# Napa Riverpointe next week



## Liz Wolf-Spada (Oct 11, 2011)

If anyone else will be there, we'd love to say hi. We will be there late on the 16th for the week.
We've been there before, but would still love to hear personal must do's for Napa.
Thanks,
LIz


----------



## riverdees05 (Oct 11, 2011)

Let us know how it is?  Are you in a one or two bedroom unit?   Napa is on our bucket list.


----------



## beejaybeeohio (Oct 11, 2011)

*RCI or II*

Just got home from a girls getaway to SF which included a day trip to Sonoma/Napa.  Thinking that next year would be fun to say in Wine Country and it would be great to do a t/s trade!


----------



## MommaBear (Oct 11, 2011)

We were at Riverpointe 2 weeks ago. There is a cast of characters who runs the place... Definitely do the orientation breakfast and the wine tastings in the evening.

If you haven't been to Napa before, I strongly recommend
Sterling (gondola ride to the winery, GREAT veiw, good tour and tasting)
Castle D'Amorosa- loved the location and the tour, not crazy about the wine
Rutherford Hill for the wine, the tour and the view
Artesa- great building and views, wine so-so. Lovely grounds: Beringer.
Great tastings: Turnbull, Cakebread, Mondavi, Beaulieu Vineyards. Fun atmosphere, good tastings: Sutter Home (who knew!), Via Sattui. Funky but if you like ports not to be missed: Prager Port Works.
Healdsburg square- good tastings on the square, funky atmosphere, great beer at Bear Republic brewery. Further north is the always elegant Ferrari Carrano.

Enjoyed Ledson, Arrowood, Benziger in Sonoma. Love the twisty windy drives over the mountains from Napa to Sonoma or Calistoga to Santa Roas.

Generally when we go to Napa (and Sonoma) we have an idea of what kinds of wines we want to taste, this time was more free form. 

Lots of phenomenal buildings, tours, tastings- depends on what you are looking for. Favorite restaurants- Frida's Mexican on Trancas St. Fume' for bistro food. Vermicelli (I think) on main drag through St. Helena- great prices, some of the best Italian I have ever had, and no corkage fee so you can take your own bottle with you.

Have a great time. Except for the fact I am into my second week at WKORVN, I would want to be back there.


----------



## Liz Wolf-Spada (Oct 13, 2011)

We have been there before. The units are very nice and extremely well designed for being small, single wide trailers which may need to be moved if the river floods. We had a one bedroom last time and this time we have a 2 bedroom, which means the one bedroom, plus the studio unit across the deck. We liked it there.
Liz


----------



## travelguy (Oct 13, 2011)

*Quality??*



Liz Wolf-Spada said:


> The units are very nice and extremely well designed for *being small, single wide trailers *



This has always put me off on this trade.  I love Napa and Sonoma but am afraid that this resort will ruin a week in wine country.  Nothing worse that coming home from a great day of wine tasting to a run-down trailer timeshare??

I realize that this is not a Hilton but would hope it's not a Red Roof either.  Are these trailers quaint and homey or just small and cheap?


----------



## MommaBear (Oct 13, 2011)

Definitley quaint and homey. The beds are wonderful. The kitchens are very well set up and there is lots of storage space in closets and drawers. It is very tight to get between the end of the bed and the desk and I cannot imagine trying to fit 4 at the dining room table, but for two of us the one bedroom was very comfortable. It is also very very clean. It certainly did not feel like a Starwood or Marriott, but it did the job for a week in Napa. However, now that Shell is coming to II, I anticipate trying to trade into Vino Bello instead.


----------



## rickandcindy23 (Oct 13, 2011)

travelguy said:


> This has always put me off on this trade.  I love Napa and Sonoma but am afraid that this resort will ruin a week in wine country.  Nothing worse that coming home from a great day of wine tasting to a run-down trailer timeshare??
> 
> I realize that this is not a Hilton but would hope it's not a Red Roof either.  Are these trailers quaint and homey or just small and cheap?



What a negative post, considering you have never been.  Run-down trailer timeshare?  Not at all.  It's actually really a lovely little place.  And the location is ideal for Napa.  I guess if you only like Hilton quality with large whirlpool tubs and fancy bathrooms, it's not for you, but to me, it's so cute.  There aren't a lot of choices in Napa.


----------



## rickandcindy23 (Oct 13, 2011)

> However, now that Shell is coming to II, I anticipate trying to trade into Vino Bello instead.



It's never shown in RCI, and I have watched constantly.  It is highly unlikely to be in II.


----------



## MommaBear (Oct 13, 2011)

rickandcindy23 said:


> It's never shown in RCI, and I have watched constantly.  It is highly unlikely to be in II.



Too bad! Might actually convince me to buy some Shell points!


----------



## travelguy (Oct 14, 2011)

rickandcindy23 said:


> What a negative post, considering you have never been.  Run-down trailer timeshare?  Not at all.  It's actually really a lovely little place.  And the location is ideal for Napa.  I guess if you only like Hilton quality with large whirlpool tubs and fancy bathrooms, it's not for you, but to me, it's so cute.  There aren't a lot of choices in Napa.



