Napa Valley

[samgiovese]

My wife & I stayed there in Nov. 2000...very nice, but before their remodel. I can only say it's gotten better since then, and it was VERY NICE!!! Their spa is phenomenal, and I know what they've done for the remodel, and it is simply beautiful. As far as reservations, it wouldn't hurt to make a few in advance...General's Daughter is always crowded...but the concierge at Kenwood should be able to help.

You mention eating there...unless they've changed, the only meal served is breakfast, with wine and munchies at cocktail hour. The breakfasts were interesting...a tad ecclectic for my tastes, but perhaps they've changed with the remodel & expansion.

You DEFINITELY should visit the Napa Valley...you are so close, and it is really worth the short drive.

I'd be happy to make any further suggestions or answer any other questions you might have.

[gmi3804]

Yes, we are staying at The Kenwood Inn and Spa for an entire week. Has anyone been there to stay or eat? It looks beautiful from the website and brochures. Is it true that this area is much more laid back than Napa? Other than our spa treatments, we have nothing set in stone as of now. Do you think we should make all of our restaurant reservations in advance?

We spoke to some people who just finished a stay at The Kenwood Inn and had nothing but raves about it. Their only caveat was that it was a bit off the beaten path (which isn't that bad), and a long, curvy drive to the restaurants of Napa Valley (which is).

Let me know how your trip went when you return - this place looks wonderful.

[gmi3804]

I would highly reccomend the Milliken Creek Inn (1815 Silverado Trail).  I was there over this past Christmas holiday and had a fantastic time.  Nice landscaping, overlooking the Napa river.  The style of the inn is British-colonial, brown leather and rattan furniture, khaki and cream walls, fire places in the rooms, my room's four poster bed had a gauze canopy on it.  The bedding was extremely nice as was the spa tub.  There is a spa on the property although I did not attend.  Every evening there is a nice selection of cheese and wines put out as well as ports which are left out throught the day and night. When I inquiered about some good, small, lesser known wineries to visit in the area, the staff gave me some great reccomendations, mapped out my drive for me and called ahaed to let the wineries know I was going to be visiting. I believe that the rooms range from $260-$495, their web site is www.millikencreekinn.com

We recently returned from three nights at Milliken Creek Inn, which I can't wholeheartedly recommend. Our room was $625/night, plus tax and 7% service charge.

Here are the comments I had about it which I posted on tripadvisor.com:

Three out of five stars.

Wanting a different lodging during this trip to Napa, and used to high-end resort properties, we were convinced by the good press about and the beautiful website from Millikin Creek Inn that this was the place to try. Our experienced was mixed. We stayed for three nights over the July 4th weekend. The Inn is indeed peaceful and decorated in soothing colors. Check-in was delayed while we waited for the desk clerk to finish a lengthy phone call. A bellman was not on property at the time (about 2:30pm) so we had to help the desk clerk (who was genuinely friendly) carry our bags to our room at the end of the property and one flight of stairs up. We never did meet the owners. The room was spotless, and the view of the not-very-picturesque river was nevertheless relaxing. Very pleasantly decorated, the room nevertheless did not hold up to closer scrutiny: the furnishings are of the Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware variety, which are nice but hardly the types of pieces worthy of an upscale property. Doors to the bathroom and water closet were hollow plastic. The bed and linens, however, were supremely comfortable. Turndown service was nice, when we had it: it was non-existent on one of the three nights. Breakfast service was prompt and the continental breakfast tasty. As we had to leave very early on the day of our departure, we checked out late in the afternoon of our last day. No arrangement was made (or offered) to help us with our bags, and this "last straw" made us wonder just why exactly a 7% service charge was tacked on to every room tarrif. So we ended up paying approximately $250 for two breakfast deliveries, two turn-down services, and two room make-ups during our three-night stay. Millikin Creek Inn advertises itself as and aspires to be a world-class Inn with topnotch rooms and service. Though comfortable, the rooms are definitely not at the same quality level as other similarly-priced upscale Napa Valley properties, and the service is spotty. Though much of the stay was nice, we will look elsewhere when planning our next trip to the area.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Fatcatbrew, when/if you decide to head to the Napa side of the world, PM me if you would like to make an appointment for a private tour and tasting of the winery I work at -- pretty stunning 19th century French chateau which I am blogging here.

