Upon arriving at Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley, we were greeted warmly by the staff. Originally planning a three-night stay, we extended it to five nights because other Yountville hotels didn’t meet our standards. Four Seasons outside Calistoga is indeed a beautiful resort where we felt at home within seconds.
Back home, we first booked Solange, which is just across the street, but we changed our minds. We do not remember why, maybe it was because Four Seasons opened in November 2021 and felt newer.
Anyway, we were happy about the change. Four Seasons is a true luxury resort. Small hiccup were housekeeping forgetting the turn-down service and missing out on refilling basic items like water, Kleenex, toilet paper, etc. But the big hiccups are the restaurants Auro and Truss.
The room was very nice with a great view over the vines and rollin hills. The room even have a wine refrigerator with some nice selections besides the minibar. The beds – it’s Four Seasons, and we think their beds are heaven. We have even discussed buying them, which you can do online.
Auro is a one-star Michelin restaurant. However, during our visit, it didn’t even deserve a Bib Gourmand. Auro didn’t meet our expectations for a Michelin-starred restaurant. To get to Auro, you first walk through Truss, which is cozier than the rather dull Auro. Nothing about it stands out as a fine dining restaurant; it has the same cutlery, the same glasses, coffee cups etc., as Truss.
On the contrary, when you step into Auro, the feeling is that you’re entering a ‘cheaper’ restaurant. The service and sommelier work is the same as in Truss and leave something to be desired. All this could be forgiven if the food was amazing, but it was not. It took an hour to get the snacks out, and they had overly strong flavors that overwhelmed the palate. It took 35 minutes to get two glasses of white wine at the beginning, and the tempo was slow.
One of the dishes was an oyster that was almost impossible to chew, and the bread was mushy, among other issues. We did not understand it at all. The meal felt unbalanced, lacked a cohesive theme, and was topped off with a dessert that you could find better at your local restaurant.
In its defense, it’s one kitchen that serves Auro, Truss, and in-room dining simultaneously. Hopefully, they had a really bad day when we were there, but we doubt it, as there were too many significant errors.
Tomato dish at Auro
Truss is a cozy hotel restaurant with a bar. The staff is trying, but sometimes they get it wrong. For example, when your bottle of red wine arrives after the food you ordered and has the same temperature as an ice cube. The food is okay but not memorable.
Campo was one of the highlights at the resort. Campo is situated between their two pools and serves drinks and Mexican food. Their Tacos is amazing. Excellent service and drinks from Kristofer, super tasty authentic food from the kitchen. 5 out of 5.
We think the resort has some layout flaws. It probably looked good on the drawing board but not in reality. We had wished that Truss and Auro were two separate restaurants and in different locations, and Campo deserved its own spot because it needs it. Keep the pool bar and serve burgers instead.
One piece of evidence of a layout flaw is the restroom that serves Auro and Truss; it’s in a separate building next to the entrance. It is almost the same as a public restroom with stalls, which you can find everywhere in the world.
The new General Manager has his hands full, and we hope he gets things right fast. Four Seasons Resort has so much potential and can be the best hotel/resort in Napa Valley.
First time
5 nights
Palisades room
None
Excellent
100%
Cooked to order.
No problem here.
Yes
Yes