Not meant to be negative at all!  My apologies if it came off that way.  I was not making a statement or voicing my opinion but was asking a question on the quality of the trailers (note the two question marks at the end of the sentence).  I've ruined good vacations by exchanging into shoddy resorts and don't want to make that mistake again.

By the way ... I own Hiltons but have exchanged into dozens (hundreds?) of lower tier timeshares and mostly loved them.  That's why I am interested in this Napa resort and would exchange into your Val Chatelle too.  Hilton owners are not snobby, demanding, elitist timeshare owners ... just regular Tuggers that like top quality timesharing when we can get it!


----------



## Liz Wolf-Spada (Oct 20, 2011)

We like it here. The weather is great. I got stung by a bee swarm walking by the river. Everything else is good. The pool & hot tub are perfect. We are using it ad a base to visit friend & family. Would love to come back next fall. We got this thru Trading Places.
Liz


----------



## DAman (Oct 20, 2011)

*Walking to Downtown Napa*

Can you walk down to the restaurants in downtown Napa from Riverpointe?  

The location seems good on the map but it's hard to tell.

Thanks

DAman


----------



## teepeeca (Oct 21, 2011)

DAman said:


> Can you walk down to the restaurants in downtown Napa from Riverpointe?
> 
> The location seems good on the map but it's hard to tell.
> 
> ...



YES ---you "can" walk to "downtown" and the restaurants ---BUT--- it might take you a half of an hour to an hour to walk to the downtown area ---depending upon how fast you walk !!! :hysterical: (Is my "humor" showing through???)

How about a VERY GOOD restaurant across the street from the resort?  What about others in the close proximity of the "resort"?  What about a "Segway" tour of the area?  (Hope I spelled that correctly.)

We live about a half an hour away from Napa, BUT ---have stayed there several times ---gives us a chance to "see the area", and relax.

Tony


----------



## DAman (Oct 21, 2011)

teepeeca said:


> YES ---you "can" walk to "downtown" and the restaurants ---BUT--- it might take you a half of an hour to an hour to walk to the downtown area ---depending upon how fast you walk !!! :hysterical: (Is my "humor" showing through???)
> 
> How about a VERY GOOD restaurant across the street from the resort?  What about others in the close proximity of the "resort"?  What about a "Segway" tour of the area?  (Hope I spelled that correctly.)
> 
> ...




"See the area" must mean "Drink some vino"....

My wife and I enjoy walking to dinner since that allows us to better "see the area".  

I too am interested in nearby restaurants.

DAman


----------



## dancermom09 (Nov 21, 2011)

We now own at Riverpointe (bought a week on Ebay for $15), and took our first trip there last year. My husband was very skeptical, and could not imagine that we would want to go there every year.

For purely a couple trip, it's probably one of our top three vacations ever. And we are going back every year for the foreseeable future.

The trailer was clean and comfortable, as said, wonderful beds. The river walk was very nice in the mornings, and alleviated some of the guilt from all of the eating and drinking. Didn't see any bees, thank goodness.

The staff at the resort is wonderful, and the wine tastings were really nice. We tasted some $100 a bottle wines for free, so go! We decided to take the limo tour they sponsor on Wednesdays and it was a blast. Made some friends that we saw several times the rest of the week.

Probably some of the best food anywhere, the produce there is so outstanding and fresh. The area really attracts top chefs, and you can never go wrong with the wine lists. We did drive to the wineries and restaurants, so were careful not to over imbibe. I got really good at spitting.

And tasting is just fun. We sought out a number of small wineries that only sell at their tasting rooms, and we came home with six cases of wine. 

We loved Healdsburg and fell in love with the Zins from the wineries there. It's a ways from Napa, but worth the trip.

Yes, I recommend the resort and Napa Valley! Much more to our liking than Vegas. Not a lot of nightlife, but after a day of tasting wine we weren't up for much.


----------



## dmorea (Dec 10, 2011)

rickandcindy23 said:


> It's never shown in RCI, and I have watched constantly.  It is highly unlikely to be in II.



I put in a request for Vino Bello with SFX for Late June into the 4th of July . Was surprised how quickly the request was filled, with a two bedroom unit for my perfect dates. I was even able to use one of my bonus weeks that was close to expiring. Something to think about!


----------



## funtime (Dec 11, 2011)

Also as noted, Trading Places has a lot of the Napa Riverpointe units.   I owned there but never got to go and then resold several years ago.  They had a newsy little newsletter.  I would be up for it on a future trip. Funtime


----------



## mjm1 (Dec 11, 2011)

We traded into Riverpointe several years ago via Trading Places.  The TP rep was very nice and informative.  The resort hosted an evening of wine tasting that was very well done, informative and fun.  We had a 1 BR unit, which was  small, but comfortable enough.  As I recall we were there in November, so they had moved most of the units out, as I understand they always do, in case the river overflows.  It was definitely a good location from which to explore the area.

We also visited Vino Bella and that was a very nice resort.  Glad to see it is now in II.


----------



## JohnPaul (Dec 15, 2011)

dmorea said:


> I put in a request for Vino Bello with SFX for Late June into the 4th of July . Was surprised how quickly the request was filled, with a two bedroom unit for my perfect dates. I was even able to use one of my bonus weeks that was close to expiring. Something to think about!



Vino Bello just opened their third building so availability is pretty good right now.


----------

