Carneros Resort and Spa

Carneros Resort is gorgeous, impeccably clean and beautiful finishes everywhere! Lots of choice for food options with a lovely pool, gym and even yoga in the morning! We stayed in a 2 bed cottage with very modern bathrooms and a cosy kitchen, dining and living space which made it perfect for folks that have kids. They set up a toddler crib with a lovely quilt without an issue and the staff were super friendly and welcoming! I wish I had time to visit the Spa but that gives us an excuse to go back!! On Sunday morning the kids and family pools were empty and we had fun for a few hours with no one else around! Our toddler had an amazing time and swam for the first time in her life so it was a landmark moment for us. The pools were warm, clean and safe and the furniture around the pools were lovely. They were also shaded by trees so you could choose if you wanted to be in the sun or not. We loved this area!! That said I have just one small gripe and I fully acknowledge that we arrived early around 2.30pm when check in is officially 4pm. We arrived hot and sweaty with a teething toddler really praying our room would be ready, as it was it wasn't and we didn't complain because check in is officially 4pm. It's just that given we had a toddler and we were a little stressed I thought some effort to expedite the room would be made. To be frank it wasn't I went back dot on 4pm and it still wasn't ready and saw calls made to housekeeping which confirmed it wasn't. I'm convinced that if I hadn't gone and sat in reception and basically stared at the receptionists we would have been waiting even longer. If they had made that little bit of extra effort and got us in 30 mins or even 15 mins early then this would be a 5 star review especially seeing a couple with a handbag dog get a warmer welcome and fussed over more than us with a small human being made me feel a little less wanted at Carneros Resort. That was a little depressing as I watched them get checked into their room efficiently (with their dog having its every need catered to and a debate over if 'Dessie' wouldn't mind a big dogs bed!' FYI Dessie didn't mind apparently so that was okay) whilst I was still waiting. Probably a very good reason for this but those of you with kids will know that 5 mins can be an eternity when you're waiting - a small gesture to speed up our room (given this is not an inexpensive resort would have gone a long way). In addition even when we did get in the cottage they still hadn't brought all the bedding which arrived later. Although we didn't wait long to check out I'd advise more than one person on the front desk at peak check out / check in time. PS it wasn't lost on us that some of the people arriving at midday on Sunday were getting straight into their rooms 4 hours early!! Again probably a good reason for this but just something we all noticed. All in all an amazing resort and we wish we could have stayed longer but maybe keeping in mind the small things they can do for families would be the cherry on the cake!

My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary with a trip to San Francisco and Napa and stayed at the Carneros Resort for two nights. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone based on our experience, level of service we received and conditions of the two rooms we were in. At arrival they didn’t ask if we were celebrating any occasion like many hotels do, and no one asked how our stay was at checkout. Pros: Beautiful property, private backyard (semi-private for cottages that backed up to the two story houses overlooking the backyard). Cons: Misleading advertising: The private backyard advertised when booking is misleading. Overlooking windows from a house is not private. Service: After showering before bed the first night a foul smell came into our bathroom. We thought it was urine. The front desk attendant and security guard both verified the smell but tried to move us into a cottage that smelled like smoke. They had no access to cleaning supplies (we even offered to clean it ourselves as they said they had no alternative room for us) and sprayed the bathroom with air freshener. We had to sleep with the bathroom doors closed and wore slippers in the bathroom. We were concerned the floor was soiled. The following morning again after showering the smell came back much stronger, like sewage. The smell must have been coming from the pipes as it returned shortly after using the shower both times. It was so strong we could not use the bathroom to get ready. The manager said she would see if she could find a new room to move us and would call when she knew. We did not hear back for over an hour, packed our things into our car incase we had to switch hotels. On our way out for the day we stopped by the front desk to follow up. She said she had a new room for us (but had neglected to call us) and would call when it was ready. By 5pm we were ready to return and had still not heard from the hotel. We went back to the hotel and were given a key to a new room. No offer to help us unload our bags or offered an apology for the inconvenience. Condition: There was a plumbing problem in the first room. Both rooms were worn and dirty. The handle to the bathroom door popped off as I opened it. All the handles to the outdoor areas were loose. Every piece of furniture and the bathroom sink area had dings or peeling paint. Build up in BOTH rooms on the shower faucets, water build up on the glass in the showers and floors. Dirty ledges of molding in the doors. Dirt and hair on the corner of the floor to the second room, a peeling, worn chair, threadbare towels that are no longer bright white. There was also old dog poop in the backyard of the second room. After seeing both rooms with similar problems it’s apparent housekeeping does not pay attention to details. These are standard areas that build up with dirt and need to be attended to. I hope this hotel works on it’s management, level of service and room conditions. It is situated on lovely grounds and has the potential to be a wonderful place to get away. The worn interior and lack of service when there was a foul odor in our room was disappointing.

