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Hotel Review: Westin Verasa Napa

Westin Verasa Initial Impressions

On arrival at the Westin Verasa in Napa, Murph and I both remarked on the similarity of the hotels’ exterior to properties we’ve stayed at in various ski resorts – not what we’d expected on arrival in California wine country. The earth-toned colors used in wall coverings and carpeting extend a great outdoors feel through the hotel hallways. Most of the rooms in this 180-room property are suites which made it feel even more like a ski lodge – but that might be just me since most of the all-suite hotels I’ve stayed at have been ski lodges. I walked into the hotel expecting a quiet, serene National Park-like feel which was unfortunately dispelled immediately by the lively chatter and music coming from Friday evening revelers at the Bank restaurant and bar. I didn’t have a chance to lament…
“They play good music here”
Apparently we were traveling with a music critic (BigB). Who knew?

Westin Verasa Rooms

Our two-bedroom suite in the Westin Verasa might be the largest hotel room we’ve ever had. I’m serious. The living room and kitchen area seemed larger than our first apartment – with plenty of room for at family of four to hang out in comfortably. The room also had fabulous high ceilings which added to the overall airy, spacious feeling. Just to be clear here, I think one of the biggest challenges for traveling families with hotels is having enough space. The large suites at the Westin Verasa are a huge bonus and one reason why we’d certainly consider returning here.

The xbox 360 in the living room got a big thumbs up from BigB. I was impressed at this as an in-room entertainment system option, one which is particularly welcome for families like mine, traveling with tween and teen boys. Murph was thrilled to see that the Westin has selected the product he’s been working on since 2002.

The bedrooms themselves are moderately-sized and the decor is simple – possibly even a little too sparse – but it does lead one to focus on Westin’s Heavenly beds which isn’t a bad thing at all. BigB practically fell into his bed.

Our two-bedroom suite had two bathrooms, one master, both spacious with piles of fluffy white towels, complimentary Heavenly Bath toiletries and inviting double-headed showers.

Westin Verasa Location

The following morning we walked the short three blocks to the Oxbow farmers market passing the station from which the Napa Valley Wine Train departs and the enticing smells of fresh-baked goodies coming from Model bakery. We stocked up on treats and headed off for a fun day cycling and visiting vineyards.

I’m sure there are people who are passionate about the optimal place to stay when visiting Napa Valley. Personally I’ve been here on day trips (from San Francisco), stayed in St Helena which is at the northern end of the valley and now here, in Napa, at the southern end. As a weekend visitor, coming from a Bay Area airport and arriving late into the area, the location of the Westin Verasa at the southern end of the valley certainly wins in terms of convenient access. It’s also not so far away that you feel like the drive to wine-tasting rooms in the valley proper is a haul.

Westin Verasa Special Features

As we relaxed by the pool later in the afternoon, the boys happily playing in the water, Murph and I agreed that the resort feel of the pool area and central courtyard was hard to beat. The Napa River winds through the area behind the hotel giving a pleasant, rural feel to the location. It’s the perfect combination of town and country.

Our room opened on to this courtyard. I could imagine relaxing here in the early morning or late afternoon if we return to the Westin Verasa for a longer stay. There’s also a bocce court at one end of this space. That and the ample gym are just a couple of the fitness amenities provided at this hotel.

Westin Verasa Restaurants and Staff

While staying at the Westin Verasa we ate at the Bank restaurant and at the Michelin-starred La Toque restaurant. The food was delicious, imaginative and beautifully prepared using – as you would expect since we were in Napa – fresh, local ingredients. That said the I’ve already almost forgotten the details of the meals but what will stay with me for a long time is the friendliness, professionalism and just plain good fun we had chatting with our waiter at the Bank and the Wine Director at La Toque – particularly the Wine Director, Scott Tracy. We opted for the paired menu and as he served every pour, we were educated about every wine – with embellishments on the story of the people or the vineyard involved. He answered our questions about Napa, the menu, the wines and making wine in Napa with patience and gusto. It made for a fantastic dining (and drinking) experience.

