posted 08-31-2012 12:17 PM
Hi Banchies,Napa Valley is 30 miles long. Is there a particular area that you would prefer to stay. The big areas are Napa city, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga.
Now, having said that, lodging in the Napa Valley is not reasonable, especially on weekends when rates raise at least $100 per night. If you can make your trip during the week, you can save some money.
I am not familiar with Napa city lodging, so can't help you there. Yountville I am afraid will be over your budget. We always stay in Calistoga at the Stevenson Manor Best Western PLUS Inn. Rates during the week will run you about $150 with Weekends (Friday & Saturday nights) $250.
We like Calistoga because we can go south on Hwy 29 where most of the wineries are, south on the Silverado Trail where you will find a more pleasing drive plus some wineries, North to Healdsburg and the Dry Creek zinfandel region, or west to the Sonoma Valley.
Lodging does tend to fill up quickly, so I would suggest making your reservations as soon as possible. You can go to NapaValley.com and click on lodging and it will show you the different types available by town. Have a great trip and when you return, please leave us a report on this message board. It is how we all learn.
P.S. October is a very busy month because of the crush. We have had our reservations for October since May and the BW is full the weekend that we will be there.
-Hawkeye
[This message has been edited by Hawkeye (edited 08-31-2012).]