‘Hotel California’ Approved by Napa Planners | Local news

The city’s planning committee in a meeting on Thursday unanimously approved a bed and breakfast occupancy permit for the historic William Andrews House at 741 Seminary St.

Although the project was approved under the name “Heath Bed and Breakfast,” owner John Heath said that while nothing is set in stone at the moment, he hopes to name the company “Hotel California” in tribute to The iconic 1976 rock song by The eagle .

In case the Eagles don’t allow Heath to use the name, his backup plan is to call it the ‘Hotel Cali’.

And the plan for the hotel goes beyond the name: Heath said each room of the hotel would be named and themed around a famous musician who was recovering from an addiction. That could be Joe Walsh of the Eagles, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn, he said.

“So many of those people have brought so much joy to our lives through years of music and it will be done in a very luxurious way,” Heath said.

Heath added that the hotel will not be advertised around this aspect, it would be more of an underlying theme. Another plan that incorporates the theme is to have a pianist and violinist play the artists’ classics to entertain the guests, he said.

While the commissioners praised the project, some said they didn’t like the proposed name. But they noted that the names of companies are not theirs.

Commission chair Gordon Huether said he likes the concept of honoring artists who have undergone addiction recovery, but the name choice seemed off.

“For such a beautiful estate, it seems very strange to me to call it such a thing, for the Napa Valley, but it’s your property,” Huether said.

Commissioner Paul Kelley also said he doesn’t think the Hotel California name is the best for the project, but he liked the theme.

“When I think of Hotel California, it’s not really a Victorian hotel,” Kelley said. “It’s somewhere in the desert. Well, that is not the task of the committee.”

Still, the commissioners said they appreciated the passion Heath put into the project. They also spoke well of the restoration process and adaptive reuse of a Victorian mansion.

“We need to look for adaptive reuse for these larger Victorian townhouses that don’t really support more singles,” Kelley.

In other news, the committee appointed Huether as chairman of the committee and Bob Massaro as vice chairman. Traditionally, the committee annually appoints the vice-chairman of the committee to the chairmanship position. But the previous vice-chair, Reed Oñate, withdrew his candidacy for reappointment to the committee. As a result, the members of the supervisory board deliberated about who would become chairman this year.

Both Kelley, who was chairman last year, and Huether indicated that they want to become chairman of the committee. Ultimately, Kelley withdrew his bid for the position and the committee unanimously appointed Huether as chairman.