A S.
Yelp
I can't speak to the quality of the hotel because we weren't able to visit due to the unfortunate Kincade fire that ignited 10/23/19 evening, which resulted in Sonoma County issuing evacuation orders (our hotel reservations were made for Saturday, 10/26- Sunday,10/27), but I CAN speak to the horrible customer service we received, and hope that by sharing our terrible experience with this hotel you have advanced warning to stay as far away from a hotel that conducts such poor business practices.
Shortly after we learned about the Sonoma County evacuation warnings (we read that the winds were expected to top 80mph on Saturday, that people were being advised that they should get ready to leave, and that the mayor himself was quoted saying, "People are very scared,") I politely wrote the hotel explaining that we were very concerned about our safety - that we wouldn't be able to enjoy our trip given the conditions, and kindly asked if we could reschedule our reservations for a time when it was safe to visit Healdsburg and the surrounding cities and wineries (note, that I said reschedule, not even cancel/refund our money). The next day I received a phone call from the VP of operations (Tom Nelson) claiming that "our comfort was his first priority - that he understood our concerns, and wanted to provide us with the best benefits of our reservation" YET he proceeded to claim that everything we were reading in the media was blown out of proportion, that we were not in any danger, other guests were having a wonderful time, that he would FaceTime me from the property to prove it (seriously?), and that the fire was moving far away from the hotel" so we had nothing to worry about.
I was completely taken aback by his phone call. As a future guest I felt challenged - that my concerns/needs were completely trivialized (obviously the complete opposite of what you should feel as a future guest of a high-end hotel). That said, I fully heard him out and told him I would double check with my partner to confirm whether she would still feel unsafe after I shared this additional information.
After confirming that my partner still felt extremely unsafe and still wanted to reschedule (see attached screenshots of what we were seeing on the news), I called Tom back and requested (this 2nd time) that we cancel our reservations and we receive a refund for the full amount we paid for the hotel (we really wanted to stay at the property in the future, but we honestly were concerned that we would encounter similar negative, defensive interactions with Tom/the hotel so we felt safer asking for a refund and then making a future reservation later).
And then....on top of all this, Tom emails me back continuing to defend his position that everything was completely safe - that the media is exaggerating how unsafe the situation is, and included a link to a news article that he felt was "more balanced." He then noted that our reservation was non-refundable within a 30-day window in advance of our arrival (seriously?). Shortly afterwards I received an email cancellation stating that we would still be charged a $95.00 admin fee. I was completely speechless. It was a health hazard to visit the area! The very next day (the day of our scheduled arrival) we read that Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies were going door to door in Windsor and Healdsburg, ordering people to evacuate the area and placing yellow caution tape on homes... that The Healdsburg Community Center was being evacuated, and that emergency staff was busing out folks who didn't have transportation.
Bottom line, the situation was unfortunate for many reasons: 1) for all residents impacted by the devastating fire, 2) for the way the hotel treated us, 3) for the fact I had to cancel my credit card to get my money back, and 4) for the fact that I noticed the owners Mark and Marie Luzaich were both cc:ed on all emails yet NOT ONCE did they jump in to try to correct this unfortunate situation (note in the "About Us" section they state, "We take great pride in offering our guests a private and personalized experience that will make you feel like you are coming over to stay with family.")
I've taken the time to write out this long, detailed review with the hope that you're well aware of the poor, short-sided decisions this hotel makes at the expense of their guests before you make a hotel reservation here. I highly recommend that you don't waste your time nor your money on this place.
(BTW, see Mattie, Ashland's review on Expedia on 10/27 - the Sunday we would have been at the hotel- "Never stay in this hotel. You will regret. Terrible staff. They never care for you.)