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Sign in with FacebookLatest Saint Helena hotel reviews
| Jun | Jul | Aug |
| $466 | $499 | $290 |
Pro
St. Helena is a world treasure for wine and food lovers
Con
Traffic going down the mainstreet moves at a snail's pace during the summer weekends
In a nutshell
A good place to spend a few hours.
blueskyjohn Says: There are a few shops in Saint Helena worht checking out. One in particular is Oliver Napa Valley. A very unique store that is larger than you would expect. Specializing in a wide variety of Olive oil, mustards and vinegars. They also have some household goods and pottery....
riorich55 Says: With all apologies to my friend, Roz, who really liked this place in all honesty this was the least appealing winery my wife and I visited in our 2 days in Napa Valley. Here are my reasons:1) Very crowded - Yes, we were there right after noon on a Tuesday afternoon, so we...
Louis Martini--large, family owned, traditional
atufft Says: Of the dozen or so wineries located on Hwy 29 in this area, newcomers can be easily persuaded to visit the wrong ones, or the newbies that really have no track record of success. The largest winery by far in this area would be Louis Martini which produces great wine for the...
Heitz Cellars and Raymond Vineyards
atufft Says: These two wineries are not far from each other in the south of St. Helena benchland area where so many European financed wineries are cropping up. Heitz Cellars is an original California boutique winery started in 1961 when there were only twenty in the valley. Today, Joe...
atufft Says: Many boutique wineries started a trend in the early 1980's of making wine fun and silly. Folie-a-Deux name is not traditional nor reverent, and in fact are irreverent to the customarily snotty wine snob attitude, an attitude that scares away a lot of American consumers....
1 Review and 192 Opinions US$360 There are 85 cottages, suites, and lodges; play croquet, golf, tennis, or cycle, swim, and...
Harvest Inn-St Helena, Napa Valley
412 Opinions
Vercelli Restaurant: Average lunch
blueskyjohn Says: We stopped here for lunch on our afternoon in Saint Helena. Really nothing special. We had the Grilled chicken sandwich which was small and a little bland and the the Zuppa di Mare, mussel's, claims and calamari. It was ok but probably would not repeat.
Mustards Grill: Lives up to the reputation
zuriga Says: This place is somewhere between Napa and St. Helena, probably close to Yountville and right on Highway 29. Mustards Grill has been serving excellent food in the Napa Valley for years. We had a wonderful dinner there, myself enjoying one of my old favorites... barbecued pork...
Taylor's Refresher: Roadside Hamburger Joint, Napa-style
karenincalifornia Says: Taylor's Refresher is an institution in St. Helena, and has been ever since 1949. It LOOKS like some run of the mill roadside hamburger drive-in, but take another look, and you'll see the long line in front of the order window at any time of day. This is the type of burger...
Taylor's Refresher: Old-Style Burger Joint
sarahandgareth Says: This place has been around since 1949, slinging burger and fries, and serving up shakes. It's still standing, like a relic from the American Graffiti days, and there's always a queue outside (indeed, they serve to all kinds: Robert Redford and Lyle Lovett have been known to...
Helpfulness
There's not much nightlife to speak of in St. Helena if you are planning on staying overnight. Most activities take place at the wineries or resorts. Ana's, however, has live music on the weekends from 9:30pm-1:30am. If you want to escape any sort of pretenciousness, this is it. There's a bar, where locals like to hang out, as well as a restaurant serving Mexican and Spanish food.
Dress Code: No need to dress up. You should be dressed down.
Written Oct 4, 2002
The easiest way to get to St. Helena is by car. From downtown San Francisco, get onto the Bay Bridge, then take Hwy 80 north to Hwy 37. Go west on 37, then turn north on Hwy 29. You must pay a $2 toll after crossing the Carquinez Bridge.
From Sacramento, take Hwy 80 south to Hwy 12. Take Hwy 12 west to Hwy 29, then north to St. Helena.
If you are coming from the north along I 5, you can exit at Hwy 20, then travel west to Clearlake where you will take Hwy 53 through the town to connect with Hwy 29. Take Hwy 29 south to St. Helena.
Most people travel along Hwy 29 where the majority of wineries and businesses are clustered. However, you can avoid the crush by taking the Silverado Trail instead. This backroad is much more picturesque with no traffic lights to slow you down, although the scenery probably will.
