Yamhill County has long been considered the epicenter of Oregon's $1 billion dollar wine industry and now counts more than 200 of the state's 400 commercial wineries. The growing wine industry is fueled by international demand for pinot noir, Oregon's flagship grape, demand has more than doubled in the past decade.
Over the years, wine enthusiasts have had few options for overnight lodging other than small bed and breakfasts or motels close to the highways. That's all about to change as The Allison is scheduled to open on September 23, 2009, just in time for Oregons wine grape harvest.
The Allison is being birthed on a gentle hill in Northeast Newberg, Oregon. This 85 room Country estate-style Inn is Oregon wine country's first luxury hotel and spa and is well on the way to completion. The Allison has been accepted as a member of Preferred Boutique Hotels, the first Preferred Boutique Hotel in Oregon.
Guests will arrive through seasonal colors-from tulips and daffodils in the spring-to colorful summer annuals and perennials, followed by the brown and red colors of fall and winter. Guests will drive under a covered drivewayand enter the natural stone building where a feast for the senses awaits them. Through the windows, they will see groves of aspen trees, enjoy a crackling fire and hear the comforting sound of a water feature that begins outdoors and continues indoors.
The lobby will repeat the exterior's natural feel with reclaimed limestone floors, slate and a combination of Northwest woods such as black walnut, white oak and douglas fir. Floor to ceiling windows will allow light to pour into the lobby.
Visual senses will be pleasured with sculptures, handmade rugs, built-in window seats and details of etched copper, glass and tile.
The great room or the inn's "living room" adjacent to the lobby and restaurant will feature a massive two-sided stone fireplace and an adjoining 15-seat bar.
Design principal Carol Schaefer said she was inspired by the area's natural surroundings in creating a color palette that draws on the rich farmland legacy and the earthy colors of the nearby wooded hills and vineyards.
The same color palette will be used throughout the inn, including the guest rooms, which will range in size from 500 to 600 square feet, to three 900-square foot suites and one two-bedroom, ultra-deluxe "grand suite" with 1575 square feet.
All rooms will include terraces and balconies, and look out on either the Coast Range or the four acres of pinot noir vines planted and managed by Oregon wine pioneer David Adelsheim.
Rooms prices will start at $295 per night and range as high as $1000 for the "grand suite". Rooms will feature fireplaces, 42 inch flat screen TVs, solid black walnut doors and original artwork.
The on-site spa includes 12 treatment rooms, an indoor swimming pool, fitness center and men's, women's and co-ed lounges.
An 85 seat restaurant offers dining terraces, entrees spiced with herbs and vegetables grown on site and also features a private chef's table, where guests can watch meal preparation.
There will be a large ballroom, a foyer big enough for small trade shows and extensive meeting rooms which are intended to draw a steady flow of wedding and corporate business. The Allison's conference center will be able to host up to 200 for meetings and social events. The ballroom can be reconfigured for smaller meetings and all meeting rooms have access to outdoor terraces.
The Allison was named after a 300-square-mile lake that briefly covered the entire Willamette Valley during the last ice age. Lake Allison was formed when massive ice-age floods washed down from glacial Lake Missoula in Montana. The flood scoured away topsoil from eastern Washington and deposited much of it here in the Willamette Valley, making this a uniquely fertile land that produces an abundance of fruits, nuts, berries and wine grapes. Lake Allison was named for the late Ira Allison, an Oregon State University geologist whose work helped prove the existence of the lake.
The Allison is only one part of this special development, when finished the entire project will include 1,200 homes, a retail village, 50 acres of green spaces including recreational trails for biking an walking, wetlands, streams and a small vineyard. The Allison will be surrounded by extensive gardens, a newly planted forest and Adelsheim's vinyard and will occupy 35 of the nearly 450 acres the Austin family has accumulated in Northwest Newberg over the past 30 years. All of this is the vision of Mrs. Joan Austin who marks this as another step on the way to fulfilling her dream of developing the family's private land into a property that will attract world-wide visitors and provide many amenities for the local community to enjoy.
The Austins were mindful to include green features as well, such as photovoltaic cells on one roof section which will produce nearly 10 percent of The Allison's power. A green roof of soil and various plantings on another section will help retain rainwater on the property
The development has won praise from some of the region's most prominent winemakers because it is entirely within Newberg's urban growth boundary and does not encroach on valuable vineyard land.
Newberg and Yamhill County are privileged to have The Austins live within our community. They have shown their love and care for Newberg numerous times throughout the years through their donations of land to schools, their extensive involvement in the events of the community and now The Allison and when completed, the entire development. This entire project be one more wonderful legacy for the community to remember them by for generations to come.
Sandy Mitchell 503-502-6408
Broker/Buyer's Agent
The Kelly Group, Keller Williams
215 N Blaine
Newberg, Oregon 97132
