![]() Surprisingly, though, they managed to make up the lost time and only pushed back the opening date by about three weeks, from mid-November to December. But unexpected delays occurred if one crew member suspected infection everyone would have to quarantine for days and test. Social distancing, temperature checks, and masks became routine. Five weeks later, when construction resumed, protocols made normal building procedures more difficult. Gavin Newsom enacted a shelter-in-place order for the entire state as the coronavirus outbreak first hit the U.S. On March 20, everything halted when California Gov. 1, he got to work on programming and staffing. He had opened two hotels before and had spent the past five years at Montage Deer Valley, one of the brand’s most highly awarded properties. Highfield first came to the property in October 2019, when walking around what would be the general spaces for the hotel, like the lobby and restaurants, required a hard hat. The phones were “ringing off the hook,” he says, for rooms that go for $1,000 per night. By the last week in January, Highfield and the rehired staff were more than ready to see guests arrive.Īnd guests did. Of course, COVID-19 pushed that back, first to December, then eventually to Jan. The 130-room property, which is set on 258 acres in the wine country of Sonoma County near the famed Russian River Valley, initially slated the opening for November 2020. While hospitality properties from restaurants to resorts strategized to reopen as COVID-related restrictions eased across the country, Highfield and his team were mobilizing to swing the doors open for the first time. “We had practiced service for 30 days, trained our staff, and unfortunately the first day we were supposed to open the hotel, we had to furlough based on the rules and regulations of California.” 12, which was the day California went into the shelter in place,” Highfield says of the eventful kickoff. Match the service to the setting and the food and it would earn a fourth star.“We were scheduled to open on Dec. The road signs use the Montage logo, which is good for branding, but poor for safety or direction (on the way up we had met a car coming down on the wrong side of a bit of divided road). Apparently, there were three other cars blocking ours in. It took 15 minutes for our car to be returned to us. Having to carry our own drinks and not identifying or describing dishes are lapses that should be fixed. At that kind of price, service should be unimpeachable. Our party of 5 attracted a “large party” fixed 20% service charge.įor the 5 of us, this was a $900 evening. Our server asked the kitchen for help in doing this. We had to ask for the four cheeses on the $32 cheese board to be identified for us. Dishes were delivered to the table by runners, not our server. They were creative and really good.Īll of the food was good, some was excellent. The sommelier was very helpful with guidance to some really good ( if, again, high-priced) local wines. Some of us ordered starters and mains, others just starters. We were not rushed while we finished cocktails and looked at the menu and wine list. Our server was ever present, without being intrusive. We knew that as the restaurant is at Montage, it was bound to be expensive. The menu is very interesting with appetizers ranging from $12-$80 (this latter price was for an appetizer with shaved Alba truffles). Mixed drinks were $19.00…we had to settle our bar tab before carrying our own drinks to the restaurant (déclassé). We arranged to meet our party in the bar. We waited 10 minutes to valet our car (no self parking option). There was a line of cars to get to the front door. Restaurants with Outdoor Seating in Healdsburg. ![]() ![]()
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