August 5-6 2013
Our first yet NOT last stay at The Inn at Opolo. WOW!!
We fell in love with the Mountain Zinfandel in 09, as a happy accident at The Salt Creek Grill in Valencia CA. In search of this wine online, we discovered The Inn and Vineyards up in Paso Robles. We've been wanting to get there for years, and finally made it happen.
This was my hubby's birth week, so I wanted it to be special. We booked a Wine Tour the 1st day, so we could relax & enjoy the Inn completely day 2. I requested an early check in, as our wine tour pick up was @ 10:30. They had no problem with an early arrival. We arrived at 9 am. Rafael was very helpful. He gave us our room key & gate clicker, in case we got back after 5pm. He showed us around the premises & use of the kitchen facility. He showed where to order our breakfast. Basically we could order whatever we want or everything we wanted. Fresh blueberry pancakes are delicious as well as the eggs benedict with fresh spinach and sautéed mushrooms. It's basically like ordering room service, the night before and you tell them when and where you want to eat. Each morning they set our table for two with fresh flowers at a window table, overlooking the patio deck, gardens & tree with swings. They delivered FRESH baked large chocolate chip cookies to the room.
In our room we found our favorite bottle of Mountain zin with 2 wine glasses, wine opener and fresh flowers. Fluffy pillows and the BED is extremely comfortable. We slept GREAT. Also, iphone charger station in room. The rooms are exactly what you see in the photos on the web side. No bait and switch here.
In the kitchen was a large basket of fresh fruit, crackers, evening bottle of wine. The refrigerator was stocked with a variety of sodas, bottled water, bottles of sparkling Pellegrino, and flavored creamer. They also have a COFFEE MAKER Machine. It has 8 options: black, coffee lite, decaf, cappuccino, chai tea, hot chocolate, espresso, café mocha,. What's really nice,it's a simple push of a button, the coffee beans are ground fresh, & beverage isn't extremely hot, so you can start drinking right away. Probably one of my favorite amenities there, next to Mt. Zin.
After a day of wine tasting, we got back to our room. Upon my request, I had asked Rafael if they could sneak into our room, and place a surprise birthday gift on the bed. It was hidden in my suit case. They delivered, and surprised us with a bottle of Opolo champagne. How very sweet. We popped the champagne, while he opened his gift. We took a walk to the kitchen to see what food we had waiting in the fridge.
There was a large plate of seared ahi tuna, on a bed of kale, with dipping soy, fresh grapes, a variety of berries, cheeses, olives and crackers. After some swing time out front, we grabbed our dinner, the bottle of wine, glasses and jumped on a golf cart. We drove to the top of the vineyards. On the way spotted a group of deer on the walnut orchard side of the fence. The food was delicious and hit the spot for a long day of wine tasting. We took a lot of pictures of the sunset. Very romantic, and private place to just sit and soak in the scenery. It got a little chilly so it was time to head back to the room.
Apparently, I rinsed off the plate and put it in the dishwasher (wine makes you forget), then grabbed a café mocha to warm up and we headed to bed. We stayed in the Mourvedre Room. I woke up in the middle of the night and was hot, so I opened the entry door and the French doors to get a cross breeze. OMG it was FABULOUS. They have AC, it was working just fine, but I chose the FRESH cool night air. I could hear a lot of the wild life, owls hooting & coyotes howling. I felt safe, even with wide open doors. That night it just felt like it was us and nature, although there was another couple in the room next door. They were very quiet. Our room also has a window with a screen.
Second morning, like the 1st, in the kitchen waiting was our table set up with 1st class place settings. Fresh orange juice and mimosa (if you wish). The portions are large, so if you want to try them all, I suggest sharing plates, or simply asking them to make the portions smaller so you don't waste good food.
We weren't sure how they knew when to service your room. There was no (do not disturb) cards to place on the door knobs. It's such a small B&B I guess they just KNOW, when you leave the property. We came back after having lunch in town, and the room was clean, beds made and towels replaced.
You get free wine tasting as a guests at the Inn. However it's only $5 to taste, and it's waived if you buy. I can't imagine NOT buying. Their wines are the BEST. We started at Opolo and went to 7 others tasting rooms and it was all down hill from there. We got the VIP tour from Zach. Annie, Emily & Roger were all VERY helpful and informed in the tasting room.
We got to meet the owner Rick Quinn and his son. Very nice people. You can't go wrong with Opolo anything. read more