Dolce Hotels and Resorts, operator of 26 upscale hotels, resorts and conference hotels in North America and Europe, announced an expansion of its portfolio with the addition of Silverado Resort, a 1,200-acre, 439-room historic golf resort in Napa Valley’s wine country that recently changed ownership.

A California landmark for more than 140 years, Silverado began its life as a private estate and was converted into a contemporary resort featuring a 15,000-square-foot executive conference centre, two championship golf courses, 16,000-square-foot spa and two signature restaurants, surrounded by Napa Valley’s more than 200 wineries.

Dolce was appointed manager by the property’s new owner: Silverado Resort Investment Group LLC, led by Johnny Miller, World Golf Hall of Fame member and lead golf analyst for NBC Sports; Roger Kent, a former longtime Californian who founded Rug Doctor, a manufacturer of carpet and upholstery cleaners, and served as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer; and another California native, Tim Wall, chief executive officer of a consumer products company in the Dallas area.

The new owners envision repositioning the resort and its two 18-hole, championship golf courses as upper-upscale facilities and establishing a golf school to be named the Johnny Miller Golf Academy in conjunction with their dream of creating “a new iconic golf experience.”

“I’ve played golf at Silverado more often than anywhere else, and I enjoy it as much today as the first time,” Miller said. “My vision is to bring Silverado back to its former glory so that families, golfers and groups of all kinds can share the same wonderful experiences that I have enjoyed in the Napa Valley during the last 30 years.”

Steven A. Rudnitsky, Dolce president and chief executive officer, said Silverado “continues our global expansion and establishes an important presence in the Napa Valley that builds on our experience with golf resorts.” Three other Dolce resorts currently offer world-class golf: Seaview, a Dolce Resort, near Atlantic City, N.J.; Dolce Chantilly, near Paris, and Dolce Fregate Provence, in southern France.

Rudnitsky said Troon Golf has been retained to manage Silverado’s golf courses, both designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.: The 6,685-yard South Course and the 6,900-yard North Course, situated on 360 rolling acres, both offer numerous water features, elevation changes and routing through oak, pine and redwood trees.

Dolce proposes to “polish the silver in Silverado” by bringing its food-and-beverage expertise to the resort, upgrading its function space and establishing an enhanced service culture, all to attract corporate, association and government clients as well as create an “unforgettable experience” for leisure visitors to the Napa Valley, he said.

Silverado Resort is a 12-time winner of Meetings & Conventions magazine’s Gold Key Award and has been presented the Pinnacle Awards 10 times by Successful Meetings magazine. Its two-level conference centre features 15 flexible function rooms, each named after a prominent Napa Valley winery, and 5,200-square-foot, divisible Silverado Ballroom noted for the chandeliers that hang from its 15-foot ceiling.  Smaller meetings can be accommodated by a junior ballroom, nine breakout rooms and four boardrooms. All indoor venues are equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and high-speed wireless Internet service and supported by optional theatrical lighting.
 
Outdoor function space includes The Arbor, a 4,200-square-foot brick patio adjacent to the conference centre; The Fairway Deck, a 4,290-square-foot terrace overlooking the South Course’s 18th hole that can accommodate groups up to 400; and The Grove, a meeting area within the forest that can accommodate groups up to 1,500 for parties, barbecues and weddings.