Do you have a favorite property in Napa Valley? Leave a comment and let me know what it is – I’ll be happy to check it out on my next visit to the area (hopefully soon…)

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My stay at the Westin Verasa was provided by Starwood Hotels as part of the Starwood Hotels LoveYourFamily package, which includes a complimentary suite upgrade, or adjoining room, daily $50 resort credit and an optional SPG Kids Pass program, where at this hotel, you can get all of your kids’ meals for only $16 per child per day with www.spg.com/kidspass Book online, or call 866-716-8147, and reference promotion code FAM50 to make your reservation.

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Hotel Review Travellers Inn Quito Ecuador

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The Travellers Inn comes recommended in the Lonely Planet South America On A Shoestring guide. Before booking, we also checked out reviews of the property on TripAdvisor – which were all very positive.

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Hotel Review Bellagio Las Vegas

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I’ve just returned from my annual work conference in Las Vegas. As with last year, my husband and children joined me for part of my stay. Last year I chose to stay at the MGM Signature to be away from casinos and for the condo accommodations. This year, we all stayed at the Bellagio – where I was working – and I actually got to see more of my family during the day. My room at the Bellagio was paid for by Virtuoso.

During my stay, I didn’t really get a chance to explore the whole property or try out, for example, the award-winning Spa Bellagio which I would have loved to do. Some of the hotel features jumped out to me as a plus for a family, but just to ensure that there wasn’t something I’d missed which is worthy of a mention on a family travel blog, I contacted the MGM PR office (the Bellagio is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MGM Resorts). In an email exchange MGM Resorts, acknowledged that even though “many of our visitors are families traveling with children, we typically do not market our resorts as family-friendly destinations”. Fair enough. Full steam ahead with my own personal take on this property so.

Bellagio Layout, Design and Ambiance
My least favorite thing about Las Vegas hotels is that you typically have to walk through the casino floor to get to the rooms. My perception is that this is less painful in the Bellagio than in other hotels. It’s a quick walk from the front desk (and the beautiful atrium) to the guest elevators. Given that this is also the route to the “O” theater, this is a busy walkway where it’s not uncommon to pass strollers and groups touring the hotel. Your eyes are equally as likely to be drawn to the glass art pieces as the activity on the casino floor.

Bellagio Las Vegas Accommodations
My room at the Bellagio was a spacious Queen Room with two queen beds and a huge bathroom with a shower and a soaking tube. The beds were ultra-comfy. Honestly. Our kids were supposed to share a bed but since they’re just at the age where “I can’t share a bed with my brother” is becoming a regular complaint when we travel, BigB usually went to sleep in a nest made of pillows on the floor. I thought about ordering a roll-away bed, but since they weren’t complaining it didn’t seem necessary. I have two gripes about the rooms at the Bellagio: the Bellagio branded bath products were great, but the soap was very drying – not inconsquential when you’re in skin-drying air conditioned rooms all day; secondly in-room internet access is available at an additional fee of $15 per device per day! (Such charges are something I’ve ranted about on this blog before).

Bellagio Hotel Family Features
I spent my first afternoon at the Bellagio by the pool (that was one of only two times when I actually got to the pool during my entire stay!). The thing that struck me the most and which prompted me to write this review was how much more suitable the Bellagio pool area is for families than the MGM Grand (where we stayed last year). There wasn’t a lazy river, but also there were no buckets of beer or couples pre-mating – or, at least, none that I saw.

The excellent gelateria by the main entrance to the pool was a favorite spot where I met my family during my work day to say “hi” and also have some excellent gelato. Next to the gelateria, so neatly tucked away that you’d easily miss it, there’s a kid’s arcade. My kids disappeared. CAM was fascinated at the game selection in the arcade “a kid’s casino” he called it, explaining that all the games in the arcade were games of chance to fit with the casino location. Funny how kids notice weird details that you or I might not pick up on.

The Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Garden is a stunning interior feature of the hotel. If you want your child to feel as if he has walked on to the set of Alice In Wonderland, plan to visit this – regardless of where you’re staying in Las Vegas. The conservatory is free and open 24 hours daily. Similarly, the Bellagio Fountains mesmerized my children every evening. A sound-and-water show is always fun, but this one has 1,200 dancing fountains on a lake of more than 8.5 acres of water. The music varies from opera to Sinatra, but the display is always worth watching – and it’s free too. Saving the best to last, the Bellagio has one more out-of-this-world display which is free and will enthrall you and your children: the chocolate fountain at Jean Philippe Pâtisserie. This 26 feet, 3 and 3/16 inches fountain circulates nearly two tons of melted dark, milk and white chocolate at a rate of 120 quarts per minute and is certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest chocolate fountain. That’s Vegas!

Dining At The Bellagio
The Bellagio is the only hotel in the country with two AAA Five Diamond restaurants, not that any hungry, grumpy child will care. The food at the Bellagio is nothing short of sumptuous, but it’s expensive – even BigB was shocked to learn that a croissant at the cafe by the pool was almost $5. That said, we found Circo a perfect choice for our family. This upscale Italian restaurant has a great view of the fountains and although the menu has plenty of interesting options, you can also get a plate of plain spaghetti for your picky eater. The staff were friendly, accommodating and very patient. My husband chose the Prix Fixe menu and I the Lobster Gnocchi (see note on patient staff above). All of the dishes we sampled were beautifully presented, contained interesting and unusual flavor combinations or food preparations and were delicious down to the last bite.

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Photo Credit: opalsson

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Kid Friendly Las Vegas

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The Bellagio was my home for a long week this past August. Well, it was my home from 6am until late every evening where I was working at the Virtuoso Travel Mart conference, but thankfully (for my sanity) I was actually staying at the MGM Signature. Since I was working, my trip to Las Vegas was fully paid for by Virtuoso. My husband and children planned their road trip around my conference so that we could have a couple of days together in Las Vegas before they continued their loop around the Western U.S.

I’d been to Las Vegas twice before but both times for less than 48 hours so until this trip, I really hadn’t explored the city at all – not even the infamous Las Vegas Strip. I had also never considered Vegas as a family destination and was really not sure whether I was ready to experience the sights and sounds of Las Vegas through the eyes of a teenage boy. What did the kids think? I think this video clip says it all…

Leaving Seattle from wandermom on Vimeo.

In the four days I was in Las Vegas before my family arrived I couldn’t help but evaluate everything I saw through a fairly critical mom filter. I was abhorred by the street hawkers passing out business card-sized pictures of almost naked women. I’ve seen a lot of drunken behavior in my time, but it was particularly jarring to see families with young children in strollers sharing the street with groups of guys (and gals) who were far from sober – although still with beers in hand. I knew my boys would complain about the “nasty cigarrette smoke” in the hotels but I wasn’t sure how they would react to the lights and sounds of the casino floor.

The Las Vegas Strip is an expensive place to eat and drink and, in mid-summer, the lines at restaurants were long. I chatted to a local travel agent to get some ideas for off-strip dining. On my daily taxi ride from conference to hotel the taxi drivers provided plenty of ideas for family-friendly entertainments in Las Vegas while avoiding some of the seamier sights including the aquarium at Mandalay Bay and the Adventuredome at Circus Circus. Many of these drivers also lectured me on the many reasons why I shouldn’t bring my family to Las Vegas. “I didn’t let my children anywhere near the Strip until they were over 18”, “I don’t understand what people are thinking pushing strollers along the Strip late at night” were two comments I heard a number of times.

I chose to stay at the Signature at MGM Grand because with two growing boys a standard hotel room can feel pretty cramped. Instead, we had a spacious, one-bedroom suite with a full kitchen for $130 per night. This was fantastic value. In addition to large, comfortable rooms, the Signature is non-smoking and does not have a casino floor.

There is an air-conditioned walkway connecting the Signature to the MGM Grand for gambling, dining and entertainment. Although the Signature has three, small, private pools – one per tower – guests also have access to the extensive pool complex at the MGM Grand.

My family arrived late Wednesday and I had to work on Thursday so we really only spent one full day together exploring Las Vegas. We started with a buffet breakfast in the MGM Grand ($13.99/adult, $6.99 kids 4-12). I’m not a big fan of all-you-can-eat buffets since the food is generally mediocre and really, you can’t eat all that much more than you would at a standard meal. However, we’ve found that a buffet breakfast is a great way to start a busy day sightseeing with our children which sometimes means we don’t need to stop for lunch.

