H2hotel

The H2hotel sits on the site of a former gas station, so right away, the beauty of the area has been greatly improved just by getting rid of the gas station.  David Baker and Partners have designed a beautiful and understated hotel that fits right in as you head to the square.  In addition, the hotel is the first hotel in Sonoma County to be Leed Gold Certified.  

The hotel boasts a living roof.  Rain water is filtered through the roof and a vegetated swale to reduce the run-off into the city’s storm drain system.  About 85% of the materials used in the building are recycled, including the steel and concrete to the flooring and custom furnishings.   Energy consumption has been limited by using occupancy sensors for all lights, fans and air conditioners.  Solar panels on the roof are used to heat the swimming pool and hot water in the guest rooms, further reducing electricity consumption.

Many of the materials fabricated for the hotel—including those for the green roof, custom furnishings, and framing—were sourced and manufactured within 500 miles of Healdsburg.  Other green features include, refillable bath amenities, reusable water carafes for guests to fill with purified sparkling or still water at the water bars on every floor, sustainable bamboo flooring and Fair-trade, chemical-free felt rugs from Peace Industry. 

All of the artwork in the hotel has been created by local artists and artisans and one of the most striking is the Spoonfall by Sonoma County based artist Ned Khan.   The water sculpture greets guests outside the lobby entrance and inspired the name of H2hotel’s restaurant Spoonbar.  With 2,000 stainless steel espresso spoons suspended from a metal screen, a shifting pattern of moving spoons is created as each fills with water and then spills its contents on the spoons below.  For more photos click here.