New Culinary-First Hotel Brand Appellation Served Up by 2 Hospitality Veterans
Photo Credit: The Appellation in Healdsburg, California, will be one of three opening under the brand that will stand for culinary-first. Appellation
Skift Take
It’s been 10 years since Nobu hotels launched, and the hospitality landscape is primed for another chef-owned brand to offer immersive culinary – and cultural – experiences.
What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas for chef Charlie Palmer and former Four Seasons executive Christopher Hunsberger.
It was there the two first collaborated and the seed was planted to someday launch a luxury “culinary-first” hotel brand. But the idea took almost two decades to grow into Appellation, the concept they shared in a trade-exclusive launch interview with Skift. The first three locations set to open soon — unspoiled swaths in Sun Valley, Idaho and Healdsburg (2023), and Pacific Grove, California (2024) — couldn’t be further than the glitz of the City of Sin.
“Of all places that aren’t Appellation-like, it’s Vegas,” said Palmer, laughing. Meaning “to give name to a place,” the term “appellation” is most commonly used as a geographic distinction to identify where grapes and other types of food are grown or raised. Guests of Palmer and Hunsberger will be able to immerse themselves in the rolling hills of w