If you are planning on spending a few nights in Napa, your experience will not be complete without a stay at Carneros Spa and Inn. From the moment you pull up to check in (offered wine, Baci candies and other snacks) until the second you leave, you will be surrounded not only by nature's beauty but also by state-of-the-art hotel luxury. We recently spent 2 evenings in the "Sparrow 1" cottage of the Carneros resort and we could not have been more satisfied with the experience. The room, which looks like an average country Bungalow from the outside, was actually a technologically advanced 5-star room, complete with luxury linens, 60" flat screen tv, climate controlled bathroom floor tiles, indoor / outdoor shower with waterfall shower heads and so much more. When we stepped out into our own, private backyard space, we were in awe. Among the natural rosemary bushes and pomegranate trees were a 2 person soaking tub, gas-fired fire pit, matching lounge chairs, and umbrella table with chairs. The restaurant onsite, Farm, is Michelin-quality, for both food and service. The main pool features views of the NapaValley that will take your breath away, in addition to a 20-foot fireplace, full bar and another restaurant. We tried to move some of our other reservations down the California Coast to stay another night at Carneros, but the room was not available. We will definitely be back.

We traveled from NY to spend the extend 4th of July week-end in the Napa region. We loved the Carneros resort for its layout (cottages, a nice diversion from a regular hotel). Beautiful properties. Particularly lovely is the hilltop pool with a gorgeous view of the valley with vineyards and mountains, like a beautiful painting. The deluxe cottages have nice amenities (additional outdoor shower, heated bathroom floor, working fireplace, free wifi, complimentary soft drinks in the minibar and complimentary bikes. The cottages could use a fresh coat of paint and the hardware in the bathroom a replacement. The service is excellent and the staff extremely friendly and accommodating. The main restaurant/bar is lovely, very comfortable and cozy, yet with an open feeling. The staff is great and extremely serviceable. We went through AMEX Platinum Luxury Resorts booking. We did not get upgraded, in spite of that being a "benefit" (although they do state upon availability at check in). It would have been nice, given the high price paid.

Planned a weekend at Napa for my 40's birthday. We chose Carneros for the first time. I will make it short just so people can read it easily. Pros: The staff at the restaurants, including the pool restaurant, are really great, striving to provide great service. Great food at the restaurants. Cons: 1- Had two reservations, called 3 days before arrival to make sure they combined both. They confirmed over the phone. They didn't. 2 - Arrived late and tired just to hear: "So you guys are moving cottages?". After mentioning this was a bad mistake on their side front desk guy, without apologizing and with an attitude (which is a cultural trademark for them as I came to understand later), did combine the reservation. Also 3 days before arrival, I used their website concierge service (where they let you choose and buy items to be in the room by the arrival, like wine and chocolate). Nothing was in the room and front desk hadn't any information regarding my choices on their website. 3 - Changed my card on the front desk during the check-in, they charged 200 deposit in the new Amex card. 4 - In the morning we were checking out we called early to make sure the card on file was the right one. It wasn't. They somehow managed to roll back to the old one (So how did they charge 200 on the new one? Will I ever see this money again? I don't know the answer to these questions). 5 - Safety: I was almost hit by one of their trucks (all the time being driven through the small streets of the property). The guy saw me on the back and turned in my direction anyway, missing by inches. I got scared, he laughed and shouted: "I got this". (No apologies). Wonder if it was a kid that they got scared and moved. (See picture for the size of the truck. For reference resort streets are good for one SUV at a time) 6 - Air conditioning at the Cottage failing. Had to call maintenance twice, the cottage was at 86 degrees. 7 - Room service always leaving dirty things behind as you can see by the pictures. One day they knocked on the door for the evening replenishment visit, we asked them to come back 20 min later, they never did. 8 - The only place you can have lunch on the premises is at the Bonfly Cafe. It's a lovely restaurant, but it has around 20 tables most of them seat two. Meaning 1-2 hours wait. Only other options are pool or convenience store snacks/sandwiches. Food is good at those places but we were not in the mood for having a sub for lunch in Napa. 9 - Outdoor furniture at the cottage private garden are dirty. As you can see by the pictures. 10 - Pools are not spotless as you would expect in a resort of this caliber. At any given time you can spot dirty resting at the bottom. 11 - Beds are too soft, in a bad, and old fashioned way. Our backs were busted from sleeping on it. 11 - When checking out we called before hand to make sure the right card was on file (I wanted my Amex points to count) like I said before it (mysteriously) wasn't. I asked how was this even possible since the hotel charged a fee on my Amex when I switched it in person, when we arrived, at the front desk. The women on the front-desk then went on to explain how they can't switch cards by phone. Again I explained the same thing, again she went on to explain how they can't switch card via phone. It's like a twilight zone, where you are speaking crystal clear English and they play dumb asking you to repeat or just faking they don't get it because of your accent. This story ends with the front-desk lady disconnecting the phone on me. I guess... she... got frustrated. Yes. We were many times forced to repeat ourselves over and over again, on the most basic things, to the front-desk people (while they made strange faces like as if they are making an effort) even though me and my wife speak crispy clear English, we live in SF, she works at Apple in Cupertino and I wrote 5 published books and founded 3 start-ups related to education. So English communication is definitely not an issue on our side. The same didn't happen at the restaurants. I guess our Brazilian accent is too "different" for the front-desk people to handle, but not that different for the ever-helpful restaurant crew. To summarize, the hotel needs to completely renovate its Cottages, including furniture and painting. And they also really need to properly train and teach their employees on topics like respect and diversity. Not coming back, not worth the money and stress. If after reading this you still wanna to give them a try, take this check list with you. Things that happened with us were not "bad luck" or "random", they were systematically taking place, so I'm sure you will be able to check plenty of those items too.