Originally established as a railroad saloon and boarding house in 1879, the Union Hotel is one of…read moreSonoma County's truly iconic spots, where history surrounds you the moment you step inside. Sitting at the bar, I couldn't help but imagine the hardworking railroad crews resting their weary heads here long ago, alongside the glamorous, lively parties that once filled the space. Knowing it's recognized as part of the Occidental Historic District only adds to the magic. Very worth a stop to wet your whistle at the historic Union Hotel Saloon. The sweet bartender even gave us a complimentary tour of the public areas.

Room: Beach Primrose, 3rd floor. (I wish more people…read moreidentified their room.) I stayed here last year for a long weekend. I love this hotel, but it's not without its quirks. I gave it as many as four stars because everything was clean and I love the character, including the marginally-dilapidated atmosphere, the ancient "lift" (can't really call it an elevator). If you want a slick, polished experience, choose a different lodging. Maybe the "Inn at Benicia Bay" down the street; I had breakfast there one morning and it looked very posh. But if you want a piece of history, I am passionate about the Union Hotel. Things to note before you take it on: The management is notoriously hard to get in touch with before your stay. While you're here, there's someone at the desk during the day within limited hours. But don't expect any contact or action at night. Don't expect calls back. Their late-check-in process was a little nebulous in terms of explanation before the fact, but worked out really well. I came up with adult children and needed an extra bed, but never got any closure on my requests. Not to worry, there were a couple of rollaways in the corner of the hallway with the housekeeping materials so everything worked out well. We tried the jacuzzi tub, and although it started up OK, we immediately regretted it because it sounded like you were right next to a 747 taking off. Then we discovered it wouldn't shut off! I called the after-hours number but didn't get a response. Finally we found a GFI outlet opposite the sink and if we tripped it with the Test button, it shut off the Jacuzzi! That was the only real problem we had. The room was nice and roomy, and even though it was one of cheapest rooms, it had a nice couch and coffee table for meals and activities. Great view from the 3rd floor overlooking the side street and the bay over to the side. The bed is so plush in the Beach Primrose (as of 2025), they have a little stepstool at the foot for you to climb up. If you're marginally athletic you can hop up on it from the side. All in all, very comfy. The town is great. Lots of good food, including the bar/restaurant on the ground floor. Doordash and Ubers available in town, too. Very restful weekend. Read the history on a section of their web site and other accounts of Benicia and Vallejo. Amazing stories, including the fact that it was the site of the State Capitol for a year or so. Lots of ghosts in this town, including in this hotel. You can feel her in the walls and halls. I'm coming back soon to get to know it more.

We came for breakfast. Great setting and music. Great service and delicious food. We'll be back!read more

I stopped in on Christmas Eve while out for a walk. This place is lovely and the oat milk chai…read morelatte is the best in town. I'm coming back later in the week with my son for their omelet. Service is excellent and friendly.

Booked a place to stay last minute. Generally I don't care for Bed n Breakfast Inns but choices…read morewere limited. This place was awesome!!! Right at the water, old but everything was spotless! Didn't have that old crinkly smell. Every where you looked there was a timeless treasures. The owners were very kind and accommodating,. Bedding soft and cozy. Breakfast had many delicious options. Walk to everything. Great location. Would love to stay here again sometime!

We stayed for one night at the Shore Light Inn on the Benicia waterfront. We were there mid week…read moreand for that one night were the only guests. Yoshi showed us around when we arrived and give us a tour of the various rooms. The rooms feature wonderful Victorian pieces, my wife was in seventh heaven admiring everything! We asked if we could change rooms as the Pink Palace had better views, and Yoshi easily accommodated us - nice! A private parking lot is in the back; you don't have to park on the street. Our room was on the top floor and looked out over the Carquinez Strait. During our stay we loved watching the trains on the opposite shore, the changing tides, Egrets, Bay fog and the distant Carquinez Bridge. It was wonderful enjoying waterfront views without having to drive to the coast. The room featured three armchairs, table and chairs, nightstands with lamps, TV and mini fridge. Three complimentary water bottles were provided. Lovely art prints adorned the walls. The rooms have no air conditioning but they have portable units they can bring in on request. There was a good wind (as is often the case in Benicia) and that was sufficient on this day. The breakfast was amazing: hard boiled eggs (and an offer to make scrambled if we wanted), muffins, Bacon, cereal, rolls/pastries, bagels, cheeses, ham, milk, OJ and mango juice as options. Benicia is a quaint explore, lots of artisan shops. Look in on the One House Bakery for some delish sweets! Just a great stay, wish we could have extended. Look forward to a return visit!

I did stay here for about six months cause I was waiting for my apartment. The owner is very nice…read morenice very clean. The rooms are clean. He did upgrade the rooms for the kitchenette.

