What struck me most about my stay at Appellation Healdsburg was how it’s family friendly in a different way than most hotels. There are no waterslides at the pool or chicken fingers at the hotel restaurant. Instead, the hotel creates spaces for family connection and room for everyone to be delighted together.
It makes sense, that this upscale, culinary-focused hotel also nails the family-friendly details. That’s because the hotel is, in part, a family endeavor, a way for Chef Charlie Palmer to channel his decades of hospitality expertise while staying close to home, and a place where he and his son Reed Palmer work side by side in the hotel’s large culinary garden and in the kitchen at Folia, Appellation’s destination restaurant.
Layout and details
Though it’s best known as a wine and food destination, Healdsburg in general and Appellation Healdsburg specifically are a good fit for families. At the hotel, the Foss pool is at the heart of the family experience. My room looked out on the pool, and as I was sitting out on my balcony (more on that later), I noticed this connection-based take on family friendly here too. It’s not a pool noodles and hot dogs sort of scene, but its relaxed and welcoming vibe makes magic that gets families playing in the pool together, lounging and talking on the pool deck, and just generally enjoying sunshine and downtime together.
Rooms were imagined with families in mind as well, too. Suites have optional adjoining rooms for larger families, and a number of standard rooms are able to be connected via a door that turns two rooms into two rooms connected via a shared private entryway. Rooms open out onto balconies that, with the help of wide-opening sliding doors, feel like an extension of guest rooms.
Something I appreciated as I strolled the grounds was how many beautifully arranged spots set the stage for connection. While nothing felt forced, there were plenty of places perfect for lingering over board games or wine (or both), sitting around the fire pit at night, or wandering through the hotel’s culinary garden. And easy access to nature directly from the hotel makes it simple to go for a hike (or, if a hike is the last thing your kids want, a leisurely stroll to look for wildlife or bugs or watch the sunset).
Kids can join in on local-artist-led Crafted classes, getting hands-on with activities like vintage postcard embroidery (I did this one and though I don’t sew, found it really fun), Japanese paper marbling, and olive oil blending. Class age minimums are based on activity; here’s the full schedule. The hotel also has adult-sized bikes perfect for outings for families with bigger kids on Healdsburg’s network of trails families.
Appellation’s excellent spa is the ultimate parent-teen treat-yourself moment. Treatments start with a blissful foot soak and, since the standard base treatment time is 75 minutes, nothing feels rushed. Teens under 18 can book massages but an adult needs to accompany them in the room, or can do teen facials without an adult present.
Culinary-focused and family-friendly? Yes
There are no kid menus but what you’ll find at Folia, the hotel’s main restaurant, are plenty of kid-pleasing dishes on the menu for every meal of the day. For parents with a love of food who are hoping to inspire it in the next generation, it’s a perfect fit.
Kid-fave menu items include the koginut squash pasta, which has all the creamy joy of mac and cheese with an elevated twist from squash (blended, so kids won’t have texture issues with it) and a brown-butter richness. The cheeseburger (which might need a little selective topping removal for pickier kids) offers kids (and, let’s be real, adults too) a taste of what a burger can be and rarely is.
Other menu items rotate, and the kind, warm staff can help with suggestions and substitutions. Here, connecting around the table is the ultimate family activity, and the staff is dedicated to making that happen for families.
Things to do in Healdsburg with kids
In summer, the Russian River, which flows through town, is a hot spot for swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding, and Veterans Memorial Beach is a popular spot for locals and visitors alike. Bike trails make it seamless to get from the hotel to downtown and beyond. And the Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve has plenty of easy hikes throughout its 155 acres of beautiful Northern California oak woodlands.
Downtown, the square is a great place to go for ice cream and to let younger kids run around. Farther afield, many local wineries are super kid friendly, Bricoleur in nearby Windsor (about a 15-minute drive from downtown) is both kid- and dog-friendly, and has activities like lawn and board games, scavenger hunts, and catch-and-release fishing.
