Napa Valley Marriott is an older hotel design with modern room furnishings. My physical survey of the hotel showed some nice touches on an old shell of a hotel. My overall impression is the Napa Valley Marriott is subpar for what one would expect for a Marriott Hotel charging rates over $200 per night much of the time. General consensus is Renaissance Hotel’s The Lodge at Sonoma, in the Sonoma Valley just 16 miles west of Napa is the premier choice for a Marriott brand resort experience.
The Napa Valley Marriott hotel provided a nice opportunity to compare online hotel reviews with my on-site impressions. There are a lot of happy campers on TripAdvisor. The reviews are less glowing from frequent guests on FlyerTalk.
I can’t be so kind with my impression of the Napa Valley Marriott simply based on the aesthetic qualities of the hotel design. The long wall fountain in front of the hotel is an eye-pleasing water feature.
The guest rooms are my main issue with this hotel. Rooms are based around long corridors and rooms either face the interior garden or exterior parking lot on the ground floor or the second floor. This is a hotel where you definitely want a garden/courtyard facing room.
There was a $23 million remodel recently. The website appears to focus on photos of the Amadeus Spa located in a separate building away from the hotel.
Marriott Napa is categorized as a Marriott Rewards Category 6 hotel and by AAA as a 3-Diamond property. The 270 room hotel is a two-floor long corridor design with 4 suites and a concierge lounge. The parlor suites and Presidential suite are specialty rooms. First floor patios are open to the central courtyard on the north end and the wedding courtyard on the south end.
I had just spent the night at the much newer Westin Verasa with better facilities and I thought the Embassy Suites Napa had a bit more charm in its old body of a hotel. The restaurants at the Marriott are one competitive factor compared to these other two hotels.
The Marriott looked to be a solid 3-star property simply based on facilities like the pool and courtyards, concierge lounge, and restaurants. The hotel location borders busy Highway 29 and an adjacent surface road. About one quarter of the hotel rooms face the frontage road. These guest rooms facing the parking lot on the frontside of the hotel are the least desirable location. The large two story complex surrounds a large courtyard and interior facing rooms are preferable for less noise and garden views.
The rooms on the north wings of the hotel looked like standard hotel rooms with adequate furnishings. The rooms appeared fine with good condition linens, drapes, and furniture. Bathrooms appeared standard. The rooms on the south end are concierge level.
The lobby has a small reading area and seating for around 12 persons in the entrance area across the room opposite the front desk.
Harvest Café and Characters Sports Bar are adjacent to the lobby. A store off the front desk sells wine and basic items.
Pool seating area is spacious, but the pool is a non-linear shape with a narrow bottleneck in the middle limiting lap swimming.
The spa tub is adjacent to the pool.
The central courtyard on the north end is large with green landscaping and a small redwood grove.
Parking is free and directly in front of exterior rooms. These rooms are the hotel’s least desirable due to the motel style parking just outside the windows and the proximity of Highway 29 in front of the hotel.
The hotel is overpriced much of the time due to its location in southern Napa just off wine highway 129. Rates are $249 for a single night or $219 for a three night stay in a Garden View balcony over Labor Day weekend. Concierge level for $259 or $229 for a three night stay is a better value.
Advice: Marriott Napa has adequate facilities in an old style hotel. Rooms are fine. Restaurants and concierge lounge provide space for guests spending time in the hotel. There is a pool, spa tub, fitness room, and open garden space for time outside the room and outside. The apartment motel design of the guest room wings is a major detractor for a romantic hotel stay compared to what you would expect for a Marriott Spa Hotel in Napa.
Marriott Napa ranked #9 of 26 Napa hotels on TripAdvisor September 3, 2009. Reviews on FlyerTalk are mixed, but generally positive on the concierge lounge and rooms, more negative on the hotel property.
Charlyn Keating Chisholm of About.com put it simply, “This basic resort offers guests few frills except for its distinctive Amadeus Spa & Salon.”
Napa Valley Marriott Hotel website.
Napa Valley Marriott Hotel website photos.
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