After breakfast we walked through the MGM Grand to New York, New York without going outside – which was a life-saver in the heat of the August sun. The kids got a kick out of the Jersey boardwalk area in NYNY – although they had no idea it was a simulated Jersey boardwalk. They could have spent a long time (and a lot of money) enjoying the array of kid-friendly games on offer but thankfully there was a rollercoaster to check out. If you like rollercoasters, you won’t be disappointed with this one. If, like me, you’d rather stick pins in your eyes than ever strap yourself into a cart which trundles at speed along a single, elevated track, hangs you off said track at odd angles and hurls you upside-down, you can commiserate with me as I pat myself on the back for having taken the ride with BigB. I consider it a very large deposit in my own parental karma bank.

So far, so good. We’d avoided the Strip at night entirely. The boys had walked around the casino floor as if it were the most normal thing in the world but hadn’t shown even the slightest inclination to check out any of the machines. Since we’d all enjoyed the Penn + Teller show the night before and were flagging after walking miles through casinos, we spent the afternoon at the MGM Grand pool complex. The kids had a blast. It was amazing: I was bothered by the groups of people lounging in the lazy river with buckets of beer, flirting and making out as if the future of mankind was at stake. My kids didn’t even notice. I guess a lazy river, a fake waterfall and a selection of pools was enough to entertain them to the exclusion of everything else. I retreated to my lounger and pondered on the conundrum of trying to protect a child from seeing something he or she doesn’t even notice.

All-in-all, Las Vegas was a success for us. Does that make it an ideal destination for every family? Probably not. If you’re considering a trip, I hope this post has given you some ideas for family-friendly activities – and a suggestion for an excellent place to stay.

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Photo Credit: timpearcelosgatos, cwphobia

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crazy wireless internet charges at the westin and visiting SFMOMA

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BigB posing with Katharina Fritsch’s Baby With Poodles

I have a rant and a rave to report from my recent trip to San Francisco. My rave: using Expedia’s package options, we stayed at the Westin San Francisco Market Street. The published rate for our room, a standard room with 2 Queen beds is $329/night. We paid about $110/night. Not to bad, eh?

This four-star hotel is beside the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with SFMOMA just a block away – much better than staying in the busy neighborhood around Fisherman’s Wharf. Inspired by Debbie’s stories of her visits to the Georgia O Keefe Museum in Santa Fe and the Chicago Art Institute with her preschoolers, I felt compelled to try out visiting SFMOMA with my (older, much more boisterous) boys. It was a huge success.

BigB pondering on Jackson Pollock’s Guardians of the Secret

My rant: wireless internet access in the hotel was $14.95 per day. This is an absolute rip-off. Refusing to pay such ridiculous rates, I missed out on Photo Friday last week, but I’m glad to be back this week. Check out more fun and interesting travel photos and travel tales at DeliciousBaby.

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Tags:sfmoma, travel, family travel

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Novotel Tower Bridge Review

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We had two days in London to catch up with siblings. I needed a reasonably-priced hotel room which would sleep four people comfortably. I was going a little nutty after a few days searching for something suitable when a friend recommended the Novotel hotel at Tower Bridge. I checked out the Novotel website, loved the “convival family room for 2 adults and 2 children” and booked a room.

Hotel entrance.

Location, location, location.

We took the train in from Gatwick and hopped out at London Bridge tube station. OK, so if you look at the map, you’ll wonder why we didn’t just get out at Tower Hill station. The District & Circle line was closed for the weekend – go figure. But it was just a short walk across Tower Bridge to the hotel.

The Novotel is tucked on the end of a street just around the corner from the entrance to the Tower Hill tube station. If you stand in front of the tube station and look to your right, you’ll see the side entrance. (I’m just adding that because I couldn’t find it, so I called and felt like an idiot when the person at the front desk instructed me to “walk two steps forward…look to your right…”).

The location is killer. The Tower of London is literally right outside your doorstep. If you’re in London with kids, don’t have much time and want to get sightseeing right away, that’s pretty darn convenient.

