Napa Valley hotel shuttered in coronavirus pandemic to soon be back in business
Las Alcobas Napa Valley, a Marriott luxury property in St. Helena that shuttered a year ago because of the pandemic, will reopen next month as Alila Napa Valley, a Hyatt luxury hotel.
The change takes effect March 1 and the hotel will open for business on March 15, according to Hyatt and property owner Samuel Leizorek.
Leizorek owned Las Alcobas Napa Valley as part of his Las Alcobas Hotel Group, which continues to operate Las Alcobas Mexico City, where the company is headquartered.
Guneet Bajwa, Leizorek’s partner and managing principal at Davis-based Presidio Companies, also remains with Alila Napa Valley. Presidio’s portfolio of about a dozen properties also includes AC Hotel Embarcadero in San Francisco, The White House Inn in Napa Valley, and Hyatt House in Davis, among others.
Alila Napa Valley marks the second Hyatt hotel in Napa Valley. Andaz Napa, a 141-room boutique hotel in downtown Napa, opened in September 2012. Like Andaz Napa, Alila Napa Valley will be part of the World of Hyatt free-membership program.
“In the post-pandemic environment, Alila represented the right platform, with Hyatt’s luxury and lifestyle expertise, and sales and marketing support, to rebrand the hotel,” Leizorek and Bajwa said in a joint statement. “There will be no changes to the design of the property; however, in the future, we will have additional (food and beverage) areas to enhance the outdoor experience.” Those details will be made available once finalized, they said.
Acacia House, the property’s restaurant, will continue to be led by Chef Chris Cosentino.
The 68-room hotel has outdoor terraces and vineyard views, 3,900-square feet of meeting space, an outdoor heated swimming pool and a full-service spa, which has been rebranded as Spa Alila and Fitness Center. The hotel, located at 1915 Main St., is situated next to Beringer Vineyards and was built around a Georgian-style guesthouse originally constructed in 1907.
Presidio Companies and Las Alcobas Hotel Group in 2017 opened Las Alcobas Napa Valley following a multimillion-dollar renovation, as reported by the Business Journal at the time. Las Alcobas Napa Valley was previously known as Grandview Hotel & Spa.
"We are thrilled to welcome the Alila brand to Napa Valley," said Linsey Gallagher, president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley. "With the valley safely reopening to regional leisure travelers, this opening is another step towards the economic recovery for our community and the many residents hospitality employs."
The number of employees at Alila Napa Valley will vary until COVID-19 regulations are lifted, noted Leizorek and Bajwa. The Business Journal reported last spring that 143 employees were laid off when Las Alcobas Napa Valley closed, according to a notice filed to the state Employment Development Department.
Alila Napa Valley is the third Alila-branded hotel in California and the U.S., according to Hyatt. The other two are Ventana Big Sur, an Alila Resort; and Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas, located in San Diego County and also slated to open next month. Hyatt operates 14 Alila properties across a half-dozen countries worldwide.
Cheryl Sarfaty covers tourism, hospitality, health care and education. She previously worked for a Gannett daily newspaper in New Jersey and NJBIZ, the state’s business journal. Cheryl has freelanced for business journals in Sacramento, Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University, Northridge. Reach her at cheryl.sarfaty@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4259.