Alternatively you could take public transit. The Baylink Ferry (Tel: +1 877-643-3779 or 643-3779, http://www.baylinkferry.com) runs between San Francisco (Embarcadero & Market St) and Vallejo. From the ferry terminal in Vallejo, catch a route 10 Napa Valley Transit bus (% 800-696-6443, www.transitinfo.org/NVT) to St. Helena. The ferry costs $8, half price for youth and seniors, and the bus is $2.50, half price for seniors and $1.80 for students.
Greyhound does not serve St. Helena. It only goes to Napa City.
The best way is by car, although you could rent a bike from St. Helena Cyclery (Tel: +1 (707) 963-7736, 1156 Main Street); rates are $7 per hour or $25 per day.
If you do drive by car and intend on doing some wine tasting at the wineries, be sure to have a designated driver. Impaired driving is not only dangerous, it is a criminal offense.
Written Oct 4, 2002
Spirits in Stone: Napa Outlets
Agraichen Says: Spirits in Stone was a wonderful find and not what is normally expected in an "outlet" shopping mall. They carry top end jewely that is very unique and all hand made. It is more like art than "normal" jewelry. Incredible collection of African stone carvings; gold and silver...
Downtown St. Helena: Trendy shopping
karenincalifornia Says: Head to the center of town for some great shopping. Many turn of the century boutique stores and cafes line the main drag. You can buy wines, chocolates, pottery, antiques, clothing, linens, books, gifts, just about everything from chocolate covered pecans and roses to...
Helpfulness
It gets really busy from summer to fall. If you plan to visit on a weekend at this time, be sure to make reservations for accommodations well ahead of time. Even the campsite at Bothe-Napa State Park gets booked up.
You should also be aware that many accommodations do not take children or pets.
Written Oct 4, 2002
atufft Says: Since V. Sattui is one of the few wineries on Hwy 29 to provide both free tasting and free picnic space, one might wonder why I consider this a "tourist trap". I worked part of a summer at V. Sattui and like and admire Darrell Sattui, the primary owner, very much. Early on,...
Don't expect to see much of...
Rick_Green Says: Don't expect to see much of interest at the Hurd Beeswax Candle Factory. Most of the premises is dedicated to selling candles and other gifts. They do make candles by hand during the week, but not on the weekend when many people visit. They also have a small display of 'bees...
atufft Says: In 1990, a friend invited me to fly with him over the Napa Valley area, which provided me an excellent opportunity to add to my collection of slides used in the California Wine Appreciation course I taught at the time. Note in the sparse vegetation along the Silverado Trail...
karenincalifornia Says: Since I live less than 30 minutes away from the wine country, and love going up there, you would think maybe I've seen them all. Not so. Yes, I am a frequent visitor, but each time I go up, I discover a new winery, a new canyon, a new ridge, a new mountain, a new vineyard, a...
Terroir - Is that a misspelling?
karenincalifornia Says: No, the wine country is not a center for terror. At least not yet. When I mention terroir in these tips, it's not that I forgot to use my spellchecker. That's TERROIR, with an "I". "Terroir" means the unique combination of soil and climate in specific area that grows grapes...
sarahandgareth Says: Wine is, of course, at the heart of the Wine Country, and some visitors seem to think that they're in some kind of competitive exercise to visit as many as humanly possible each day.We - and many of the winery people we spoke to - found that a little silly. After a few...
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Fashionable Upscale Center of Napa Valley
I lived in St Helena (pronounced with long e as in Heleeena) working as a winery guide, winery worker, and waiter for several years. I also taught California Wine Appreciation at Solano Community...
Considering a stay in Napa Valley? Beginning at the town of Napa and moving north, you'll drive through Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, Saint Helena and Calistoga. With several towns to choose...
St. Helena is in the heart of Napa Wine Country in California. It's home to many wineries and restaurants as well as unique shops. The main "highway" from Napa to Calistoga (CA-29) slows to 25 mph...
Saint Helena: a Town in California's Wine Country
Saint Helena is a small town in Napa County nestled in the hills of northern California. It is surrounded by wineries, and has quaint architecture, restaurants, and gift shops.
Rick_Green's Saint Helena Page
Area code: 707 population: 6,216 St. Helena was incorporated on May 24, 1876 on land originally granted to Dr. Edward Bale by the Mexican General Vallejo in 1834. Curiously, the visit of Princess...
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