T+L’s First In Hotel Review of Appellation Healdsburg in Sonoma County, California

Appellation Healdsburg – The newest outpost of the Appellation Hotels portfolio, developed by former Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts chief people officer, celebrity chef Charlie Palmer and Christopher Hunsberger, bills itself as a “pure hotel.” It’s the hospitality side of the trend that sounds like an empty promise, like describing a resort as “wellness-oriented” because it has a well-equipped gym. What exactly is a culinary hotel?

Appellant Healdsburg responded to this question as soon as I reached it. Walking into the hotel lobby is like stepping into the open kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant.

In lieu of a standard welcome drink, my 15-month-old son, Roy, and I were offered an amuse bouche when we checked in: with radishes from the garden. Beer escargot . The check-in desk resembles a butcher block island with a wine fridge stocked with built-in Knightsbridge wines. To our left: a host stand, a glass wine room, and an open Garde Manger A heavy-wheeled case station for cured meats, terrines, and Touma at Point Reyes Farmstead. Beyond that there was a full view into the kitchen, to the open hearth burning California oak to the wood-fired entry in the Folia restaurant.

A few hours after settling in, as my brother, sister-in-law, and 10-month-old nephew joined us, we ventured into Olive Grove for the wine tasting they host every Friday night. In full view of Folia Folia’s firepit-strewn patio under a canopy of trees, the planters where the hotel sources produce for the restaurant, and the newly planted Pinot Noir vines—we met the winemakers from Cast Wines. The tasting brought us from a bright Blanc de Blanc to a decadent Cabernet Sauvignon made with grapes from the Alexander Valley, just north of Healdsburg.

We wandered from Olive Grove to Folia, the first restaurant of Palmer’s youngest son, Red Palmer. Adults start with Charlie Palmer Cove, grilled Hog Island oysters with a Corone sauce (eg, béarnaise plus tomato), and ‘Naduja croquettes with meat from Healdsburg’s Traveler Meat Co. Savory Bread Pudding Kids, where pickled scraps are soaked in fish broth and then dusted with bonito flakes and Gruyère cheese.

Over the course of the next three days, we spent an inordinate amount of time at Folia Restaurant, partly out of convenience, but mostly because the entire menu was worth trying. There were a couple of misses: I maintain that the burger, while carefully shaped in a custom press, is in Sando Purgatory, hovering between a smashing burger and a thick, ’90s-barbecue-style patty, and the wine list by the glass could benefit from more local inclusion. But between punchy house pickles, a Los Angeles Spanish lobster roll, wood-fired New York strip, and a distinctly savory cognac squash pasta, we were well set and never aching for variation.

One evening, we paired our meal with a skin-to-skin melon de Bourgogne from Sonoma County’s Ra Rao Company, and at lunch the next day—after my sister-in-law and I ran a half-marathon through the Napa Woods, against my better judgment—we chose a Williams Salem Pinot Noir from nearby Russian Valley.

“The intention is that this hotel is unlike anything else in the area,” said Charlie Palmer. Travel + Leisure. “In 18 months or two years, we will be completely estate-based, meaning all the produce we use on the property will be grown on the property.” He notes there are others in the area on a similar route (three Michelin-starred Single Thread), but says the appellation Healdsburg will be set apart by the number of guests it can accommodate and the events it hosts. .

“It’s the right size — 108 rooms and it’s dense enough that you don’t need golf carts, which is a common complaint at nearby hotels,” says Palmer. “You can easily walk from your room to the restaurant, spa and both pools.” His plan with Hunsberger is to open eight Appellation hotels over the next five years. It also includes those in Healdsburg and Lodi, which began welcoming guests last summer.

I’ve stayed at about 15 luxury hotels between Sonoma and Napa, and have covered most of the newer openings in the area. Generally, the level of hospitality depends on the nightly room rate. The Appellation Healdsburg’s price is high, yet it provides a level of hospitality that rivals hotels charging four figures per night. The staff is deeply kind, helpful and thoughtful in a way that shows they are well cared for and trained at Sonoma Biz: The Palmer Family. Charlie Palmer is credited with putting Sonoma fine dining on the map 24 years ago, with the opening of Dry Creek Kitchen, still one of Healdsburg’s best restaurants. He is known locally for his commitment to developing his community, which shows in the way guests are treated at this hotel.

Here, my full review of the Appellation Healdsburg, is a great example of why this emerging hotel brand is one to watch in Northern California.

The room

The Appellation Healdsburg’s 108 guestrooms include nine suites and 300-square-foot entry-level superior kings to the 1,500-square-foot two-bedroom Appellation Suite.

