Are there any good timeshares in wine country?

[ptprism Member Find all posts View Profile Close ptprism]

We love to visit Napa and Sonoma when we stay in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I never look forward to the long drive back to the city after a day of "tasting." Are there any decent timeshares closer? I know there is one that seems to always be available on II, but it appears to be a converted trailer park and the reviews are horrible.

Yes, I know there are other modes of transportation...that's not the discussion, ok? I want to know if anyone has found any closer timeshares that they would recommend.

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

We stayed at the Worldmark Windsor, and it was great...in the Sonoma valley, good access to many many vineyards, clean and modern.
Connie

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

We stayed at the Worldmark Windsor, and it was great...in the Sonoma valley, good access to many many vineyards, clean and modern.
Connie

Windsor is technically not the Sonoma Valle; though it is in Sonoma County it's in the Russian River valley, not the Sonoma.

But it certainly is conveniently located for winery tours. There are wineries thoughout the area, including Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, Boonville, Napa Valley, Lake County.

Another option further north is Whispering Woods, outside of Portland. Whispering Woods offers good access to the Yamhill County area in Oregon and the wine regions of the Columbia Gorge and the Yakima Valley.

[blr666 Member Find all posts View Profile Close blr666]

I like Vino Bello in Napa. It is Shell Vacations and trades with RCI. We just stayed this past weekend and it was very nice. The 1 bedroom is very spacious and the pools are nice. We did tastings in Rutherford area of Napa and it is about a 15 minutes drive.

[flexible Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close flexible]

Windsor is technically not the Sonoma Valle; though it is in Sonoma County it's There are wineries thoughout the area, including Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, Boonville, Napa Valley, Lake County.

We live over Lake Mendocino. Mendocino County includes Anderson Valley and borders Lake County. I believe there is at least one timeshare on the Mendocino Coast which is very pretty. It would be reasonably close to visit Anderson Valley. There is a timeshare in Clear Lake in Lake County. I think it is a WM.

CAL FIRE Home still lists our county and many more around here as "State of Emergency." It is hard to believe smoke from the fires has lasted since June 20. I don't think anyone would want to come around the California wine country now.

There are several spas with hotels in the wine country. I like Calistoga Hot Springs. I generally go for a massage and use the 3-4 pools each set at different temperatures. Adding a few days to visit a spa and see the wine country would probably be a nice add on to a SFO exchange.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

We live over Lake Mendocino. Mendocino County includes Anderson Valley and borders Lake County. I believe there is at least one timeshare on the Mendocino Coast which is very pretty. It would be reasonably close to visit Anderson Valley. There is a timeshare in Clear Lake in Lake County. I think it is a WM.

When we lived in the SF Bay area, we much preferred areas such as the Anderson Valley and the Russian River area when doing winery tours. Those areas were much less crowded, much less pretentious, and the wine was every bit as good as that being provided in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. In fact, much of the wine that is purveyed by Napa Valley wineries is from grapes grown in locates outside the Napa Valley.

[blr666 Member Find all posts View Profile Close blr666]

If you do end up in Napa Valley. I highly recommend the reserve tasting at Whitehall Lane. It is $25 per person but you taste at a private house in the back of the property and you can do a vertical tasting of the 2001 to 2005 reserve cabernet. It was amazing. Much nicer than trying to get some space at a wine bar along with 20 others. Have fun.

[flexible Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close flexible]

I like Vino Bello in Napa. It is Shell Vacations and trades with RCI. We just stayed this past weekend and it was very nice. The 1 bedroom is very spacious and the pools are nice. We did tastings in Rutherford area of Napa and it is about a 15 minutes drive.

Do you know Vino Bello's Resort number with RCI weeks or RCI Points? I just looked but couldn't find it.

Thanks

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

Windsor

We too are fans of Windsor. A couple years ago our niece was getting married and we used what is called fax time to book a bunch of rooms at Windsor (we are Wolrdmark owners) and we also used some inventory specials. We don't drink but aprox. 50 of the guests went on a few wine tours from there and loved it. Several bought into Worldmark just because of this reason.
Bart

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Do you know Vino Bello's Resort number with RCI weeks or RCI Points? I just looked but couldn't find it.

Thanks

RCI - the largest timeshare vacation exchange network in the world.

It's a points resort. ID # 7917. Have only seen it on-line available a couple of times since it opened thru RCI.

[javanite Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close javanite]

Shell Vacations Club at Vino Bello Resort (#7917)
865 Bordeaux Way
Napa, CA 94558
USA
www.shellvacationsclub.com
707/251-1900

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WorldMark Wine Country Clear Lake (#4987)
3927 E. Highway 20
Nice, CA 95464
USA
WorldMark, The Club
707/274-0118

I like the WorldMark Clear Lake resort, but the surrounding area doesn't have much to offer. It's nice for a weekend, but a week would be too long for me.

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WorldMark Wine Country Sonoma County (#7548)
1251 Shiloh Road
Windsor, CA 95492
USA
WorldMark, The Club
707/836-2420

I like WorldMark Windsor very much. There are lots of units, so an exchange should be pretty easy. Many restaurants within short driving distance. Resort sometimes has a local winery host a wine &cheese reception for the owners one night per week.

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WorldMark Marina Dunes is right on the beach, but no ocean or beach view (it sits behind the sand dunes). Nice resort, but it's small for a 2 bedroom. I wouldn't recommend it for more than 4 adults. Carmel is 15 - 20 minutes away. Only 33 units. Tough exchange.


WorldMark Monterey Bay (#5799)
3295 Dunes Drive
Marina, CA 93933
USA
WorldMark, The Club
831/384-3455

Wine Tasting Map - Monterey Wine Country

Cheers,
Maria
WorldMark owner

[bevvy5 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bevvy5]

If you're not going in prime time, you can also rent Worldmark units at Windsor. I'm doing this - got two - two bedroom units for a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night for $447 each including tax. You can cancel up to two days ahead with a full refund.

You can book full week increments 6 months ahead, and if you want only part of a week, three months ahead.

Bev

[ptprism Member Find all posts View Profile Close ptprism]

Thanks so much for the great ideas. Now I've got to get to work and book something!

[elena Member Find all posts View Profile Close elena]

There's also a resort called Riverpointe in Napa. I believe it's affiliated with II.

[blr666 Member Find all posts View Profile Close blr666]

Hi Bev, did you book directly with Worldmark? Thanks.

If you're not going in prime time, you can also rent Worldmark units at Windsor. I'm doing this - got two - two bedroom units for a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night for $447 each including tax. You can cancel up to two days ahead with a full refund.

You can book full week increments 6 months ahead, and if you want only part of a week, three months ahead.

Bev