CA Napa Valley - Petit Logis or McClelland Priest??
May 15th, 2004, 09:33 AM
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CA Napa Valley - Petit Logis or McClelland Priest??
Sept 2004 will be our first trip to Napa Valley. My husband and I love to travel B&B style (no kids, quiet, relaxing atmosphere) - we prefer not to stay in chain hotels and like unique places/interesting people. We've got it narrowed down to 2 places and I'd love some advice. The 2 B&Bs are Petit Logis in Yountville or McClelland Priest in Napa. I've heard that the city of Napa is larger (80,000 people) and doesn't give that "wine country feel" - true or not??? Will traffic in Napa in Sept be dreadful? Pls. advise!! Thanks so much
May 15th, 2004, 03:42 PM
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Yountville is in the heart of the wine country, while Napa is on the southern border--more or less. I think you'd like Yountville better, as it's quite small. It's just across the highway from Domaine Chandon, too.
May 15th, 2004, 07:32 PM
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Thanks for the reply - I have heard that Napa isn't even really *IN* Napa Valley, and it's more of a city rather than a town. Napa is 8 miles south of Yountville, right? This is the first of hopefully many return trips to Napa/Sonoma area, we are very much winos and foodies 
. That being said, the B&B in Napa is a great price and the location seemed okay, until I started researching just how big Napa really is. The reviews on both places from this web site and www.tripadvisor.com are good, so I was hoping to get the opinion of locals (or folks that have stayed at either place) that could help make our trip the best it can be on a budget. We are going from a Sat - Wed (4 nights), hopefully traffic won't be too frustrating trying to roam around to the diff. wineries. We love Chianti and Pinot Noir - if you can recommend any specific wineries that specialize in those. Thanks again for the advice, and I'd love to hear more!
. That being said, the B&B in Napa is a great price and the location seemed okay, until I started researching just how big Napa really is. The reviews on both places from this web site and www.tripadvisor.com are good, so I was hoping to get the opinion of locals (or folks that have stayed at either place) that could help make our trip the best it can be on a budget. We are going from a Sat - Wed (4 nights), hopefully traffic won't be too frustrating trying to roam around to the diff. wineries. We love Chianti and Pinot Noir - if you can recommend any specific wineries that specialize in those. Thanks again for the advice, and I'd love to hear more!
May 15th, 2004, 08:44 PM
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Napa is definitely more of a city than most of the other valley towns, such as Yountville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Calistoga. The wineries are spread out from Napa to above Calistoga, with many open to visitors. Both Yountville and St. Helena have well known, excellent restaurants--as do Napa and Calistoga, at either end of the valley. If you stay in Yountville you would be centrally located.
We share your liking for pinot noir
and especially like those made by Carneros Creek and Robert Mondavi. The latter gives a great tour, by the way, but Carneros Creek has a nice little tasting room and very knowledgeable staff.
One of our favorite restaurants in Yountville is Bistro Jeanty, owned by the chef who opened the first fine-dining spot in the Napa Valley, at Domaine Chandon. The bistro (reserve in advance or you won't get in) feels just like a little French place, and the food is wonderful. Also good is Pinot Blanc, in St. Helena, and there are quite a few others.
I can't think of a Chianti off-hand, but you will find many excellent Zinfandels. Look in wine shops for those made by Rosenblum and you will be in for a real treat.
We share your liking for pinot noir
and especially like those made by Carneros Creek and Robert Mondavi. The latter gives a great tour, by the way, but Carneros Creek has a nice little tasting room and very knowledgeable staff.
One of our favorite restaurants in Yountville is Bistro Jeanty, owned by the chef who opened the first fine-dining spot in the Napa Valley, at Domaine Chandon. The bistro (reserve in advance or you won't get in) feels just like a little French place, and the food is wonderful. Also good is Pinot Blanc, in St. Helena, and there are quite a few others.
I can't think of a Chianti off-hand, but you will find many excellent Zinfandels. Look in wine shops for those made by Rosenblum and you will be in for a real treat.
May 16th, 2004, 12:13 AM
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Well..since you will be in the Napa Valley for some time, I'd like to suggest you take a day trip over the hill to Healdsburg and its surrounds for tasting. You will find some knock out Zinfandels and Pinot Noirs in this area as well as some great places to eat.Check out www.wineroad.com. Rosenblum mentioned by Underhill has a tasting room in downtown Healdsburg but the Russian River Pinot Noirs are my particular favorites. I recommend you check out Merry Edwards and Sapphire Hill. Sapphire Hill has a tasting room in Healdsburg and I think Merry Edwards now has a tasting room in the area. If nothing else, order up some Merry Edwards Pinot (usually about $52/bottle in restaurants). I also realy like WesMar Wines Pinot Noir(2002) although I don't know if they have a tasting room. This stuff is to die for!! If and when you go to Healdsburg check out either Willy's wine bar or Ravenous for lunch. You will not be disappointed. I agree Yountville might give you more of a feel for the wine country but frankly if the price is right I'd stay in Napa and spend my savings on food & wine. The distances of travel will not be that different.
May 17th, 2004, 09:14 AM
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My wife and I just returned from Napa and stayed at Petit Logis. I liked it. The rooms (five total in motel style with outside entrances) were nice w/nice bathrooms. However, it has no amenities (i.e. no pool, common area) which was a bit of an issue for my wife. Just a room and if you have the rate with breakfast you will eat at one of two neighboring restaurants.
That being said, the location is ideal. Within walking distance to several good restaurants (Bistro Jeanty, Bouchon) and across the street from a nice shopping area. If you want a break from wine tasting, the Villagio Spa offers all spa related activities and is within walkin distance. I recommend Petit Logis for a great wine tasting base with clean comfortable rooms.
