Review: A Large Loft Room at the Andaz Napa
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TO THE POINT: We loved the Andaz Napa's central location, comfortable loft-style room and generous selection of elite benefits. The pros: great location in downtown Napa, friendly staff, nice Diamond benefits. The cons: No real drawbacks — we had a great stay!
TPG Points & Miles Editor Sarah Silbert shares the details of a recent stay at the Andaz Napa, a Category 5 Hyatt hotel.
In late-May, I enjoyed a long weekend in Napa, taking in the very fun BottleRock festival with SPG. While most of my time in town was spent either catching great music at the event or sipping bubbly at my favorite local winery, the Andaz Napa was a great place to call home.
Booking
The Andaz Napa is a Category 5 property, so free nights start at 20,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for a standard room or 32,000 for a suite. We booked using the Citi Prestige card's 4th Night Free benefit, which ended up being tremendously helpful with this particular stay, as the last night (Friday) was significantly more expensive than the first three. Citi contacted the hotel and merged two reservations — one at a standard rate for the first three nights and a second for the last night at the Diamond guaranteed rate — in order for this stay to be eligible for a credit. Here's how the cost broke down:
Total for the Stay: $1,435.38
4th Night Credit (including taxes): $637.26 USD
Total for the Stay with 4th Night Credit Applied: $798.12 USD
The 4th Night Free credit ended up knocking 44% off the price! (Note that Citi will adjust the way it processes this credit in July 2017, at which point the rebate will be based on an average of the four nights and will not include taxes).
Check-In
We flew into SFO from Newark (EWR), and planned to head to Napa immediately. We didn't want to put an Uber driver in an awkward position (since the drive to wine country takes more than an hour), so we booked a car ahead of time. Luckily, the early afternoon traffic was light and we arrived in Napa within an 90 minutes.
The hotel has a great location for exploring downtown Napa, as it's just steps away from tasting rooms, shops and restaurants. We also saw plenty of lovely homes on our drive in — suffice it to say this is a pretty area!
A front-desk associate greeted us the moment we stepped in the small, modern-feeling lobby, and offered us our choice of red or white wine as a complimentary arrival gift. He also presented us with vouchers for free drinks at the bar, which we ended up using on our last day. There wasn't any Diamond Suite upgrade availability when we booked, but he informed us that we had been upgraded to a Large Loft Room — it turns out this is the type of room we would have received if we'd used an upgrade, anyway.
The hotel was buzzing, and it was clear that many guests were also in town for BottleRock. Just a few minutes later, we had our room keys in hand and headed up to the fourth floor.
The Room
I was pleasantly surprised by the Large Loft room; it was larger and airier than I'd expected. Non-suite rooms at hotels in premium locations can often feel claustrophobic, but this one was divided into two separate spaces by a fireplace, and the windows let plenty of light in.
We found a nice welcome gift waiting for us. I was a bit surprised it wasn't wine, but given the amount of free drinks we enjoyed throughout the stay, it was hardly a huge disappointment.
I loved the fireplace, even though it was definitely too warm to use during our stay. I'm sure it would come in handy in the fall and winter though.
The bathtub was somewhat oddly placed between the bed and the bathroom. I think it's supposed to feel airy and romantic, but it just seemed awkward and in the way to me. There is a thin curtain that provides some privacy.
As is standard at Andaz hotels, non-alcoholic mini-bar items are complimentary, but the food choices are limited to a bag of Pop Chips and a granola bar. I wished there were more options, but I still appreciated the free snacks — especially considering all the wine we were drinking!
There were a few more complimentary drink options, though, including water, seltzer and soda.
The King bed was very comfortable, and I slept well throughout the stay. I'm not sure if I'll be purchasing a Hyatt Grand Bed right away, but I can definitely see the appeal. They're definitely some of the best hotel mattresses I've slept on.
The bathroom was pretty standard, but the shower was surprisingly roomy. There were two separate standalone sinks.
There was even room for a small bench in the rain-style walk-in shower.
I liked the Preserves amenities with grape seed — a nice nod to the wine country locale. They weren't overwhelming, but smelled quite nice, and the cooling lotion was great after a long day in the sun.
As a cute (and thoughtful) touch, the room was also stocked with ear plugs for guests having trouble "wining down."
Even though we were directly overlooking the main street in downtown Napa, things stayed pretty quiet, and we had no trouble falling asleep.
Overall, the Large Loft Room was great. We didn't spend a ton of time in it, but it was modern and comfortable.
Food and Other Amenities
As Hyatt Diamond members, we were presented with a choice of a complimentary amenity. Since there was no shortage of food or wine throughout the weekend, we opted for the 1,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, which are worth about $18 according to TPG's latest valuations.
Also thanks to our Diamond status, we were able to order room-service breakfast for no extra charge. I love that Hyatt offers this benefit at a variety of properties. I was a fan of everything we ordered, including fresh juices and a yummy egg-white omelette with breakfast potatoes.
I celebrated my birthday during our stay, and my family very sweetly arranged for a special spread to be delivered to the room. It was a lovely selection of fruits, chocolates, nuts and a bottle of Chandon. So yeah, we were pretty well taken care of on the food and drink front.
The Andaz has two onsite restaurants: Mercantile Social, a cocktail bar with a small food menu, and Andaz Farmers Table, where breakfast is served. We didn't get a chance to check either of them out during our stay, but I liked the cozy, communal vibe of the breakfast area, located off the lobby.
There isn't a gym in the hotel — instead, the Andaz partners with a neighborhood gym just a few feet away. It was huge, with plenty of cardio equipment and weights.
Bottom Line
I love visiting Napa, and the Andaz was a perfect hotel for my most recent visit. I've stayed at the nearby Westin, but the Andaz definitely wins when it comes to location and elite perks.
The upgrade to a well-appointed Large Loft Room made for a great stay as well. I'd absolutely recommend this property, and I'm hoping to return soon!
Have you stayed at the Andaz Napa? Share your experience in the comments below!