Hello all! I haven't found any recent posts mentioning the Blackbird, so I thought I'd ask- any recent opinions?

A 3-night package is available at the Blackbird Inn on LuxuryLink.com, and though we were not planning to stay in Napa itself, it's hard to beat the price (3 nights for $425 minimum). We've got a little while to think about it, since we're not going until February. Any opinions on this inn, or staying in the town of Napa?

Thank you!

Check www.tripadvisor.com
Has great things to say about this B&B
It is on the main street of Napa,close to the downtown area...Great place for breakfast and lunch is Gillwoods in downtown mall (small mall)
IMO it is a great price for the Napa Valley..

Just curious===when are you going and where were you planning to stay other than the Blackbird????

Hi TarheelsInNj, what were you planning on doing in Napa? Will you have a rental car? Are you planning on visiting wineries etc?

Personally, and I hope I do not offend anyone from Napa, the City of Napa IMO is very boring. I would not want to stay there for 3 nights. Just my opinion, I have lived near Napa all my life. Also, are you aware that you will be in Napa during what is probably the real rain season?

I do not mean to sound negative but I would sure encourage you to do a lot of research (weather, activities etc) before you follow through with your reservations. Best wishes to you.

Thank you all so much for your replies! Our plan is shaping up like this:

We will be going in late February (my husband is a teacher, so vacation times are not very flexible!) We will spend the first four days in San Francisco, and the remaining 5 nights/4 days in wine country.

We would like to split this time geographically, so that we spend either 2 or 3 days in lower Napa/Sonoma, and then the remaining time up in Healdsburg (to explore the Russian River Valley, etc.) We were initially planning on Yountville, and still are thinking about it- but since the package in Napa town came up on LuxuryLink, I thought it was at least worth considering.

I do know that it is probably rainy season, but from what I understand winter can be hit or miss there- can anyone share any February experiences? In addition to wineries, we would like to explore the other area offerings: Copia, the Schulz museum, olive oil tasting, perhaps a cooking class, etc. We are open to any and all suggestions and opinions!

Thank you!

Blackbird Inn is one of the Four Sisters in in the city of Napa. The place is a magnificent restoration of the Arts and Crafts Era, and lovely. That said, the Napa itself is neither scenic nor inviting. But,you will be out touring most of the time, Heaqldsburg, Yountville, etal. We found Sonoma county much more to our liking, and the Inn at Sonoma(another Four Sisters Inn, just delightful, with bikes you could use, hot tubs, great breakfasts and lots of advice on the wwineries, as well as being walking distance to the Square, just delightful.

capecod, thank you so much for that suggestion. I have been looking at Four Sisters Inns, but for some reason hadn't looked closely at the Inn at Sonoma. It is very reasonably priced, especially in February! Though we don't need "luxury" rooms per se, we would like a fireplace to enjoy. I am very happy to see that all of the Inn's rooms have one. Definitely zoomed to the top of the list!

Can anyone who stayed in Sonoma town share experiences? I still don't know if we would prefer a "larger" town, or one that feels a bit more quaint.

Thank you!

My two cents: Inn at Sonoma is nice and they do have a gas fireplace in the room. Stayed there last October. We walked to the square for dinner each night. There are wineries very very close as well. I stayed in Napa the first time I ventured to wine country. Knowing what I know now, I'd stay in Yountville (if doing Napa valley. It's close enough to visit Sonoma for a day trip). And it's a cute town. This time around (October) staying in Healdsburg. Also a really cute town. If it's your first time to wine country, I'd say Napa valley is fine. (but Napa itself is a bit further south). They have different feels. All the four sisters places are great. I've stayed in a few of them.

Tarheelsin NJ
We enjoyed the town of Sonoma, I think, because we could walk from the Inn to the Square, enjoyed a great lunch, and two fab dinners- one at Girl and the Fig, one at The Generals' Daughter. It was fun to tour the old mission, and the fort,peruse the Farmers Market Which in May was on a Tuesday, on the lawns in front of the town hall- and we didn't find the town large-biked to a few wineries nearby(we managed only three a day for tastings, and had a wonderful tour of the Benziger winery, which I would highly recommend.Bought dinner one night at the farmer's market, and joined the "locals" on a picnic bench, which was great fun. Met some interesting couples at the inn's evening wine and hordeuve(sp.) hour,where we usually chatted about what we each had done that day, giving us something new to do the following day. Spent our last day at COPIA, and were rather disappointed. Think we expected more than they offered. There is a wonderful winery that also offers coking classes, in the county-if you go on the Sonoma site,www.sonomavalley.com,you can request their booklet, which gives you a wealth of info, including maps-and the name of that winery, which escapes me! The most difficult part of planning our trip was the lodging- and after seeing many that we had considered staying in, I was so pleased at our choice. Have fun- google Sonoma, and you mind will be boggled with almost too much info!

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed reading your list of suggestions. That is very helpful in my planning.

Does anyone have any more Sonoma experiences, and/or wine country in the winter experiences to share?

Thank you!

The "Wine Country" in winter is marvelous ! (Some will call me biased because I live in Sonoma County).

The summer/fall crowds are gone

yipee!
The rainy season begins to ease up a bit, so it is likely you may get
a bit of sun. Nights typically
deserve a fireplace.
I like Napa town-it's downtown has been nicely renovated and there are numerous
good places to dine.
Sonoma town is just fine, too, but I would not make the drive back to Napa
at night after dinner and drinks.
(We do "mini" escapes to Calistoga
in the winter 2-3 nights and we always
taxi it to St.Helena or Yountville
if we are going to either for dinner.)
I think Napa town would be fine for exploring NV at that time of year-
Hwy 29 & the Silverado Trail are much easier to navigate without crowds.
On your change-over day to Healdsburg, spend a day prowling Sonoma town
and visit a few wineries in Glen Ellen,the Valley of the Moon and up
Hwy 12 through Kenwood as you motor up to Healdsburg.
Luxury Link is quite tempting, yes ?
R5

Thank you all so much for these suggestions. I can't wait to look into them...this type of "research" is quite fun!

I should probably have mentioned that we live in NYC (though were in NJ when the screen name was created), and therefore I have a feeling that "winter" in wine country will be a nice change for us in February!

Hi TarheelsInNj,
This is in response to a posting of yours at Slow Travel, concerning the walking route between Montepulciano and Pienza. You said it was basically along one road. I have the new version of Walking and Eating, and I believe one has to cross some fields and whatnot on this route - I would rather stick to roads if at all possible because I've heard there's a danger of vipers in fields there. Can you elaborate? Would love to have your e-mail address - mine is posted at Slow Travel. Thanks, Jim Sheahan

Hi pizzalover! We actually had the "old" version of Walking & Eating, which had the route. Other than a few confusing moments, we really had no trouble following this. We definitely did not cross through any fields!

From what I recall, after looking through the new version (ironically, in Pienza!) it did not contain this route at all. We definitely did not cross through any fields! You may consider looking for the older version on Ebay or something for this route. Please let me know if you don't have any luck finding it, and I can try to type it out for you.