My family and I stayed in the Healdsburg Suite with adjoining rooms, so we had a functional two-bedroom apartment with a dining table, a kitchen, and a total of three bathrooms. But the highlight was the amazing balcony overlooking the hotel’s surrounding gardens, restaurants, and Pinot Noir vines.

I enjoyed our location, as it was close to the patio gathering area, Olive Grove and restaurants. That said, families with older children might prefer a room next to the main pool. A group of young couples from Los Angeles, all attending a wedding at a nearby resort, chose a block of rooms near the tranquil pool, which caters mostly to adults and is next to the spa.

Eating and drinking

The Folia restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the Andes Linen, a swanker lounge, is open only in the evenings on the third floor of the hotel’s main building. Andes has comfortable blue velvet banquettes for outdoor balcony seating or, inside, under a cluster of globular light fixtures. Come for the cocktails and light bites — ceviche, caviar toast, and the like — but stay for my favorite design element throughout the hotel: the endless bottles of gin. Above the bar, there are two rows of bottles, with a two-way mirror between them and an infinity mirror behind the second row. The effect is a never-ending collection of gin bottles and, although it looks more martini than professional, it’s a downright charming piece of art.

Activities and experiences

Events like on-site tastings with winemakers, artist residencies, and coveted wineries have become de rigueur at Napa and Sonoma hotels. However, what sets the appeal apart are the relationships the hotel has developed with Sonoma wineries. Charlie Palmer Hotel benefits guest level access at the time of booking. “We’ll pull out all the stops to squeeze someone out of the appellation,” says Kelly Bailey, co-owner of Knightsbridge Winery, where my brother, sister-in-law, and I tasted big chardonnays and surprisingly oaky sauvignon blancs after leaving our kids with a babysitter arranged by the hotel. We also tasted at Bercoulere Vineyards – another winery in close partnership with the hotel – which I recommend to fans of Sonoma Pinot Noir. And Families.

Crafted, Appellation Hotels’ seasonal program of on-site classes and workshops connects guests with local artists and craftmakers through activities such as quilting workshops and pie tastings. Each activity is paired with wine and small bites – it’s a culinary hotel, have you heard?

Finally, there are two pools, the larger of which will soon have a taco truck and ice cream truck serving it. It will have ice cream sandwiches, a Bay Area staple, as well as an indoor-outdoor gym that an athlete might need.

Family friendly offerings

Yes, a cutting station may be the first thing you see when you walk into a hotel, but this has to be the most family-friendly property I’ve ever stayed at in wine country. And it’s not because the menu caters to kids (in fact, I can see how bread in fish stock might taste like stock on sticks). This is because the staff is very well trained and ready to help. Every morning, when we arrived for breakfast, a server brought out a bowl of blueberries to immediately entertain the two children. Many curated experiences are welcoming even the little ones. Hotel staff can arrange wine tastings at vineyards that welcome children, as they did for our party.

Spa

After a trail half-marathon, my sister-in-law and I tried to “wine down” at the spa, which included a wonderful evening foot soak with wine or tea (I chose floral tea), a jade face mask, and a Nod Pod weighted blanket. It was heavenly.

It’s worth noting that the facial program is particularly impressive as Appellation Spa uses innate beauty skincare products, which are oil-based (a rarity) and made with all-natural botanicals grown in the UK, a suite of products that I’ve yet to encounter anywhere else.

Access and stability

There are fully ADA-compliant guest rooms and suites, including 345-square-foot Accessible Deluxe Queen Rooms with two queen beds and 300-square-foot Accessible Deluxe King Rooms, with ample outdoor space, designed with accessibility in mind, with ADA-build capabilities for all guest websites. “Unlike many wine country hotels, this property is largely flat and accessible to guests with mobility issues.

As for sustainability, the restaurant works almost entirely with small farms and local meat producers for ingredients not sourced from the hotel grounds. It also has menu items that specifically use scraps that would otherwise be thrown away.

location

The hotel sits in a scenic area of ​​northern Sonoma County, in the North Village of Healdsburg. Charles M. Skills – Sonoma County Airport (STS) in Santa Rosa, California is 12 miles from the hotel. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is approximately 84 miles south, and the hotel can assist with transfers from either airport.

Downtown Healdsburg, with all its art galleries, shops, restaurants and tasting rooms, is about two miles away. A house car is available to transport guests to the hotel and to nearby attractions and tasting rooms.

Book now

Appellation Hotels does not have a points-based loyalty program. For current offers and packages, visit the Appellation Healdsburg website.

Nightly rates at Appellation Healdsburg start at $509.

Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selection aligns with our core values.