By Tali Jaffe-Minor
Start your Healdsburg getaway by checking into Appellation Healdsburg, recently named Travel + Leisure’s top California resort.
If one wants to understand what makes the Northern Sonoma town of Healdsburg so singular, it begins with the land itself. Healdsburg sits at the convergence of three major wine-producing valleys: Alexander, Russian River, and Dry Creek. Here, varied soil and shifting micro-climates shape not only the grapes, but the wider agricultural bounty that has long defined the region. It is this deep sense of place that inspired celebrated Chef Charlie Palmer and longtime hospitality executive Christopher Hunsberger to create Appellation Hotels, and its flagship, Appellation Healdsburg.
Here, hospitality begins before you even check in. Ahead of your stay, guests are invited to share a few details about themselves: dietary preferences, special interests, or the kinds of wineries they gravitate toward. Our answers included a preference for pinot, and my children’s budding fascination in the kitchen (thank you, Ratatouille).
Upon arrival, the kids were handed goodie bags stocked with coloring books, notebooks, and fruit-charm keychains before being ushered into the kitchen, where preparations for evening service at Folia Bar & Kitchen, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, were underway. Chef de Cuisine Reed Palmer (yes, that Palmer) greeted them warmly, offered shelled peas to snack on, then toured them around his kitchen with the enthusiasm of a camp counselor.
Locally sourced dishes at Folia Bar & Kitchen; photo by Emma Kruch.
It’s clear that for this culinary-centric brand, the kitchen is the heartbeat. In fact, guests enter not through a vast lobby, but via the lounge area of Folia. A discreet reception nook akin to a convivial kitchen counter (a welcome dish—potato croquettes with crème fraîche one day, a berry crumble another—as well as a generous splash of local wine, are offered before any talk of credit cards is exchanged) immediately sets the tone for the kind of approachable luxury experience that Hunsberger and Palmer have designed.
“We wanted to create a hotel collection powered by people, connected by food, and defined by place,” says Hunsberger. “We’re very focused on an elevated guest experience, but in a more relaxed, natural and less scripted way.”
The living area of the Appellation two-bedroom suite; photo by Dylan Patrick.
In the rooms, appointed in a classic Northern California fashion—earthy tones, natural materials, contemporary with lots of soul—thoughtful nods to the region help one become fluent in the local language.
Grounding is a big part of the Appellation philosophy. At Terroir Spa, each treatment begins with a 30-minute foot bath enjoyed in a lounge that looks out over a circular patio centered around a gnarled, 100-year-old olive tree. Guests are offered a cooling rose quartz eye mask, as well as a weighted neck pillow that effectively forces you to surrender.
To further the destination immersion that Appellation is rooted in—the name is a clever play, most often used to refer to a specific grape-growing region, or AVA (American Viticultural Area)—the hotel has created Crafted, a series of workshops led by local makers and artisans. These include ikebana with a local floral designer, a blind honey tasting with a revered beekeeper, and a monthly sound bath and guided meditation.
And then of course there is the hyper-local menu at Folia, which spotlights many of the area’s purveyors, as well as its own garden with a prix-fixe menu Thursday through Saturday, and an a la carte option Sunday through Wednesday. “We want the restaurant to be the living room of the community,” says Charlie Palmer, a longtime resident of Healdsburg. Adds Hunsberger, “When we travel, we want to go where the locals go, and we think a lot of travelers feel that way.”
It just so happens that you’re in Healdsburg, where the locals—winemakers, vineyard hands, celebrated chefs, and stewards of the land alike—all have a seat at the same table.
What to Pack
Channel wine country casual with classic looks that are anything but precious.
Exploring Healdsburg with the Locals
Get to know Healdsburg by way of some of its leading makers: SingleThread’s Katina and Kyle Connaughton, Aperture Cellars’s Jesse Katz, and fourth-generation Healdsburgian, Chef Dustin Valette.
Jesse Katz doesn’t mince words. “I truly think Healdsburg is the incubator right now for artistic minds—for those doing it at the top level in the culinary, hospitality, and wine spaces,” says the 43-year–old winemaker and founder of Aperture Cellars. “You can redefine yourself here. You can find sites, like this one, that have never been farmed before.” And in his case, create lots of 100-point wines; his 2020 Del Rio Vineyard was the first perfect 100-point Alexander Valley cabernet sauvignon. Katz, who was named Wine Enthusiast’s 2025 Winemaker of the Year, is also responsible for the new Montage Estate wines, whose grapes are harvested from the vines he planted at Montage Healdsburg in 2019. Capture the latest release, a rosé, exclusively at Montage and Pendry Hotels, or visit his striking tasting room for the full Aperture experience.
SingleThread’s Kyle and Katina Connaughton.
Kyle and Katina Connaughton are the husband–and–wife team behind SingleThread, a three Michelin–starred restaurant, inn, and farm, as well as the recently opened SoNoMa in Kyoto. In a twist on farm-to-table, their guests are encouraged to visit SingleThread’s Farm. “We feel very fortunate to be a part of the fabric of this agricultural community,” says Katina, who runs the farm and produces the incredible florals that transform the restaurant in dialogue with the menu. “We bring people to the farm to connect them with seasonality and locality.” Adds Chef Kyle, “It’s a really special community with a great connection between what we do here, the farm, the winemakers, and the artisans. You might come have a wine here for the first time, and then tomorrow you can end up meeting the winemaker—at Reeve, or Aperture, or LIOCO. Things sort of just unfold here.”
Chef Dustin Valette; photo by Michael Woolsey.
Dustin Valette is a fourth-generation resident of Healdsburg, and the chef and owner of two of its beloved restaurants, The Matheson and Michelin-starred Valette. Here, he offers up 10 things one must do when visiting Healdsburg:
- Sit at the Plaza and enjoy the local company around you.
- Order the Trust Me tasting menu at Valette. Hand over the decision. Let us cook for you.
- Walk down Matheson Street at dusk, look up at Roof 106, then go up there. Sit by the fire pits and watch the Plaza below.
- Drive Westside Road through the Russian River Valley in the morning. Pull over wherever you feel like it.
- Take the 116 out through the redwoods, all the way to the coast, then up to Hog Island Oyster Company in Marshall. Shuck oysters on the water. That drive and that meal will stay with you.
- Visit Dry Creek Valley on a Tuesday. No crowds, just the vines.
- Go to the Healdsburg Farmers Market on a Saturday morning. Talk to the farmers. Learn where your food comes from.
- Open a bottle of Valette Wines on a porch somewhere with a view. Let the afternoon go.
- Swim in the Russian River at Veterans Memorial Beach. If you grew up here, you’ll recognize it immediately.
- Stay long enough that the second day feels different than the first.
Side Trip
Dawn Ranch is a magical escape where the Redwoods meet the Russian River.
Just 30 minutes due west of Healdsburg is the quirky town of Guerneville, which has for decades maintained a free-spirited river resort vibe. At Dawn Ranch, that bohemian spirit takes an unmistakably luxurious turn. The 22-acre enclave offers myriad accommodations, from cabins and chalets to secluded bungalows in their own redwood grove. For those who want to really slow down and melt into the sounds, scents, and stillness of this enchanted region, the Spa Cottage is your sanctuary away from home. Beginning with the private courtyard entrance outfitted with a handcrafted redwood soaking tub and fire pit to the Le Labo bath products and in-room HigherDose infrared therapy mat, the message is clear: Make time for you. Pop into the spa next door to enjoy a treatment, or take a vial of Cause Medic CBD and lavender bath salts back to your own tub, and you might just miss your late checkout.
