Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley

Gorgeous property. Food amazing. Pool service beyond embarrassing. I pretty much spent my 50th birthday serving my friends and self at pool all day bc service was a disaster. No one was there!!

I hate to complain - but I love this brand, but our experience were very different from our October 2023 stay. We have stayed at 19 different FS properties in North America, ~36 stays and ~120 nights. So I do have expectations. From my observations, it just looked like they were understaffed. Which is strange for this brand and known for having an abundance of help. This was not the case. The pool area had the biggest deficit: pool attendants to set up lounges were hard to find, we even set up our own, waiting times for pool service were high; water, drinks, food, menus, got there - eventually. There was almost no "clean up" from people that had left, food, drinks and used towels sat for hours on the pool deck and in the cabanas. Our lunch of ceviche and steak tacos was average at best, there was no octopus in the ceviche and the steak nuggets were horribly burnt - seriously. I have to mention that even the glassware for drinks was inconsistent. (I know a small detail but...) Breakfast one morning was slow - an egg was forgotten from my avocado toast, mentioned it to two food runners and never received it. The server kindly removed it from the check. Valet was not always available. The PROS: The property is stunning and clean. Just beautiful. The employees, when available, were kind, generous and engaging. We were upgraded to a lovely suite, with a bottle of wine and welcome amenities. They were responsive when asked for incidentals. All in all, this was the most expensive FS property we have ever stayed at - with all the fees probably $3k / night. And I just felt like that it was not worth it and will likely not return.

We traveled here from Philadelphia (over five hour flight and then a two hour drive) with our four year old daughter for my birthday. A surprise trip from my husband. We are Four Seasons LOVERS. We’ve stayed at Anguilla, Nevis, Ten Trinity London, Dubai, Westlake Village, Toronto (three times), and Palm Beach. We were thrilled to add this property to our list and I have to say this was the worst of them by far and for many reasons and the only one we’ve actually disliked. See previous reviews. Upon check in at 2:30pm, we were told our room wasn’t ready. Disappointing as I mentioned we flew over five hours and then drove another two hours to get there with our toddler, we all woke up at 3am to get our flight and it was now nearly 12 hours later…. We were beyond exhausted. It’s not great to entertain a toddler in a lobby for an hour and a half (our room was finally ready at 3:59pm lolol). Then we were told that we weren’t given an upgrade- also fine. We booked through AMEX Fine Hotels and Resorts so we should’ve been granted an upgrade when available. This was all fine and understandable….. until…. Four seperate couples checked in while we sat in the lobby and ALL of their rooms were ready and two out of the four were given upgrades. The worst was a couple who had DRIVEN there said they weren’t celebrating anything and they were immediately checked in with an upgrade through AMEX! It was actually laughable. There was no regard for us looking like a totally wiped out family there to celebrate my birthday. We were offered red or white wine. We chose one of each and then they said they were out of a red (aren’t we on a working vineyard?). We asked for some waters as we sat in the lobby and were told to get them from the valet guy outside ourselves- weird. Wouldn’t you offer us some water to begin with knowing how far we traveled? From there things continued to be weird. Our room was beautiful. Brand new and very large. Two double beds- not queens- which are snug for two adults. Bathrooms are amazing! Huge porch with a full size table and chairs, couch which overlooked the vineyard (this was the best part!). The rooms are paper thin. We had two kids next to us who were up playing until 10:30pm which basically we felt like they were in the room with us it was so loud and clear. Another night we listened to the “sheep dog” across the street barking NONSTOP for four to five hours. It was actually terrible. Housekeeping was amazing. They did a phenomenal job every day. It was a bit disappointing that they did not automatically give us any kids toiletries, robe or slippers like they always do? We asked and then they did bring them. But why not just bring them for us? Again, slacking. Other FS properties are just much more “on it”. The pools are just squared off and cement. Feels very community pool. There is nothing luxurious about them. Service pool service shuts down around 4:30 when we would be arriving each day with our daughter and other families. We weren’t offered towels, chair set ups, menus or water unless we flagged someone down to ask for them. The other families and ourselves couldn’t understand the shut down as it was 90 degrees and sunny every day at that time….? The other families we met all said the same thing- that this was the worst Four Seasons service they’d experienced by far. Things don’t cleaned up around the pools either. There were four Corona bottle caps next to the hot tub on the day we arrived and they were there on our last day too (we stayed four nights) and I’d bet they’re still there today! Breakfast in TRUSS is great. The food is all excellent as were the staff. Dinner at TRUSS was pretty flat. It felt like two different chefs?! With all that being said, it’s a very pretty property and every server we encountered at breakfast and at dinner, and by the pool (when you can catch them)- we were very good and friendly. You’re also very much on a main busy road and situated on a parking lot. Oh and we got a 9pm text message the NEXT DAY from the assistant front desk manager wanting to “check in” on us because they knew we’re upset about our crappy check in…. what professional texts at 9pm, let alone the next day? Clearly no actual urgency for us there. I immediately replied and explained everything I mentioned here above- and he never replied back. Why text at all if there’s no follow up? Again, bizarre. Really a mixed bag review. Can’t say I’d recommend it and definitely won’t be returning any time soon.

Beautiful property but far from everything which makes enjoying the area more difficult than with other properties. For an expensive property, they find a way to nickel and dime on everything and to overcharge to the point of making the experience laughable and unenjoyable. I ordered a basic breakfast of eggs, potatoes, protein, and toast, which cost $30. I asked for the english muffin as my toast and the hash brown as my potato, and the staff up charged me on both of those items. The small bottle of pre-mixed cocktail in the room cost $100. The resort was always looking for an opportunity to squeeze more money at the cost of enjoying the experience. Hotel staff were also too attentive at times, making things unenjoyable. Pool staff woke me up on a couple occasions to ask if I needed anything.

Expectations should be high when visiting a Four Seasons, but since my boyfriend convinced me that we were heading to Indian Springs in Calistoga, I quietly pocketed any hopes for a five star weekend as we drove farther and farther away from our caviar lunch at Auberge. Entering the subtle stunning beauty of the Four Seasons, my eye did not catch the monument sign, and it wasn't until we entered the reception area where two glasses of wine were brought by someone wearing the FS logo that I secretly fell back in love with him. Reminiscent of Calistoga Ranch, (before it tragically burned), the architects of this resort have honored the land in a collaboration with nature that is the foundation for quite possibly the most peaceful and authentic luxury experience in Napa. The restaurants, staff, rooms, and views are all exceptionally curated. Many will come for the draw of the Michelin starred Auro, where we were lucky enough to have reservations, but canceled as the allure of an extra hour floating in the pool won over. Our dinner at Truss as the sun set was a five star experience in itself, with special thanks to Carlo the sommelier. Our Sunday morning spa treatments were set in the monumental stone building, Spa Talisa. After only three minutes into my massage, I asked myself how can a chef, or a sommelier become celebrities in this town, but not the star of the this immense building on the property? I mentioned this après-treatment to my boyfriend as we sipped champagne overlooking the vineyard, and a staff member who overheard me confided that Michael is the recipient of many similar comments. Bottom line, he needs to be Napa's celebrity masseuse. Book now, thank me later. We'll be back FS Napa.