I didn't stay there but called to find out about making a reservation. The lady I spoke with has…read morebroken english and she said its $85 a night. I said ok I would like to make a reservation. Apparently they don't take reservations. That is beyond ridiculous. She said she does know who is working on Friday, it's Monday now. So I needed to call back on Thursday to see who is working and see if I can possibly reserve a room. If people are coming from out of town they need to know for a fact they have a place to stay, not hurry up and wait, get there and have to stay in their car because places are booked up.

I booked a room for this weekend to see the Napa Jazz festival. Two nights cost almost $4000 as it…read morewas a room overlooking the stage. This would've been my my third trip to the hotel. I'm familiar with the layout. I get there and they don't have my room. They have a standard room on the other side of the hotel but that's not what I paid for. Then they tell me the room was booked through booking.com. It wasn't. If you call the hotel you're not really calling the hotel . You're calling a third-party service that they use for Reservations. I asked to speak with management and management did nothing for me. Now I'm fighting to get $4000 back. Attitude of management and ownership is horrible. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. Napa is filled with beautiful Hotels & Resorts. I'd suggest Auberge de Solil or Silverado. Both still know how to treat customers.

Visited Vista Collina for a family get-together after an invitation from my brother. I came not…read moreknowing what to expect, and ended up having a great time. The huge outdoor space was perfect for an awesome and chill family outing and picnic. Lots of shaded seating, picnic tables and umbrellas (as well as seating with firepits), right in the middle of the Village... classy yet casual. The large grassy area had plenty of cornhole boards and bean bags as well as other games to keep the kids entertained, and tons of space to run around.  Options for food include The Village food truck with items such and corn dogs and fries, sliced watermelon, and salad ($23 for a caesar salad). There's also a food market (Fivetown Grocery) with hot and cold menu items including sandwiches, breakfast burritos, cheese, chips, giant cookies, and alcoholic beverages. The prices for food are a bit steep, but worth being able to enjoy the beautiful outdoor space at this resort for free, without a reservation and without being a hotel guest. It was the perfect setting for a fun time with loved ones on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and it wasn't crowded at all during my visit. There is plenty of parking at this resort/hotel. And right across is the Meritage Resort and Spa, which apparently gives great massages (according to my family who has experienced it).

This is our stop!! We stop here on every trip to the bay. I ideally drive this far and then my…read morehusband drives us over the bridge and through the maze. I'm not a fan of all that switching of freeways and all that traffic. I've driven it before, but if he's with me he takes over. In my mind I drive halfway. As I said this is our stop. It has everything we need. Plenty of parking. It's always a busy stop but never jammed packed. The truck park on the straight away while the cars park in the lot. The rest stop has two sets of bathrooms. Two for men and two for women and a unisex bathroom . There is always a free stall. This time I walked into the bathroom on the right and a pigeon greeted me so I exited as I didn't want an audience as I did my business. The bathroom on the left was a mess. Either 5 stalls didn't flush or the toilets were backed up. I choose the 6th stall and went in piece. They had 4 rolls of toilet paper. Two were brand new but hard to unravel. One roll was empty and the last had just enough toilet paper for my needs. The rest stop also has picnic benches and a grassy area for kids to run around on, or as a public toilet for your furry friends. If you need a stop I highly suggest this stop.

Only my second time stopping here, but the view is amazing. California roadside rest stops are a…read moremixed bag. Some are beautiful, some are utilitarian. This one has interesting architecture and a phenomenal view. The property is huge with picnic tables down the hill, accessible by stairs or ramp. Felt odd taking pics in the actual restroom, but that is the primary function of the place. Apologies to anyone grossed out.

We had a fantastic stay at Vino Bello resort in Napa! This resort is right behind The Meritage…read moreResort and is apart of the Napa Commons. At check in we got our room key and parking passes, I liked that they also give you a wrist band key which is very convenient if you use the pool and don't want to keep track of the key card. We stayed in a studio unit which is comfortable for 2 people, there is a pull out sofa bed so the room could accommodate 2 more people, with close quarters. The studio room had a washer/dryer available so we were able to do laundry and pack our clothes clean. The resort provides detergent and housekeeping comes every 4th day unless you request otherwise. We had no problem getting extra paper towels and clean towels as needed. When we checked in they asked us to do a do a timeshare presentation at Club Wyndham, which we accepted in exchange for some fun gifts! We enjoyed the jacuzzi several times and the complimentary coffee in the lobby each morning. I think the lobby should switch the coffee stirrers to wooden sticks instead of the plastic ones, because when you dip plastic into hot liquids it releases microplastics, which are not good for our health. There was a complimentary bottle of Vino Bello Gen 7, white wine in our hotel room, (shown in the picture and we liked that as well).The resort offers a shuttle every evening from 4pm-10pm to downtown Napa, it dropped us off on Main & 3rd. Super convenient if you don't want to deal with driving and parking on an evening out. The drop off and pick up location was great and put us within walking distance of many shops, restaurants and bars within the area. The shuttle driver was friendly and able to offer suggestions on where to go for dinner in the area. The last pick up of the evening is at 10pm. If you want to stay out later than 10pm, you could easily order your own Lyft etc on your own. Several evenings we relaxed in the jacuzzi and met other people who were staying at the resort. The resort needs to replace the button on the jacuzzi because we spent more time getting in and out of the water trying to get the bubbles to start, then we did actually soaking. I suggest they replace that silver button with a regular dial or knob that can be turned. For this reason alone I withheld one star.The pool was consistently stocked with clean towels, so there's no issue with drying off after a swim or a soak. Apart from the jacuzzi not turning in at times, we enjoyed the grounds and the hard working staff who keeps everything beautiful and nice for guests. One day the resort offered chocolate day-giving guests free candy, another day they offered freshly popped popcorn and on Friday they offered wine tasting. I tried 2 different wines and both were really nice. I would absolutely stay here again and enjoyed a relaxing and comfortable stay. The resort offers valet service and there is a $7.63/night owner/occupancy tax during your stay, this was explained as part of staying in a tourist destination? Why is there always an extra fee for things you already paid for??? It is evident that they work hard to offer their guests a wonderful getaway! Until next time! Follow @bayareatinygarden on IG for more local finds!

