napa valley wine train
 

has anyone done both the dome car and the regular car? is there much difference? what did you like/not like about the wine train? side note - anyone stayed at the palace in san francisco? like/not?

We stayed at the Palace and would give it a B+. Fairly convenient to key spots.
we took the wine train dinner tour; expensive. Food was good but it is not very scenic. Better is the hot air balloon.

bump

anyone?

thanks barney18, B+ is good in my book and the location is right so we will probably stay there the night we are in San Fran - please post if you know anyone who did the train during daylight - thanks again!

Hello atlantan, quite frankly the Napa Wine Train is not popular here with the residents. As Barney stated it has a reputation for being expensive, and not very scenic and most people I know (who have taken out of the area guest on it) have not felt the food and experience was worth the money. That has been true since the Wine Train started up. But they obviously get enough tourist in that they have been in business since the late 1980's..think that is when they went into business.

The Sheraton Palace on Market St., is a good location and their public rooms are lovely. I haven't stayed there in ages and have no idea what the room rates are now but imagine you will enjoy your night there.
Best regards.

"quite frankly the Napa Wine Train is not popular here with the residents"

This was a heated issue fifteen to twenty years ago. It's not so bad now that the new Hwy 29 underpass eliminates the closing of our busiest intersection several times a day so the train could cross. However, this accomodation cost the state of California about $5 million when they redid the highway.

It looks old and tired now. Maybe it will shut down soon.

Otis, if you read all of my post I was NOT responding to the enviromental issues that took place regarding the Napa Valley Wine Train. I was responding to atlantan's question about what one likes/not likes about the experience.

loveitaly - thanks for your opinion/info. otis - have you been on the train? please let me know your personal experience or what you have heard from others who have actually been on it. thanks again!

OK let me just first say I have not been on the Napa wine train but I have been on a dinner train through an incredibly scenic area of northern CA. It was in July so the sun did not set until the very end of the ride. The food was great, the service was great, the train interior was beautiful, the scenery was beautiful but I could never get over being trapped on a train for that long for a meal. It was about 30 minutes too long and then you get really restless. So if you are on a train for a not so scenic ride what exactly are you getting? A rolling restaurant where you can't leave when you are done. If you like trains then maybe a dinner train is good but decide what it is you imagine you'd be getting from dinner on the wine train that you wouldn't get in one of dozens of Napa area restaurants. JMHO

we are going w/another couple in mid-October, so there won't be enough sunlight for a dinner train, we were thinking lunch. what was the one you were on Suzie and about how far from Napa? i can deal w/being on train for extended period of time - took one from Atlanta to New York and was OK with it. we'll have the friends to talk to, I am mainly interested in the scenery/view. we are not doing it for the lunch(i'm sure there are much better stationary restaurants), we will just happen to be eating while we are on the train, if that sort of explains where I am coming from. thanks again!

I think it's been previously mentioned that the wine train is known for its lack of view/scenery. What a bout lunch at the Auberge where you have stunning views or Brix or somewhere like that?

The train I went on is about 4 hours from Napa. I would recommend it because of the scenery. I just wish it was a teensy bit shorter.

thanks for the restaurant suggestions Suzie - I am so looking forward to this trip! we will be in Napa 6 nights so i think we will have time to do some terrific dining. for the train - despite the negatives i think we are still going to do it one day - i am just trying to find out if the Napa dome car really has a better view than the regular traincar. also, does anyone know if they offer last-minute discounts? since the reviews are not great so far, we may not be willing to pay what they want. thanks again!

So after you take the wine train be sure to come back and report on what you thought of it. Have a great trip.

thanks,will post. anyone else w/napa wine train experience? please?

I did the wine train trip in July 1999 and overall I found it to be a disappointing experience. At that time, after the meal was served, there was a time where we could get up and walk around the different areas of the train. So because of that, I definitely wouldn't pay extra for a specific part of the train. Also, the main issue I had with it is that the only real way to see anything other than just from the inside windows of the train is to go to the very back of the train which had a platform we could stand on to get some air and see the views from other than inside. The problem with this is that it is a pretty small platform with a limited amount of space which was free for anyone to stand on AND the exhaust from the train was horrific. Being on a trip like that made us want to be outside to get some fresh air and see better but the exhaust gave us headaches and made us want to go back inside. Another thing I want to point out is that this is a WINE train. It is really not about the food. The food was mediocre but they really pushed the wine sell. We felt there was a lot of pressure to try several different bottles of wine. I guess we should have seen that coming but be prepared and make sure you have the correct expectations of the event. I was thinking I was taking a train ride through wine country to enjoy the lovely views while having dinner and drinks. The reality is that it is a very forced event with little flexibility or originality and there are only small parts of the trip where you actually see anything other than tall weed like plants just a few feet from the tracks. And if I'm not being blunt enough, I'll come right out and say that I would not do this again and I really can't say I could recommend it for anyone else to do either. I'm convinced there are much better ways to enjoy an afternoon or evening in Napa Valley!

The railroad tracks are alonside Highway 29, so the views you get are the same you would have driving the highway. There are so many wonderful restaurants here in Napa Valley and some with wonderful views, you may be happier choosing some of those instead.

thanks but we don't like driving, anyone else have exp. w/the train?

We took the train - for lunch - and absolutely loved the experience. Train was great, food was great, service was great, view was great.... and it was really nice to then be able to buy a bunch of wine at the depot depending on what we had liked on the train. I thought it was excellent, and have sent 3 friends there to do it - and they enjoyed it as well...... If I remember correctly, I was there in the Fall, as well....

thanks!

I am bringing this up again b/c we are going this month - any new info from anyone who has done it within the past couple of years? thanks again!

my husband and i took the train a couple of years ago in november to celebrate our anniversary.
since we had such a great time, we took it again as a large group to celebrate a birthday. both were luncheon rides.
the one for the birthday was in the 'gourmet express'. very mediocre food and indifferent service. if this had been my first experience, i would have felt ripped off and never returned.
the first ride for the anniversary was in the vista dome.
what a difference!
the service is impeccable, the food although traditional (i prefer eclectic) was very good as were the wine accompaniments. it felt like we were in a fancy restaurant on wheels.
best of all, at the end of the meal, we were given special 'happy anniversary' truffles that were out of this world.
the scenery is also better in the vista dome as you are seated higher than the rest of the train with large 'vista' windows.
the colours are so beautiful this time of year.
hope you have a fun experience.

Just a strategy suggestion: if you are going to be in Napa 6 nights you'll have time to check out the drive between Napa and St. Helena along Hwy 29, which without traffic would take about a half an hour. It's 17 miles, which isn't especially pretty, especially on the side of the train right on the highway.

Are reservations cancelable? Are they hard to come by? Maybe schedule it for later in the trip.

It does look fun to have a meal on the train, so depending on how your budget is allocated, it may be a nice experience to drink and talk with friends without worrying about the drive.

http://winetrain.com/

I notice the website has very few pictures of views from the train. You'll be spending at least 3 hours looking at 17 miles (twice).

from abranz it sounds to me the difference is worth the $30 upcharge for the domecar - thanks so much for the info! going to see what our friends want to do