We chose the Solage Resort and Spa in Calistoga as our hotel for our 3 night stay in Napa Valley.  I booked the hotel through Virtuoso Travel and our stay came with a bottle of wine included, a $100 resort credit, full breakfast for 2 included everyday (including room service breakfast), a free mud treatment at the spa and an upgrade on arrival if available.  Unfortunately, no upgrade was available for us but we were perfectly happy with the room that we booked.  The hotel is located directly on the Silverado Trail and is just around the corner from downtown Calistoga – about a 5 minute bike ride or 15 minute walk.  The grounds are thoughtfully left in a natural  but manicured state and are surrounded by oak trees, lavender bushes and olive trees and planted with natural grass.

The rooms are actually individual cottages that have large outdoor patios and come equipped with two cruiser bikes for riding into town or down the Silverado Trail to visit a winery. Due to the rainy weather, we didn’t get to make any use of our bikes or our patio which was a real shame.  The cottages are somewhat minimalistic but in a clean, modern way.  In fact, the room lacked nothing and I was very impressed by the amenities, including a full size coffee machine with freshly ground coffee provided everyday and a small bottle of half and half in our mini fridge.  We also had full size toiletries provided that were of high quality and a well stocked bar and snack drawer.

The room also featured a built-in desk, small seating area and had vaulted ceilings with a fan that created a spacious and open feeling.  The doors  to the patio were double sliders so if they were pulled fully open, it was very much an indoor-outdoor feeling. In fact, we often left the door open so we could enjoy the sound of the rainfall (I would have rather had sun and enjoyed my patio but we tried to make lemonade from lemons).  We stayed in a double but obviously I would choose a king size option if I stayed here with Stephen.

The bathroom was also very large with double sinks, plenty of vanity space, plugs on both sides of the sink counter (a pet peeve of mine when they put a plug on only one side!), separate toilet and a large walk-in shower with river stone flooring and slate tiles.  The bathroom also had a large bench built in which was convenient and prevented us from cluttering up the counter top too much.

I reviewed their main restaurant Solbar, in my previous post but we twice ordered room service breakfast to the room and it was wonderful and delivered promptly.  I love that the hotel featured an ipad with each room that you could use to order any room service or make any requests for pillows, blankets, ice, etc… Breakfast was delicious (we each ordered smoked salmon with toasted bagels and cream cheese (with the usual onions, capers, etc..) and an egg white omelet with spinach and goat cheese and each was a very generous portion – I loved that they didn’t skimp on the smoked salmon at all.

Everywhere we went, we found the service to be competent and very friendly. On our last day, we each had spa appointment and I loved their large, clean and spacious spa area.  The spa was again very minimalistic and was all white with touches of greenery here and there – it reminded me of The Delano Hotel in Miami. The spa had a large locker room and shower area with eucalyptus steam room and open air relaxation areas.

Outside was a large co-ed mineral pool and then separate men’s and women’s clothing optional areas with private mineral pools and outdoor showers.  There were people in the pool and I didn’t want to look like a creeper by taking pictures but what is on their website is very accurate.  I also peeked into the private areas but public nudity isn’t my thing so I stayed in my bathing suit (or as I call them, my old lady water panties) and used the mineral pool which was surrounded by olive trees and was very peaceful.  It also had private cabanas available for rent and the pools were all heated to 100 degrees which allowed for a very relaxing soak before my massage.  I got a basic massage which was great as I had a very good, professional masseuse.

The spa is known for its signature mud slide treatment which I may try next time.  Calistoga is famous for its hot mineral springs and laying in heated mud has been popular in the area for years as it’s said to have therapeutic effects.  Here is a little background info on the local mud. The mud slide involves slathering mud all over yourself in a private, heated room and letting it dry and then rinsing it off and soaking in a mineral water bath which is supposed to be good for your skin and your joints.

The Solage also has a large recreational main pool (also heated but not as hot as the mineral pools at the spa) which is gorgeous and surrounded by palm trees and has its own dedicated bar but the weather ruined our pool plans – it was in the low 60s and rainy the entire weekend so maybe we will have better luck next time on that front.

Overall, my friend and I both agreed that the Solage was a great place to stay in Napa Valley.  It’s definitely more modern and has a more youthful vibe than some of the other locations we visited.  The hotel bar and restaurant were hopping and every night there was a large wedding party in their private event space (we never heard any noise or were bothered by that but we walked by and saw the parties).  I read online that Solage was designed to appeal to millenials and young professionals so I would say this is a perfect location for a fun girls’ wine and spa getaway.  Price-wise it was also much more reasonable than the Auberge du Soleil or Calistoga Ranch but I would probably splurge on one of those places if I was coming back to Napa for a romantic weekend with the hubs.