Alila Napa Valley

July 3rd, 2021

Enroute:

We left our hotel in San Francisco and hailed an Uber for Napa. For those wondering whether they need to rent a car in Napa, based on our experience, I’d say it’s not absolute. While there were times we waited over 30 minutes for a Uber/Lyft, it was still completely doable with a little bit of planning. On our way there we didn’t run into much traffic, so it took us about 90 minutes to get to St. Helena.

The Alila Napa Valley used to be the Los Alcobas, a Marriott hotel. There is an article online about the rebranding from Marriott to Hyatt, which doesn’t reveal the whole beef behind the scene but provides some insights regardless.

First time being in Napa, we were extremely excited about all the grape juice we were about to engulf. Picking a place to stay, on the other hand, was less exciting. Based on some research, there seemed to be more options in downtown Napa, which isn’t necessarily close to the vineyards we wanted to visit. Alila was a bit further north in the valley, between Rutherford and Calistoga. The location in the end worked out perfectly for us because we went to Opus One, Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel, Stags’ Leap and Caymus, which were all within 10-15mins rides away.

The hotel was a short hill up from the Main Street and had a reasonably visible sign.

Check-in:

The hotel was definitely on the more intimate side, with 60ish rooms. The Acacia House served as reception and only restaurant.

Inside the door was the reception room with two little desks. The vibe was more of a bed and breakfast than a hotel. Coming from the East Coast, we continued to be amazed by everybody’s friendliness in California, and that obviously applied here. The hotel staff were all exceptionally nice. Understandably we didn’t get an upgrade due to the size of the hotel and it being the 4th of July weekend, but I came prepared because I outright booked a vineyard view room.

Check-in was efficient, and in true Napa custom, we were offered wine during the process.

Unpack:

Our room was 234, located on the top floor.

Before you enter the room, there was a sitting area that’s fenced in with a little wooden bench. I’m not exactly sure the purpose of this, as I don’t see people needing to change into some sort of boots for grape picking? Once inside, lied in front of our eyes was the best welcome amenity.

But we’ll save the best for last. First by the door was a master control panel.

For a standard room, the square footage was beyond generous. Toilet and shower were actually in separate rooms, so to the right of the foyer was the toilet.

Nothing makes Californians feel even more superior than a Toto bidet, with a remote control and automatic lid of course, the only kind worth having. Through the sliding barn door you could see the shower across the way. Barn door has been a plague in hotels these recent years. They look incredibly hip (cheap), offer no insulation, are a pain to operate and are essentially a screaming cry for help for people with no taste to pose like they do. Oh and Tom Ford coffee table books.

I guess if you must use barn door, this one was better done than the others. The shower was spacious and well appointed.

I love the design of the room on the whole, in particular the prevalence of colder tone wood and marble. It was pretty easy to identify the Japanese influence in the décor. While there wasn’t a dual vanity, the wash basin was large enough for two. We enjoyed many bottles of wine in that soaking tub. Beats going to therapy if you ask me.

Next to the toilet was a pretty ordinary closet.

In the corner closer to the foyer was the minibar.

We had to book a room with two beds because it was all they had available. I didn’t mind the occasional solitude since it meant I could actually get some good sleep, and the beds were conducive to that.

It doesn’t hurt to have a view like this either…

While the room was sufficiently nice, most of the price premium goes to the balcony, which might be my single most favorite feature at this hotel. The climate in the valley is such that there’s a huge temperature variance in the mornings and evenings. So every morning when we woke up the outside was still in the mid 50s, which made sitting by the fireplace almost a surreal experience. As if the world goes by besides you, the birds chirping, the fog retreating to San Pablo Bay, and the newborn ray of sunlight piercing through the moisture droplets and gently radiating warmth onto your skin. Now that I’ve described all of that I realized I’m also describing the grapes lol.

When we returned to our room later, the hotel had sent us a bottle of sparkling wine, which was a nice gesture.

Unwind:

Before we arrived in Napa, I made the effort to not overbook tastings everyday because I didn’t want to have too active of a vacation. But even with two tastings each day, we still barely spent much time at the hotel. So the review of the hotel’s amenities won’t be as comprehensive.

On our first day, given that we left the city mid morning and had a reservation at the French Laundry for dinner, we decided to just relax by the pool. It turned out to be our only pool day.

On our first day the pool was exceedingly quiet, to the point that we were whispering to not disturb other guests. On our last day, we tried to spend a few hours by the pool before we had to leave, but the clientele took a turn for the worse. There were this obnoxious gay couple (and I’m speaking as one) who were SO LOUD. Like their gay voices were echoing through the valley and bouncing right back to haunt me for the rest of my life. They were clearly over-served because one was grabbing ice from the hotel’s ice bucket used to chill water to add to their BYOB Tito’s. I could hear every single word they were saying and every gasp in between. I’m sorry Kyle, nobody needs to know you’ve been with your mans for 8 years and that he just proposed to you in Carmel last November. He’ll probably ask for an open relationship on the night of your wedding anyways. Calm down.

Refuel:

The pool menu reads as follows:

We ordered the same bottle of sparkling wine the hotel sent us, and because we didn’t want to spoil our appetite for dinner, we just shared some guac and chips.

The service was friendly as everywhere else, but they had plastic wine glasses which had a lot of watermarks on them. We also tried the Grandview beer, which was Alila’s own blonde ale and was very tasty.

Depart:

Alila is a gorgeous hotel, and even though we were there for three nights, we still didn’t spend quite as much time as we would’ve liked. I think Napa as a destination places less emphasis on where you stay but rather what you do (drink). The hotel is well-run, and the people could not be friendlier. One morning we couldn’t find anybody to pick us up on the apps, so we called the front desk to see if they could radio a cab for us. Instead they just offered to have a staff member drive us to the winery. Luckily a Lyft showed up soon after so we didn’t have to trouble the staff. There were some minor flaws, mostly with housekeeping. On the good side, there was turndown service everyday. But the housekeeping could’ve been a bit more diligent. There were occasions where they didn’t refill the coffee or toiletries, or there were long hairs from previous guests left in the middle of the bedroom floor. Oh, and the toilet paper was like the kind you’d find at a Port Authority (of NY & NJ) restroom.

That said, it’s still a great hotel from every aspect, and I’m dying to come back to Napa and try the more boutique vineyards.