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Meadowood
St. Helena, California
Set in its own wooded valley, just outside the town of St.
Helena, this Relais & Chateaux gem started out as a private club for
the Napa Valley community before blossoming as a resort in the 1970s. It
provides a convenient base for touring the Napa Valley wineries, and a tranquil,
creature-comfort-rich place to retreat to when you want to relax.
Meadowood has an excellent and long-serving pro in Doug King,
who's run this seven-court complex since 1984. King played No. 1 for the
University of California at Berkeley and in the late 1970s ranked No. 1 in
the state. He trained under the legendary Tom Stowe, best known as Don Budge's
coach and a man who helped develop the modern game.
Tennis Programs.
Much of the weekly calendar focuses on the needs of the local
membership, and so as a guest you'll generally find more going on than you
might expect of a small property.
During a typical week there are men's and ladies' clinics,
a couple of drop-in social round robins, and in summer weekly junior clinics.
In summer, King also adds a once-a-month three-day midweek adult camp. "We
cover everything from stroke production, drills, match play, singles and
doubles, conditioning," he says of the program. "It's primarily
doubles play with a video program one evening for those who want a serious
hard-core tennis experience."
Courts & Fees.
Meadowood's seven hard courts have been laid out on two terraces
just above the Health Club and its outdoor swimming pools. The upper terrace
holds three courts, oriented northeast-southwest, and a handsome clapboard
pro shop shaded by a huge maple tree and surrounded by a wooden patio that
looks southeast across the lower terrace of four courts oriented the traditional
northwest-southeast. Trees and gardens border the complex, whose wooden fence
posts harmonize with the rest of the resort.
Court fees: $16/couple/day.
Reservations:
Meadowood
900 Meadowood Lane
St. Helena, CA 94574
707-963-3646
Toll-free: 800-458-8080
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