After all the news coverage of the Kinkade Fire in Northern Sonoma County, many are wondering if it’s a good time to visit. Rest assured that Santa Rosa is as stunningly beautiful, safe and inviting as ever. Our hospitality industry—from our wineries, hotels, and parks to attractions and restaurants—is open and ready to welcome you, and really appreciates your patronage.
Thankfully, 99% of the Sonoma County tourism infrastructure was unaffected. When choosing Santa Rosa for your next vacation, you will find nearly a dozen lodging options and many beautiful hiking trails to choose from, including popular Trione – Annadel State Park. You can also discover many acclaimed restaurants, shops, and wineries throughout our community.
Fortunately, Santa Rosa was spared from the direct impact of Kinkade fire and current new hotel projects underway will exceed room inventory levels that were lost in the Tubbs fire in 2017. They include:
AC Hotel by Marriott - located at Davis Street and Highway 101 in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square district in January the 5-story, 144 room AC by Marriott is one of Marriott International’s new upscale lifestyle brands. AC Hotels by Marriott celebrates the beauty of classic modern design with its European soul and Spanish roots. The brand offers concept-driven, turn-key customization of guest rooms and public space design built for a new kind of guest – a creative, entrepreneurial-minded and modern global traveler – who prefers fewer things but expects them to be better than good. The hotel will have a concrete first story, featuring a with the lobby and amenities such as lounge and restaurant on the street level.
La Quinta – Developer Andrew Firestone said he hopes to attract an array of tourists to his new hotel with its convenient location right off Highway 101 on Santa Rosa Avenue. They include vacationing families, to business travelers, to those visiting for a Sonoma Wine Country wedding. Some rooms will be designed to host a family of five. The La Quinta will have a pool, but no dining options. There are, however, many places to eat nearby. “We are trying to cast as wide of a net as possible,” Firestone said. “Our hotel will be a launch point for an adventure in Santa Rosa.”
The AC by Marriott and La Quinta hotel projects represent more than additional lodging for Santa Rosa. The two properties, along with the first phase of the Hotel E that opened this past July in a 111-year-old beaux-arts structure on Old Courthouse Square, mark a milestone. When all three are completed next year, there will be slightly more than 2,000 hotel rooms in Santa Rosa, roughly equal to the number before the October 2017 Tubbs fire wiped out 412 rooms.
“Many of these hotel projects were in the pipeline or in the beginning discussion stage before the fires,” said Peter Rumble, CEO of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, “It’s good to see them all coming together.”
Good news indeed!