It's been 4 years since I last stayed here and my stay has been great for the most part. We are…read moreShell Vacations owners and was able to use our points to reserve a 1 bedroom. My biggest issue every time I book here is after driving 5-6 hours from LA, I really don't want to have to deal with someone trying to get me to attend an owners meeting. I wish I could just check in and be given my parking pass and keys and be on my way. But instead, after checking in and getting my keys, I have to see the rep to get my parking pass and listen to their pitch. She tried very hard to get me to attend a meeting using all of the sales tricks, but I was not going to bite. I understand she needs to make money, but I wish they would eliminate this process. They now have a new check in area and you no longer have to go into the Meritage Hotel to check in. The check in desk is now in the lobby of the Cabernet building. I'm glad they finally did something to that area. They also added a Valet area that's complimentary for guests. These 2 changes have elevated our experience. Our room was comfy and the king bed was nice and firm. I wished I would have brought my own pillow as these hotel pillows are horrible. They also provide you with a welcome bottle of wine and water bottles. Which you could ask for more when you run out. For some reason though, the left side of the bed smells like sweaty feet. I don't know if they didn't do a good job vacuuming or maybe the water from the tub might have leaked in to the carpet. Also, the outlet against the wall separating the tub and bedroom did not have any power to it. So maybe it could be a leak. I did experience a couple of issues with the TV in the bedroom as when connecting my AppleTV to one of the HDMI ports, it did not allow me to switch to that source. I finally figured it by having to connect my phone to the hotel WiFi and then connecting to the Google Cast and then that activated the HDMI ports to allow me to then switch to the port where my AppleTV was connected. The ports on the TV in the Living room worked fine and allow me to switch to a different port without any issues. Their WiFi here was horrible. I was only able to get about 5-10mbps down, but the upload speed was around 20mbps. They definitely need to upgrade their Wireless infrastructure or at least provide the option to plug in using a network cable. The room for the most part was clean, minus the bedroom smell. Housekeeping still needs to do a better job behind the furnitures. One thing to note, when we came in to our room, I noticed that the patio door was ajar and the sliding door in the bedroom was unlocked. This wouldn't concern me much, however, we were on the first floor and there's a footpath right behind us. Housekeeping really needs to be meticulous about things like this. Overall, I am still happy with our stay here and my stay would definitely be elevated if they fixed the WiFi speed issues.

My school held a prom here, so I went. I've never been to a prom before, so my husband and I were…read moreable to attend and chaperone. This is a cute little spot and it's beautiful inside. They have a full kitchen, however, the company that came up with the food basically went to Safeway and got sandwiches, chips, and sodas. Lame! But not their fault. It just means that there was no need to use the kitchen. The sodas weren't even refrigerated! I didn't see a service entrance so I don't know how they got the food in there. They had a stage and that was a nice place for the DJ to work his magic. If you wanted a live band, that would easily be accommodated because there was a lot of room for the musicians, mikes, instruments, amps and other materials. The floor was bigger than expected. The grounds were beautiful and we were able to get a few pictures in the gazebo on the right side of the building. The left side featured a view of a tennis court, if I remember correctly. The bathrooms were nice and clean too. The main issue is that there is no parking! Absolutely none! And you are in the middle of nowhere. So, some people had to walk a country mile to get to this location. I don't know if I would have an event here. Crocket is not my spot, however, if invited to an event here, I'd make sure to get there very early. My colleague and I were the first two people there and got a parking space out front. Had there been a lot, I would have gladly parked in it.

We were invited to a very large wedding reception. Wow can this place fit a few people. They…read morehave a stage that fit a full mariachi band. I don't know if the sound system is already at the venue or the band brought the sound system but it was loud as all hell in here. There was plenty of room for the dance floor and all of the tables for everyone to eat. Outside there are lovely gardens and seats for mingling inside and out. It was a beautiful wedding reception we attended. If you're looking for nice, simple venue for a receptions check this place out. Its in a quiet quaint little town. You may just like it.