Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa, American Canyon

We stayed for only 1 of the 2 scheduled nights at this quazi eco friendly hotel. What you have read from other reviewers is correct: lousy neighborhood, poor room insulation, noisy A/C, feeble pressure on the shower heads, and mediocre service. Move on to any of the quaint Inn's in the downtown area's and you will be much happier!

Gaia was a big disappointment.... the staff was less than accommodating (we called the front desk for a cork screw- we are in wine country after all!) and they told us to come down and get it from the front desk... after walking down there they told us we couldn't borrow it, but rather i could walk back to the room get the wine and bring it back down to the lobby. No early check-in, and just no very helpful in general. The location was way too far away from actual Napa and the wine country- at least 25-30 minutes south, which is a little misleading from the website. Required a hugely expensive cab ride to get to and from dinner in town in order to enjoy dinner and drink some wine. Restaurant was pretty in terms of appearance, but service was slow and disjointed and food was only decent, but really not many other options aside from wal-mart across the street. The rooms themselves were pretty nice and clean, I'll acknowledge that and the eco-friendly thing is cool, but on a whole I think you can do a lot better and get a lot closer to Napa, because this area of Napa valley is NOT scenic. Overall, will never go back there and was thoroughly disappointed.

We loved this place for many reasons. It is tucked away in American Canyon, just south of Napa Valley, just north of Vallejo. About 1/4 mile north on 29 there is a Super Walmart comlex with plenty of shopping amenities. Napa Valley and the wine train are only 10-12 minutes from the hotel. We booked a day in the spa, and it was wonderful. The staff was wonderful. Our only comments/concerns were the heat/ac in the room. It was a little difficult to get a grasp on. 2nd, the hot tub is a little small. If you dont get there before other people get in, you may have to wait. Other than that, the staff is very knowledgable and friendly. The rooms were nice and clean, and everything was within a short distance.

The room was very spacious,lovely and clean. They gave us 2 kinds of coffee and 2 kinds of tea with our In-room coffee-maker. The shower had a generous spray which was very relaxing. They had a pool but it was unheated.Their lake and waterfall is pretty. Beware though the Breakfast at the on-site restaurant is NOT free as is stated on the website. Be prepared to pay $10.00 for it. That was a big disappointment to me.The Spa was letdown as they wanted $100 for a 50 minute massage. Still the place had more Pros then Cons so I would stay there again just not go to their restaurant.

The Gaia is new and very nice. My room was larger than I expected and very comfortable. I didn't have any service issues. In December (2007), there was a special rate of $59 per nite so that was a good deal. The only thing I didn't like was the continental breakfast that they advertised. It was very sparse and the food was terrible!

The rooms are new and beautiful. The outside of the building is very strange looking, but I really liked being in my room. The price is unbelievable for Napa.

Our rooms were not cleaned, sound proofing in the rooms is awful, staff was unhelpful, breakfast bar was sparce, location was not conducive to a trip to Napa. There are no restaurants in the area, the neighborhood is not a good one, and there is a "casino" next door that hardly qualifies. While the spa treatments were nice, the sound proofing of the reception area was so poor that you have to whisper when talking out there or you get "shushed". We visit Napa every fall and this was the worst hotel experience we have had.

We were very comfortable. . . My friend and I came up to rest and unload stress. That was the main purpose of our vacation. However, staff seems a bit disoriented when asked where to get a cheap lunch during the day. Just wondering, shouldn't the management of these hotels provide FREE shuttles to near-by winerys and resturants in the area since many people will be driving and getting back on the road after having several drinks? The shuttle that they do recommend was $60. per/person. If i were the management, I would want to make sure my guest come back safe and not drive or get into a car with a drunk driver. I would want to protect them from other drunk drivers on such a narrow road. Just a suggestion though. Other then that, the place was very nice. Will try it again someday. The swans seemed happy too.

We liked the idea of an "eco-friendly" hotel and the Gaia hotel's website looked extremely inviting. But don't let that fool you! This hotel is over-rated. The neighborhood is poor...next to a facility advertising 24 hour slots... and is not convenient to Wine Country restaurants, especially when you're making the drive after dinner in the dark, it seems even more remote. The service and staff supervision is very poor. The night we checked in, the toilet paper was almost out, the tissue holder was empty, the washcloths were missing. The next night, they added the toilet paper and folded it neatly at the corners in its holder, but did nothing else, including leaving soiled towels on the floor and no fresh towels. And the list goes on from there: the carpet was filthy (and the hotel is brand new!); the locks don't work on the sliding doors; the breakfast bar was not kept clean and replenished; the cleaning staff took a washcloth I had brought and never did return it to me after repeated requests, even though it was pink and clearly not theirs; the front desk let the phone ring and ring ... when I did get them, they were having "an emergency" - a guest was locked out of their room. Later I heard banging and pounding where they were trying to break-in to a room down the hall. And to top it off, this "eco-friendly" hotel had notices in the desk drawer posting "Warning" - the materials used in the construction are known to contain cancer causing chemicals. And there was a dead frog floating in the pool. Never again!

I have nothing good to say about this hotel. Terrible breakfast. My room was only cleaned once during my stay, and this after several complaints. Even with this I received a voicemail stating that it was MY fault for having the privacy placard on the door (not true, but anyway...) The only good thing is the attempt at environmental stewardship. Still, stay elsewhere and recycle your own cans and bottles. You'll have a much better experience.