Famed Chef and Luxury Hotelier Be a part of to Kind Culinary Resort Model
It’s a compelling recipe. Deliver jointly a movie star chef, a veteran luxury resort govt and a area famed for its food items and wine.
The effects of that combination will be all set to sample in 2026 with the opening of Appellation Petaluma, a 93-area luxury boutique lodge in the coronary heart of a city that is usually termed the Gateway to Sonoma in California’s Wine Place.
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In their first trade interview about the resort, Charlie Palmer, co-founder and CEO of Appellation, a new resort brand name and Christopher Hunsberger, co-founder and chief operations officer, advised TravelPulse that they the two reside in close by Healdsburg (household to an additional Appellation resort scheduled to open following year) and intend to carry a one of a kind solution to the region which they connect with “experiential luxury.”
Palmer is a James Beard Award-successful chef and Hunsberger was president of the Americas at 4 Seasons Motels & Resorts.

The Petaluma home is the fourth announced by Appellation. The other individuals are in Sun Valley, Idaho Pacific Grove, Calif and Healdsburg. The brand title indicates “to give a identify to a place” and the mission, in accordance to the founders, is to create the initial hotel manufacturer born for the merger of culinary and hospitality. The company’s lodge in Healdsburg will imply the operator will be able to “bookend” the vacation spot for all those coming to Sonoma for several days.
With a locale nearer to San Francisco than other Wine State towns (an hour’s push), said Palmer, Petaluma is a normal for what the lodge intends to provide. That will include things like the prospect for attendees to rub shoulders with the persons who are earning wine, increasing food stuff and are usually involved in the culinary scene. He said the home will be in the center of town with “a rooftop restaurant second to none.”
According to Hunsberger, irrespective of its renown, Petaluma is underserved as far as the kind of “approachable luxury” that the Appellation Petaluma will present. He mentioned the hotel “will elevate the perception of place” by way of design and programming and rejoice the richness of the destination’s society.
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For the next pair of many years as the lodge goes through regulatory procedures and building, said Hunsberger, his crew will be creating anticipation in the trade and amongst customers about the opening. Portion of that buildup, he said, will be staging Crafted at Appellation programming in other venues in Petaluma to engage the nearby local community and activate the spot.
Crafted at Appellation is the brand’s experiential understanding system, “It is just as crucial for us to connect with the nearby local community as with the touring community, “ said Hunsberger.
When it opens, Appellation Petaluma will host a comprehensive calendar of functions for friends and locals via Crafted at Appellation gatherings in partnership with community makers and artisans.
Palmer mentioned he has spent many several years building relationships with area growers, farmers and makers in a locale that prizes generational agriculture, innovation and creativeness – and that is home to renowned producers of large-excellent meals and wine, as very well as remaining an inventive and cultural center.
Ebbie Nakhjavani, CEO of EKN Growth Team, which is establishing the hotel and selected Appellation as the hotel’s operator, mentioned that promptly on assembly with Palmer and Hunsberger, “we understood it was meant to be that we would do the job jointly.”
Compared with with a lot of inns when a administration firm is hired and then loses the vision as it focuses on financial overall performance, explained Nakhjavani, Appellation will sustain its eyesight via the coming years. In addition, he explained, the undertaking is a joint enterprise with the two co-founders so all events have a stake in its high-quality and good results. He reported the current market for the destination is by now strong and achievements is only a make any difference of capturing marketplace share.
As visitors enter the lobby, stated Nakhjavani, they will be strolling into a culinary scene. There will be a window into the ground floor restaurant’s kitchen. With a feeling that is equal areas metropolis and equivalent portion place, he said, “the visitor will relax immediately due to the fact they will be immersed in the setting and having fun with where they are.”
As with all Appellation houses, the culinary encounter in Petaluma will go properly over and above the hotel’s foods and beverage venues. Foodstuff-concentrated facilities and programming will be blended into every single component of the lodge, many of which will embrace the destination’s bourgeoning culinary scene. For illustration, the resorts will feature a pantry on each individual flooring that is an alternative to the mini-bar, with a a lot more expanded presenting. That might be the day’s cocktail combine or a “proper cup of coffee” and tea. It will be a a lot a lot more elevated encounter shipped by advanced devices
And, claimed Nakhjavani. “Honoring Petaluma’s loaded arts scene, we will commit above $500,000 in artwork like exclusively commissioned signature items from area artists that will be obtainable to everybody in the community.”
The target of all these attempts, mentioned Palmer, is to give company with the prospect to sense what it’s like to stay in Petaluma throughout their remain, even if it’s only for a few times. He mentioned that so lots of readers say they would enjoy to stay in the town and for 99% of them that is not going to come about “but they can experience it for the length of their time at the hotel.”