Which is a good thing because the “convival family room” we had was a shoebox. There was one double bed and one sleeper sofa. When you folded out the sleeper sofa, you couldn’t walk between it and the bed. But it was clean and bright and the kids were free. Yes, that’s right F-R-E-E. Can’t beat that.

But the deal-clincher for my kids: there was a Playstation in the lobby. In fact, there’s a kid’s play area right in the lobby, with legos and some other sturdy toys for younger kids. And a Playstation in the corner. Last time I observed such riches in a hotel was at Disneyland. IMHO, the Novotel was better: I didn’t have to deal with oversized mice or rodents or any other animals. Or the incessant happiness. But, WanderDad and I did get to have a nice drink at the bar one evening – with our children in sight, in their own happy place courtesy of Sony and Novotel.

Details
Website: www.novotel.com or seach ‘novotel tower bridge’ using your favorite search engine
Room Rate: GBP 244 (with breakfast). That’s $428 at today’s rate. Which may make you gulp, but just think, it would have been $512 last November. Who knows what you might end up paying ?

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Hotel Review: Radisson SAS Rome

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I like Radisson SAS hotels. Maybe it’s the clean, sparse Scandinavian styling – almost as far away from my cluttered home as you could imagine. But, we didn’t plan to stay at the Radisson in Rome. It sort of happened by accident.

We left Lucca, having just spent a fun but busy week with family, and decided to chill at the beach for a couple of days. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see my kid’s faces as they explored the Colloseum, but it was hot, really hot and our attempt at sightseeing in Florence a couple of days earlier had been a disaster – because of the heat. Who expects temperatures over 90F in Italy in June, really? We took the train to Viareggio. Alas, we weren’t the only ones planning to hit the beach that weekend and there wasn’t a single hotel room to be had in the town. Where to now? Our kids were hot and sticky, sitting on their backpacks on a parking strip facing a beach, waiting for us to tell them it was OK to strip and dash into the water. But it was not to be.

We had wanted to leave the last few days at the end of our trip unplanned. I don’t think either of us had imagined this happening. Maybe Rome wouldn’t be so bad. I started reading the hotel listings in our guidebook. When I read that the Radisson had a pool, I flipped open my phone. Yes! They had a room available which would sleep four. The price was steeper than I would normally even consider, but this was a situation which required extraordinary measures.

What I liked about the hotel:
Location. Right next to the Termini Station. This might have been a problem except that its at the far end of the platforms, so the noise is not a problem. And you can walk across the street to get a Metro. Extremely handy if you’re a tourist trying to use only public transit.
Room Size. We stayed in a hotel in London last year with a pull-out sofa for the kids. When the sofa was out, you couldn’t actually walk between the bed and the sofa. Teeny. This room was positively American in size.
Cleanliness & Service. Scandinavian, duh! Well, with a slightly Italian twist.
The Pool. Turned out to be a full-size, unheated, roof-top pool. A perfect place to lounge about at the hottest part of the day.

What wasn’t so good:
Location. The area around the Termini Station can be a little seedy. We spent our time either by the hotel pool or out exploring some of the prettier neighborhoods of the city.
Frightening electrical work in the hotel room. When you pulled a plug out from a socket, sometimes the whole socket came too – leaving wires carrying 200v dangling out of the wall. Not the safest around children.
The showers in the gym were cold. Not that I was using the gym or anything, but our room had a bath but no shower. When we’d checked in, I’d been OK with a bath thinking to myself that I could just use the showers in the gym if I really felt I needed a shower. Three cold showers later I was not impressed.

Summary
We found it a good base from which to explore Rome especially since we had a limited amount of time. The mini-suite which we used (sleeps 4) costs about $450/night – we did get a slightly reduced rate since we were booking last-minute. Alternatively, we were offered two adjoining rooms for $300/night each. There was a complimentary breakfast buffet every morning. This went along way towards offsetting the cost of the hotel in my mind – two pre-teen boys can eat a LOT of food.
The real test: would I stay there again? Yes, I think I would. Although next time I think I’ll ask for a room with a shower