same two wines every night. (We were there for 6 nights). I should also note that they offered those two wines in the room for $16/bottle.
The room was a typical King bed room - bed, armoire with TV, two nightstands, a work area, a small round table and a chair with matching ottoman. We thought the bed was a little too soft for our taste but then again, we like a very hard mattress - almost like sleeping on the floor.
The one observation about the work area was that it was made up of a hallway table and then there was a separate table (on wheels) that would slide out from underneath it. I thought that was kind of strange until one morning, we picked up breakfast from the local Jack In The Box. We pulled the entire table out and ate on it. Once we were done, we slid it back underneath. The table did stick out from underneath the other table - just enough to place a laptop on it.
The view from our room was the parking lot so we kept the curtain closed the majority of the time. One thing that was deceiving about the window was that the curtain covered the entire wall. But when you pulled the curtain, only half the wall was a window. Sometimes I would forget, open the wrong side and see the room wall. The curtain did block all the light from outside. Since the room faced towards the east, we never had sunlight waking us up.
The bathroom was decent sized (tub with shower head) with a black marble sinktop. Overall, the room wasn't the lap of luxury but since we weren't spending a lot of time in it, it didn't matter to us. It was clean and smelled fresh. The floor was smoke free and our room reflected that.
The only problem we had was with the showers. After adjusting the water to the temperature we liked, about 3 minutes later, the water would run scorching hot and then freezing cold. There was no way to control it. I thought that it was because we were taking showers at off times (3pm, 5pm, 11pm) but it happened to us in the morning as well. I think I had one shower where the water stayed the same temperature. It could have been a fluke but it was pretty annoying.
The room offered broadband internet access but there was a fee for it. It was $44.95/week. (There was a daily rate but I can't remember what it was). The internet service was provided through STSN. A network cable was provided in the room (hanging in a bag in the closet) which was helpful since I forgot to bring one. I was checking in with work so internet access was a must. It always worked when I needed it and I never had problems with network latency.
While on the subject of internet, the hotel offers a "business room" on the first floor just off the lobby - key card access. Internet rates there were $3.95 for 15 minutes. They also charge for using the printer - it was a per page charge but I can't remember what it was. The hotel also has shipping supplies (letters/documents) for both UPS and FedEx. Just to note, there is a post office down the street so it's just as convenient to go there and use Priority Mail.
We ate breakfast at the Harvest Cafe and had a few meals at the Characters Sports Bar. The Harvest Cafe offered a buffet for $14.95 which included an omelet station, breakfast meats, waffles and then cereals and fruit. We opted not to take the buffet since for $9.95 we could have a breakfast of 2 eggs, hash browns, choice of breakfast meat and toast or English muffin. We usually don't eat cereal and fruit for breakfast on vacation so we didn't think paying the extra $5 for the buffet was worth it.
The Characters Sports Bar was just that - a bar, tables and a pool table with 5 TV's. The one thing that was nice was that it wasn't that crowded so you could watch whatever you wanted. All the remote controls were on the bar. We thought the food at the bar was great - it was typical pub grub but with a little bit of flair. We thought the house salad was phenomenal - mix of greens, raisins, goat cheese, walnuts, apricots and a balsamic vinagrette dressing.
We were able to get a massage at the Amadeus Spa. It was wonderful! And we were able to make appointments the day before and had our choice of times. The massage therapists were great! The facility was very nice and very clean. Plenty of water with lemon everywhere as well as a selection of herbal teas. Each service included use of steam and the hot tub. There were plenty of towels and amenities to shower off the massage oils and walk out looking refreshed.
The other thing I liked about the hotel was the guest laundry - we were able to wash a couple of loads of laundry during the afternoon. The detergent and dryer sheets were complimentary from the front desk. One load of laundry cost $1 and $1 for 45 minutes of drying. There were two washers and two dryers. The washers were front load so if you use them, be careful as to how much detergent you use. The detergent from the front desk is not "he". We opted to wash laundry the day before we left since we were all wined out and heading out for the second leg of our vacation. No one was there in the afternoon and we hung out at the sports bar while we waited.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
theblackcat
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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