First Wine Road Stop: The Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza
The perfect location for being right in the heart of Healdsburg: right on the Healdsburg Plaza, upstairs with a nice vista, a great combination of Victorian atmosphere and modern amenities and comfort, lovely common breakfast salon, warm innkeepers Jennifer and Wanda- yes, my first stop is the Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza. I remember this Inn from 1982 when it was owned and renovated by Jenny Jenkins, a long-ago supporter of Wine Road. Now the Inn has undergone a complete renovation and transformation and is one of the Four Sisters Inns. Warm inn, caring staff, comfortable accommodations, smashing breakfast- here are Jennifer and Wanda while we are working together at the front desk:
Wanda and Jennifer at the Front Desk, Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza
Next stop is 2 blocks off the Plaza: Camellia Inn!
The Pool @ Camellia Inn!
I meet with Lucy Lewand, Innkeeper- she is very busy- guests are coming and going and she is guiding them to their rooms as well as acting as concierge as they head out along the Wine Road and, later, for dinner. I first met Lucy’s parents, Del and Ray Lewand, when I moved to Healdsburg in 1982 to innkeep the Grape Leaf Inn. In fact, Ray was one of the first people I met in town- and we soon discovered that his wife, Del, and I were both Gamma Phi Betas- she at UCLA and I at Cal, though at different times….our Alumnae Magazine, THE CRESCENT, did a piece on both of us and featured our inns- Lucy was in that family photo and has taken over the innkeeping of the inn that her parents founded and loved.
Many old-time residents of Healdsburg were actually born at the Camellia Inn- aside from being a private, spectacular Victorian with twin fireplaces in the parlors, it also served, albeit briefly, as the town hospital.
Healdsburg is quite an old community- after all, it was founded by an unsuccessful 1849 gold miner- incredible architectural blend….
TR
Near the pool at Camellia- if you look very closely, you can just make out our Wine Road member sign!