As far as wineries, we look for wines that we cannot get at home. My favorite is Regusci, which specializes in Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cab. On Silverado Trail in Yountville. Fantastic wines. Also enjoyed Plumpjack (Oakville Cross Road in Yountville) for its Cab and Merlot. Mondavi has excellent Pinot Noir as does Robert Sinsky (Silverado Trail in Yountville).
Enjoy the Wine Country!
That being said, the location is ideal. Within walking distance to several good restaurants (Bistro Jeanty, Bouchon) and across the street from a nice shopping area. If you want a break from wine tasting, the Villagio Spa offers all spa related activities and is within walkin distance. I recommend Petit Logis for a great wine tasting base with clean comfortable rooms.
As far as wineries, we look for wines that we cannot get at home. My favorite is Regusci, which specializes in Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cab. On Silverado Trail in Yountville. Fantastic wines. Also enjoyed Plumpjack (Oakville Cross Road in Yountville) for its Cab and Merlot. Mondavi has excellent Pinot Noir as does Robert Sinsky (Silverado Trail in Yountville).
Enjoy the Wine Country!
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May 19th, 2004, 06:57 AM
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Thanks for writing in and letting me know about your personal experience with Petit Logis. The price diff. between the 2 places is only $50 total (even with the breakfast option), and we've been getting feedback that Yountville is the place to be. I DO like the idea of a common area, and the "happy hour" the Napa B&B offers, but I don't want to be in a busy city with traffic either. How did you like the breakfasts at the neighboring restaurants? Would you recommend the breakfast option, or going out on your own if we choose PL? Are the rooms decent size, and do they have a patio (outside sitting area)? We will be there for 4 nights so I want to make sure we are comfortable. Did you end up spending ridiculous amounts on food? Although we don't want to penny pinch the whole time, we are on a budget. How much should we realistically budget for a day's worth of food (eating reasonably, not at the French Laundry for every meal)?
It's funny that you say that you look for wines you can't get at home. For us that would be almost every wine, as we live in Utah and getting anything but Boones is a treat, just kidding... they do have a few wines to choose from here, but the selection is very limited. We can't even be in one of those wine clubs b/c none of the wineries will ship to a UT address. 
I'm very excited to try Atlas Peak as we just returned from our honeymoon in Tuscany last summer and are longing for some Chianti...
It's funny that you say that you look for wines you can't get at home. For us that would be almost every wine, as we live in Utah and getting anything but Boones is a treat
, just kidding... they do have a few wines to choose from here, but the selection is very limited. We can't even be in one of those wine clubs b/c none of the wineries will ship to a UT address. I'm very excited to try Atlas Peak as we just returned from our honeymoon in Tuscany last summer and are longing for some Chianti...
May 20th, 2004, 10:02 AM
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jentheskier:
I would definitely choose Yountville over the town of Napa. There is not much charm to Napa, the town, and it's quite a drive from most of the wineries.
Personally, I really liked Petit Logis. My wife, however, enjoys the "resort" experience more than the "B&B" experience. The rooms are very nice and clean and the bathrooms are large and well-appointed. Each room has a small sitting area in front of the room with two chairs. And as I said previously, the location is ideal.
As far as food goes, it is expensive, although we ate at nice restaurants. The first night we ate at Bouchon, which is two doors up from Petit Logis. Very good with the average meal about $25.00. We spent about $125 with wine tip and dessert. The second night we ate at Tra Vigne in St Helena which was exptremely disappointing. Food was not prepared well (very salty and lacking flavor). The wine list was great, however. I would not recommend this restaurant. I am sure there are less expensive restaurants but overall, prices are high in Napa. For lunch, we picked up lunch at Oakville Grocery and ate it at one of the wineries (many wineries do not allow picnicking or do not allow you to consume food that was not purchased at their winery so research this if you wish to picnic at one of the wineries). This is also not inexpensive, but the selction is excellent. I would say you could get by on $175 per day on food.
We ate breakfast at the restaurant directly across the street from the Inn (I forget the name). It was very good, however the menu is limited to about 5 items (not the regular restaurant menu). If I were to do it over again I would not get the breakfast rate mainly because you don't really save any money and your options are limited.
I hope this answers your questions. Enjoy your trip!
I would definitely choose Yountville over the town of Napa. There is not much charm to Napa, the town, and it's quite a drive from most of the wineries.
Personally, I really liked Petit Logis. My wife, however, enjoys the "resort" experience more than the "B&B" experience. The rooms are very nice and clean and the bathrooms are large and well-appointed. Each room has a small sitting area in front of the room with two chairs. And as I said previously, the location is ideal.
As far as food goes, it is expensive, although we ate at nice restaurants. The first night we ate at Bouchon, which is two doors up from Petit Logis. Very good with the average meal about $25.00. We spent about $125 with wine tip and dessert. The second night we ate at Tra Vigne in St Helena which was exptremely disappointing. Food was not prepared well (very salty and lacking flavor). The wine list was great, however. I would not recommend this restaurant. I am sure there are less expensive restaurants but overall, prices are high in Napa. For lunch, we picked up lunch at Oakville Grocery and ate it at one of the wineries (many wineries do not allow picnicking or do not allow you to consume food that was not purchased at their winery so research this if you wish to picnic at one of the wineries). This is also not inexpensive, but the selction is excellent. I would say you could get by on $175 per day on food.
We ate breakfast at the restaurant directly across the street from the Inn (I forget the name). It was very good, however the menu is limited to about 5 items (not the regular restaurant menu). If I were to do it over again I would not get the breakfast rate mainly because you don't really save any money and your options are limited.
I hope this answers your questions. Enjoy your trip!
