Carlin Country Cottages, Calistoga

I was very impressed with the efficiency of getting in and getting the job done. Nice work! Highly recommend!

My wife and I had a wonderful week away planned and this week my grandmother died. Since the cancellation was within 72 hours the management charged me a full-night's stay after they said they'd only charge me $25. When circumstances beyond our control come up, especially a death, I think the courteous thing to do would be to have a little grace on a family and not stick it to them with a huge cha...rge like this. The woman on the phone said she might reduce our fee if I showed her proof of my grandmother's death...seriously??!!! That is the most inconsiderate thing I've ever heard. When my wife and I do go back to Calistoga in December guess which place won't see a dime of our business. Thanks for ZERO PERSONAL CONCERN OR CUSTOMER SERVICE Carlin Cottages. Irritated, JD Sacramento, CA

Carlin Country Cottages offers more then most places in Calistoga, at a very reasonable price! We stayed 3 nights. Our room was spotless,very clean.The cottage was more like an one bedroom apt. A good size bedroom with a very comfortable king bed, a full kitchen and bath,as well as a small living room. Home away from Home. The outdoor Hot Springs fed pool and hot tub are right out your front door. The gas barbeques we used are very conveniently located and another added bonus. We can't wait to return to Carlin Country Cottages and will do so this summer!

When we first arrived I was a little nervous. The place is a little....I dont want to say rundown...but close to it. The room was nice enough...the spa was huge and relaxing but you had to keep the water running due to the fact that it was constantly draining. The calistoga high school was right across from our front door in cabin #1 . We got alot of noise from the high school due to a tractor parade that night. There was alot of loud music from 8ish until about 10:30...not so romantic. as long as you are not looking for a luxury place or a romantic getaway spot this place would be fine for a place to stay for the night or two.

This is a great getaway. My husband and I try to get here at least twice a year, it's a 5 hour drive for us. The staff are very personal, friendly and helpful. The rooms are pleasent and the beds are extremely comfortable (I had two back surgeries and a bed is very important to me). The area is quiet and so close to the spas in town. The price is affordable and well worth it. We get the room with the hot tub. It's very large and comfy. My husband is 6'2", 285lbs and we fit comfortably in the hot tub. The best thing is the water doesn't smell like sulfer. I especially like the the bath aroma packets that are for sell. I try to stock up before we leave. I think if we lived closer we would be there more often but we don't. The 5 hour drive is well worth the room and atmosphere. This is a definate place to stay. Dislike: The renovation time. We came up and you were closed for remodeling. However, even though you were closed I still got my bath packets. Mr. and Mrs. Smith

My girlfriend and I stayed the nights of Aug 5 & 6. We had read the reviews and seen only one terrible review so we decided to go ahead and give the place a try. It was a bad move on our part. We definitely did not get our money’s worth. First of all the room was not as clean as it could have been. The bed (which was too firm) had blonde hairs in it (neither of us are blond), the decorative pillows were not clean and the Jacuzzi tub had some sort of residue at its base. Mind you, we are not clean freaks, but we expect a room that is comfortably clean. The second issue was the air conditioner. It looks to be a model from the late 1960’s or 1970’s. I was so loud that we had to turn the TV up to nearly it highest volume in order to hear it. To make matters worse the air conditioner stopped blowing cold air altogether, so we had to shut it off and open all of the windows for ventilation. This meant that we had little privacy due to the fact that the cottages are very close to each other. We had the additional disadvantage of having a cottage that was situated next to the street. The open windows meant that we either had to give up all of our privacy and leave the curtains open or leave the curtains closed and significantly reduce our ability to effectively air out the room. The third and worst problem we had with the room; the Jacuzzi. On the second night of our stay, my girlfriend decided to use the Jacuzzi tub. As she filled the tub with water, the room filled with an overpowering odor that smelled like rotten eggs. It became so bad that I asked her to stop filling the tub and drain it immediately. The odor was so strong that I became ill. This is another reason we had to open all of the windows. The next morning we spoke to the owner about the situation. Larry made excuse after excuse about the condition of our room. He said that the odor was normal and that most people do not find it objectionable. When asked why he did not mention this most salient aspect of Jacuzzi usage on his website he said that most people on the planet are aware that mineral water has a sulfur smell. That being said, were we not inclined to be unreasonable, so we asked that Larry refund to us the amount of $15/day for two days, or $30 which is the difference between the cost of a Jacuzzi versus a non-Jacuzzi room. We felt that was reasonable given the other aforementioned problems. Larry refused to make any adjustments. He said that he might refund a portion of what we paid if he could verify the inoperability of the air conditioner. When I asked him to walk back over to the cottage so that we could inspect the air conditioner together, he stated that he was too busy. I am sorry to say that we cannot recommend Carlin’s Country Cottages; especially for the rates that they charge. To be honest, the only reason we chose to stay here was because the place looked clean on the website and to their credit, they were the only place that did not require us to pay for a Sunday night stay. Since neither of us could stay over a Sunday night, we felt the savings justified giving the place a try. In retrospect, it would have been better for us if we had chosen another place and just paid for the extra night. Needless to say, we will never return to Carlin’s Country Cottages. Do your research. You can get better value for your dollar elsewhere.

This was a very nice place to stay. Very relaxing. The room had a plate with muffins and fruit. The muffins were dry and not worth eating. But that would not stop me from going back.

If you are looking for a place to unwind from the stresses of the Bay Area this is the place! Bring a nice scented oil and a good book and relax in your own in room spa. The bath is huge perfect for two. Buy some wine on the way up the valley. There is a grocery near by or you can choose from several wonderful restaurants. The prices are reasonable and the staff very helpful and friendly.

Carlin Country Cottages was a nice little getaway that is very close to a number of spas. The location is key. A few blocks away is the cute downtown strip where you can enjoy fine dining and practically right next door a number of spas where you can enjoy some pampering. We made reservations at the Golden Haven where they have nice couple packages.

We got the jacuzzi room, but I recommend either purchasing one of the fragrant oils that are available at the office, or bring your own. It's all mineral water, so there is a strong smell.

The cottage also had some fruit and homemade pumpkin and banana bread in our room, so that was a nice homey touch.

Overall, a great experience!