We're planning a trip to Napa and SF for next October. Has any one stayed at the the Napa Valley Lodge in Yountville? Any positives and/or negatives would be appreciated!

I live in the area. My parents stayed there a few years ago and enjoyed it. Service was good, and although not far from the 2-lane highway 29, it is quiet at night and has a rural view (vineyards and hills). You are in a good location for great restaurants and well-located for winery visits.

This is our first trip and we will probably stay there 4 nights. Is it realistic to be able to drive to the Sonoma area for the day? - it looks pretty close on a map.

Yes. It is an easy drive to Sonoma (the town)- approx. 30 minutes from Yountville (or a little less) by flat freeway and highway. Or you can take the Oakville Grade over the mountain to connect to Highway 12 which goes north through Sonoma Valley. It is gorgeously scenic but windy. If you tend to get carsick, you might not like that road. Another beautiful drive is north on Hwy 29 to Calistoga and then through the Alexander Valley toward Healdsburg - a simple day trip. You will have many options to consider once you are here.
Enjoy your trip!

You may also want to consider the Villagio Inn & Spa, we enjoyed a very nice stay there this past March, their new spa will be completed sometime this year. ***kim***

Yountville is an excellent location from which to explore the Napa/Sonoma wine country. Both the Napa Valley Lodge and the Vintage Inn/Villagio are fine lodging choices. Either one is a short walk from all the great restaurants in town.

October is peak season, so both of these hotels will be full and at rack rates. It will be hard to find a discount. But you should be well satisfied with your accomodations.

Thanks so much - I will look at those hotels online. Just booked my flights today and am excitedly just getting into research. Please tell me what you think of this initial plan. We will arrive on a Fri night, rent a car and stay at a hotel near SFO. Sat early am we will drive Stu Dudley's scenic route north of SF stopping in Muir Woods and Point Reyes. And stay one night in the area maybe near the water. Since most hotels in Napa seem to have fairly late check-in times, we can meander on Sunday through Sonoma - maybe Healdsburg - have lunch and then check-in late afternoon in Napa. We would stay 3 nights in Napa (Sun, Mon, Tues). We want to go to a few wineries, see some of the towns, take in some natural sights, scenic routes, and of course eat fabulous food. On Wed, we head to SF, stopping to see and lunch in either Berkeley or Sausalito. We would then stay in SF 4 nights (Wed, Th, Fr, Sat) and take the redeye back to NY giving us a last full day on Sun. This plans gives us 2+ days in Napa and 4+ in SF. Should I do 4 nights in Napa instead and 3 in SF? I would appreciate your input. Thanks!

Ahhh yes, come to Napa Valley in the autumn & taste the fine red wines. Or come in the summer & taste the fine white wines.

Come at any time..... just come!

R_Mondavi - since you don't reply to any of the questions, why reply?

Just ignore the imposter in the previous post. Fodor's should ban him.

Your plan is an excellent one. I would stay with it exactly as described. 3 nights in Napa is plenty. There's a lot more to see in SF unless you are an oenophile.

A suggestion for your first day up near Pt. Reyes would be to dine and stay at Nick's Cove. This has just recently opened and has gotten great reviews. Of course, there are many other outstanding places too. But, you might not have heard of this one.

http://www.nickscove.com/

Your itinerary is great--three days is plenty of time in Napa. We love the wineries but you really only need to tour a few and just pay visits to several others. We think the most informative tour is at St. Supery. Our favorite for champagne is Schramsberg. The tour groups are very small and the tasting in the wine room in the caves is amazing. I think it's Mondavi where you can reserve a picnic table and they bring you linens, a bottle of wine and you bring a picnic. Someone else mentioned the Villagio which is wonderful as is their sister property next door, the Vintage inn (esp. the 2nd floor rooms). There's wonderful restaurant across the street, can't remember the name but anyone there will know it as I believe it is affiliated with French Laundry.

SF equally wonderful. I'm jealous!

Definitely keep your 4 nights in SF!