A Collection of New Culinary-Focused Boutique Hotels Is Opening Across Northern California and Utah

A new boutique hotel brand from a celebrity chef and a luxury hospitality veteran is opening several properties across the West, all with an emphasis on food and lifestyle.

The brand, Appellation, is the brainchild of chef Charlie Palmer and Christopher Hunsberger, who spent 16 years of his career in hospitality working for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

The flagship hotel under the nascent brand is slated to open by Labor Day in Healdsburg, California, the same Sonoma County city that Palmer has called home for the past 20 years. This joins Appellation Lodi, which opened earlier this summer as a refresh of the former Wine & Roses Resort and Spa in the Northern California city of Lodi, a wine region that’s starting to come into its own.

Two other hotels will follow over the next 16 months in Morgan Hill, in Northern California’s Silicon Valley area, and Park City, Utah.

Photo by Rachel Weill/Courtesy of Appellation

In the wine world, appellation refers to a geographic region where grapes are grown and to the unique attributes of that region. Similarly, for this hotel concept, each property will focus on the unique attributes of where it is based. (The brand’s logo is a capital A with a dot over it, and the dot represents a waypoint on a map.) The Healdsburg property, for instance, will be surrounded by vineyards and will feature an extensive edible garden steps from the guest rooms. It sits on a bike trail that leads three miles south to the heart of town.

Appellation also will incorporate a huge community element into all its hotels; every property will host regular classes that spotlight local makers, artisans, and growers. These immersive classes, dubbed Crafted, will be free to guests and available to nonguests for a small fee.

Finally, Appellation hotels will have a distinct culinary focus—not surprising, considering the involvement of Palmer, who has 13 restaurants nationwide, including New York City’s Aureole, which has won 13 Michelin stars and two James Beard awards.

“When you walk into these hotels, it will be like you’re walking into someone’s kitchen,” Palmer told Afar. “We want the ability to greet every hotel guest with a cocktail or a little bite of something being made 20 feet away—something that makes them feel right at home.”

Hunsberger agreed. “Food connects us, people power us, and place defines us,” he said. “We didn’t want to do just another hotel company where the second and third and fourth hotel all felt the same. We wanted to do a deep dive, where every property reflects a unique destination and a unique sense of place.”

Here’s a quick look at what’s in store for Appellation hotels, which will have classic resort amenities, including pools, spas, and gym facilities, in addition to the details outlined below.

Courtesy of Appellation

Appellation Lodi

Palmer and Hunsberger took over the six-and-a-half-acre Wine & Roses Resort and Spa in this Central Valley city in 2024, modernizing the technology and design of the 66 rooms and suites that range in size from 210 to 1,025 square feet. Appellation also completely overhauled the on-site restaurant, relaunching it as Americana House, a new dining experience that spotlights locally grown produce such as baby artichokes; the wine list celebrates the very underrated Lodi wines, such as old-vine zinfandel and sauvignon blanc. Eventually, guests will be able to dine at a chef’s counter, where they can watch the chefs (occasionally including Palmer himself) work their magic.

Courtesy of Appellation

Appellation Healdsburg

When it opens in September, this 108-room hotel will become the flagship resort of the entire company. Accommodations ranging from 300-square-foot rooms to 1,160-square-foot suites will be chic yet minimalist, with built-in storage for rolling suitcases and artwork and other accents that evoke vineyard scenes. The main building on the eight-and-a-half-acre property will house Folia Bar & Kitchen, a new restaurant highlighting locally caught seafood, and Andys Beeline, a rooftop bar with views of vineyards in the distance. The Grange, a versatile event space designed to look like a barn, will host events for the community.

Courtesy of Appellation

Appellation MoHi

Morgan Hill is a burgeoning city south of San Jose at the northern tip of the Salinas Valley, a region renowned for its agriculture. When it opens in spring 2026, the Appellation hotel here will celebrate this heritage. All 76 rooms will have an ag motif, and several of the property’s dining concepts will incorporate local produce into food and drinks alike. The hotel also will remain closely connected to the community; the property sits right in the center of downtown Morgan Hill, enabling guests to explore the ample restaurants, quaint coffee shops, and eclectic boutiques on foot.

Courtesy of Appellation

Ameyalli by Appellation

This resort, which will open in 2026 on 78 acres outside Park City, is a partnership with author and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra, who will be in residence for several months of the year and will hold seminars and workshops on-site. Accommodations will comprise 80 hotel rooms and 23 cottages with one or two bedrooms. The heart of this property will be a 50,000-square-foot wellness center, including a destination spa fed by water from ancient mineral springs. One restaurant will round out the amenities; details on the concept are still being finalized.

Future growth

Down the road—likely sometime in 2027—Appellation will open a fifth hotel in Pacific Grove, California, off of Monterey Bay. The company also has plans to build a property in Petaluma, California, another up-and-coming Sonoma County city with strong wine and culinary chops. Just like their predecessors, these hotels will be designed to reflect the destinations around them.

“Everybody talks about local, and we want to do it in a way that’s never been done before,” said Palmer. “We feel we can achieve that kind of authenticity from day one.”