By: Claudio

Here are photos taken of our inn over the past three weeks. Some represent an almost-finished product. Keep in mind we took these with a cell phone. When we get a professional to take the photos they should be much better.

The last few weeks were some of the busiest of my working career. We worked from 7 am to midnight many days and are simply exhausted. But as you will see from the following photos, we made a lot of progress. Ponte Vineyard Inn culminates two years of exceptionally hard work for a very small team of dedicated professionals. It was our first hotel but we feel it is the best in Temecula wine country and will set the standards for our area for years to come. We appreciate your support and hope you will visit soon so you can see it in person.

We have a lot to share with you so let's get started:

The loggias:

Here is the pergola above Bouquet Restaurant last Saturday morning. Our food and beverage manager is the one with the blue shoes. Hi Karon!

Installing the tile mural. Phenomenal image of the harvest in the Douro Valley in Portugal.

Back to work...
Here our chefs are discussing kitchen installation problems. This kitchen will serve Bouquet and The Cellar Lounge.
Roberto on the left, Salvatore on the right. Yes, they are Italian.

Here, Steve, William and I admire the hotel's wall art and debate its placement

Placing the art in the Cellar Lounge/Bar

The tile mural is done

The Lobby area:

The living room, note the small bar in the back:

The fireplace in the living room.

A game table. We did not play games this last year, so might as well let the guests do it.

The business center, still missing a computer and the small printer:

One of the corridor furniture sets:

Here see the construction team (with Steve and me in the center) having a well deserved drink after a long year. Leah took the photo so she's obviously not visible but fully deserved a center position in the picture. Many of the major sub-contractors were missing, having left the site months before. We'll try to get them to return as guests so they can see what a fine project they build.

Stay tuned for new photos of the rooms, the suites, The Cellar Lounge and the finished front of the building. We look forward to hosting you at our Temecula Wine Country Hotel.

Best regards and thanks for the support,

Claudio

By Claudio

We are now on a count down to the May 4th opening of our Temecula hotel.

Here is our summary of last week's activity and a sneak peak at some of the inn's features.

Façade scaffolding is down and façade is ready precast over door. Wood frame is ready for it. This was not done earlier because the scaffolding was in the way.

Lobby tile is 90% done in this photo, waiting for grout. Wood floors started Monday and will be done by end of day today (Wednesday).

This one shows the lobby floor with the grout.

Wood floors started Monday and will be done by end of day today (Wednesday).

The lobby fireplace is complete.

Drop ceilings are in in kitchen office and fitness room. Ceiling tiles will go in after inspection. It will take a few hours. Note heavy insulation around AC ducts.

Sustainably sourced windows. They are aluminum clad on the outside so they should outlast us all:

Computer systems are in and working. Internet is in and working.

The Cellar Lounge bar counter is in and cabinets are being mounted. This will be finished today. Flooring goes in Friday and Saturday. Furniture next Monday.

Brick is being mounted behind the bar.

Here is a photo of the stairwell down to The Cellar Lounge. These stones will receive a heavy layer of grout similar to the look on the columns on the front of the hotel.

We are busy adding the "jewelry", the decorative additions that will make our wine country hotel so special, like these lamps.

Let's go to the garden:

The Italian cypresses are in. Notice eyebrows over windows still need paint.

Canvas awnings are in west wing. East wing doesn't need them. Note the lights. They are sconces made out of handmade roof tiles.

Gazebo is complete over the pond. A bit of paint around the skirt and it's done.

Brick Patios are complete. Note shade over door and nice brick cap over stone wall: Perfect for a glass of wine!

This week we will:

Install all perimeter shrubs and landscaping
Plant a few trees at west façade
Finish the parking lot
Start landscaping the internal garden
Finish all wood floors
Install all common areas light fixtures
Finish Kitchen installation
Finish elevators
Install guest room art
Install guest room supplies and equipment (hair dryers, TVs, etc.)
Clean Guest rooms
Wire the business office for phones and computers
Install and test the backup generator

Next week we will:

Install all public area furniture
Finish the courtyard garden
Install grass around gazebo
Install all Point-of-sale systems, computers and telephones
Furnish Cellar bar
Load Kitchen and Bar with supplies, equipment and food
Clean up
And finally,
OPEN!

As always, thank you for your support. We can't wait to see you at the inn.

Best Claudio

By Claudio

We are just inside 40 days from the opening of our Temecula Wine Country Hotel. Half of the guest rooms are complete, including carpet, tile and paint. The other half will be done this week.

All inside corridors will be complete this coming week.

This is important because we are "loading" the west wing starting next Monday April 2d. Loading means moving in all furniture and supplies. The trucks will arrive and we'll move all furniture (except the armoires, which weight 300 lbs., and will wait for the elevators) into the 30 west rooms. The following week we will load the eastern rooms.