[fatcatbrew]

Can you tell me what the regulations are concerning purchasing wine at the wineries and having it sent home to NJ?

[cupcake250]

recently returned from the Silverado....much too over-rated...the spa was disappointing, the rooms not great (in addition the fuse broke about 3x just from using a hairdryer and having the lights on).....however I did find some great websites of the small bed and breakfasts which I much prefer...last time we stayed at the Beazley house--I think the website is www.beazleyhouse.com which was quite centrally located to go to a lot of the heavenly wineries and restaurants...

its was quite nice, great location, staff was very helpful, we had a nice romantic room, and a delicious breakfast...2 cents from cupcake

Edited July 23, 2004 by cupcake250 (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Can you tell me what the regulations are concerning purchasing wine at the wineries and having it sent home to NJ?

I PM'd this to you as well, but other folks might like to know:

Right now, New Jersey is considered a state where "direct shipments via common carrier are prohibited." In a nutshell this means that MOST wineries cannot direct ship to New Jersey. However, there are new ways around this, specifically if you are interested in buying your wine from the various wineries you visit and shipping it yourself. There is a company in Napa called Buffalo Shipping that can ship to all 50 states. There are also some wineries that are contracting with shipping firms (NOT "common carriers") that will ship the wine directly to you.

At Gundlach Bundschu (where I occasionally work on Sundays), they can ship to every state except Utah and Maryland. Here at Ladera, right now we can only ship to 12 states but have contracted with a firm that will enable us to ship to all but 8 states by the fall.

The biggest headache you are going to have for your upcoming visit will be a matter of heat. Here at Ladera, we shut-down all shipping for the summer so that wine does not spend time in hot trucks or warehouses. The occasional exception is when a customer pays the Priority Fed-Ex overnight charges -- then it leaves late in the afternoon and is delivered before 10:00 a.m. the next morning. It is pricey, but worth it if you are buying good wine. Otherwise, we are advising our clients that we will ship their wine to them in the fall, when it is safer (and, at that point, we'll be licensed in all those extra states).

Hope that helps!

carolyn

[fatcatbrew]

Are you saying that in the fall, the laws may change to allow shipping to NJ?

[KatieLoeb]

Are you saying that in the fall, the laws may change to allow shipping to NJ?

I think she's saying that you should wait until the fall when the weather isn't so hot to ship your wine. You know how hot the inside of your car gets on a summer day. And that's presumably with you running the AC while you're in it. You really don't want your wine baking in the back of a non-cooled FedEx or UPS truck, do you? Many wineries/wine shops won't ship from June through September for this reason.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Are you saying that in the fall, the laws may change to allow shipping to NJ?

I think she's saying that you should wait until the fall when the weather isn't so hot to ship your wine. You know how hot the inside of your car gets on a summer day. And that's presumably with you running the AC while you're in it. You really don't want your wine baking in the back of a non-cooled FedEx or UPS truck, do you? Many wineries/wine shops won't ship from June through September for this reason.

Exactly. PLUS, by the fall we will be signed up with the new company that will allow us to ship to NJ -- which we can't currently do.

BUT (and here is the caveat), the Supreme Court is going to hear the case brought by the Washington Wine Institute about interstate shipping of wine. Story Here. It might all be changed shortly, but I doubt it will happen as early as this fall (when DOES the Supreme Court announce its verdicts anyway?)

[fatcatbrew]

Carolyn,

How much notice do you need to arrange to tour your winery?

[steakas]

My travel agent highly recommended the Four Sisters. In November I'll be staying at their Maison Fleurie. I have heard good things and during my 2 week stay in CA, half of my time will be spent at two Four Sisters locations.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Carolyn,

How much notice do you need to arrange to tour your winery?

24 hours is usually sufficient, although because we are so small, Saturdays are iffy... Sometimes I am able to do same-day tours but if a guest calls that day and I've already booked up with three or four tours, I have to turn them away. At least with a day's notice I can fit everyone in. We like to do each group of guests separately, since everyone has their own agenda and own set of questions. It is more personal and intimate than being put with a bunch of people who don't know each other.

The Saturday thing is the fact that there are really only three of us that give tours: the two owners and myself. Lately the owners alone have been giving the Saturday tours and they are going out of town for a couple of weeks and I'm not sure I want to drive up there on a Saturday just for one or two tours...