The week after, while the contractor finishes the common areas, we will load the operating supplies into all 60 rooms. This means making all the beds, towels in the bathrooms, toiletries, etc. Finally, the last week of the month we will load the common areas.

The kitchen is almost done and will be completed this week. The bar will be done in three weeks.

The elevators should be completed in two weeks, as soon as the building is electrified. Can we make it to the April 30th opening? We think so, although it will be close.

The recent rains slowed us down some because the site is too muddy to operate. Nonetheless we have finished installing all the stone and are correcting an error in the grouting (it was too dark), have topped off the towers with the tiled domes and have finished all exterior pre-cast trim pieces.

Here we are attaching the domes to the towers. Note the dark grout on the stone. It was a sub-contractor error.

Here you can see the solution. A much lighter color is applied to cover the dark grout. The color matches the natural stone.

Note the base of the right tower with the lighter grout. The stone has not been washed so it looks painted over. Also, note the plastic covering on the stucco bases to protect them against water splash damage when it rains. Note that the gutters have not been installed. They will go up this week or the next, at the latest.

Here you can see the saltillo tile on the balconies. The wood banisters will be touched up before opening, obviously. These balconies belong to the large double queens. They will have a couple of lounge chaises to relax.

Here we can see the footings for the steel pergola in the garden. The poles will support a curved trellis that will allow us to grow table grapes. Dining will take place under it, and there will be a fireplace at the far end, roughly where the second arch from the right is visible. The rest of the garden will be "built" in the next 30 days. There will be fountains and two additional fire pits. Here's the design: http://www.pontevineyardinn.com/blogpost-62343/The-Landscape-Design.html

Tiling of the rooms is complete and 80% of the common areas is up and grouted. The rest will be completed in the next 5 days.

Lastly, we've been looking for these trees and had problems finding them. They are Eucaliptus Citradora, or lemon scented eukes. Luckily we found them and will plant them on the exterior perimeter of the hotel within view of the winery. They are very fast growers and look great next to this type of architecture. Most of the other specimens trees are on their way. The 80 olives for the parking lot are planted and starting to grow.

Thanks for your support and stay tuned for the last few reports until opening.

By: Claudio Ponte

The porte cochere is done! Well, almost done. The tile roof is being installed as I write this and the deco tiles are missing from the niche, see? The dirt area in front will be planted with succulents and cacti.

Dig the pre-cast elements around the balcony. Also, now that the scaffolding is almost gone, note the simple elegance of the elevation. The wooden balcony railings will be re-painted in a lighter color.

This is the opposite side, facing South Coast Winery. The arched entrance is the path connecting the hotel to the future pool site.

The stone is applied to the towers and is ready for heavy, heavy grout. You can also see the tile on the porte cochere roof. The tiled domes are being prepped and will be placed up there with a crane. Air conditioners, heaters, hot water, etc. were hoisted behind the parapet between the towers last week. The crane is expensive so we worked quickly and I missed the chance for a photo.

The view from the winery. Imagine it with trees. There are several eucalyptus and cypresses on either side of the entrance on the left hand side. That's the access from the Ponte Winery. We'll plant those trees as soon as the patios and trellises are finished. We've received 80 olive trees for the parking lot and we are waiting for the County to give us permission to plant. Yes, you read this right. We need permission to plant trees. What do farmers like us know? We need the government to tell us how and when to do it. Monte de Oro winery must be still waiting for their permission as their palms are still in boxes along their driveway over a year after opening...

Best and thanks for your support

By Claudio

This last Wednesday, Steve Converse and I were on a routine construction inspection walk at the Inn. Suddenly he was stopped in his tracks:

"What the heck is that!". His jaw dropped and his face darkened. "Look at that" he said pointing to the stone work on the right tower of the inn.

I said "So? What's the problem?"

"What's the problem? Don't you see? The stone work is crap! That's the problem! This thing looks like a Mac Mansion in Orange county, not like a mission, where the indians did the mortar work"

I responded "It's not really a mission, Steve, it's a winery hotel, and the only native americans around are at Pechanga, what's the big deal?"

"It IS A BIG DEAL, Claudio. Let me just build this thing, will you?"

He storms away and fires the whole crew, on the spot. After a couple of frantic phone calls, the stone sub-contractor reaches us and asks for another chance to personally supervise the work. Steve is a no-compromise guy, but he relents and lets the workers continue under their boss' supervision,. They MUST place the stones exactly like in the sample, which is nearby.

A few hours later I came back and saw the difference. Got to admit, Steve has a good eye. Check the before-and-after pictures, and the original sample. Let me know if you agree with Steve.

This façade will receive a very heavy layer of grout that will cover 30% of each stone to match the desired "look".

This level of attention to detail pervades the whole project. I hope it's worth the stress and effort. Of course, you'll be the judge and we sure hope you like it.

Don't forget to make your reservations. Some weekends in July and August are almost sold out:

Click Here to Make a Reservation

Best and thanks for your support,
Claudio