“History is hot!  Leisure and business travelers alike are seeking authentic traveling experiences. The addition of these properties allows us to remain true to our original mission of aligning and showcasing hotels, resorts and inns that combine history and architectural significance,” said Thierry Roch, executive director of National Trust Historic Hotels of America.  Roch added, “Historic Hotels of America continues to provide travelers with alternatives to commonplace lodging.”

The Cliff House Inn, Manitou Springs, Colo. 

First it was trappers and hunters who frequented “The Inn”—as the Cliff House was known—when it opened in 1873 as a 20-room boarding house and stagecoach stop. The inn later catered to miners and businessman shuttling between Leadville and Colorado Springs, and by the end of the nineteenth century health enthusiasts were arriving to take advantage of the mineral waters at Manitou Springs. With Pikes Peak as a magnificent backdrop for the inn’s Rocky Mountain Victorian architecture, the Cliff House is Colorado’s second oldest operating hotel. Fire damaged part of the inn in 1982, but after a $9 million restoration, it reopened in 1999, offering guests luxury accommodations in an old-fashioned setting. (57 rooms and suites)

Casa Monica Hotel, St. Augustine, Fla.

Just three months after the Casa Monica Hotel opened in 1888, Florida railroad pioneer and hotel magnate Henry Flagler bought the sprawling, castle-like structure and promptly changed its name to the “Cordova.” The Moorish Revival-style hotel quickly became yet another attraction in St. Augustine, a city filled with historic landmarks and the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the country. The Depression forced the hotel to close in 1932, and it remained vacant until dedicated in 1968 as the St. John’s County Courthouse. But in 1997 the building underwent yet another conversion, reopening in 1999 as a luxury hotel and with its original name. The restored lobby, with its tropical foliage and fountain, features grand columns and archways, rich tapestries and chandeliers. The guestrooms are individually appointed with Spanish style furnishings and deep blue accents, reflecting the local marine atmosphere. (138 rooms and suites)

The Georgian Terrace, Atlanta

A landmark at Atlanta’s historic Peachtree and Ponce de Leon intersection, The Georgian Terrace in Midtown has been a central figure in both the city’s geography and its cultural history. The Beaux Arts-style hotel was built in 1911 and quickly drew a sparkling clientele, including opera star Enrico Caruso; in the 1920s renowned dance instructor Arthur Murray was busy giving children dance lessons in the hotel’s Grill Room. The Grand Ballroom, with its ceiling frescoes and 30-foot Palladian windows, hosted the Gone with the Wind world premiere party on December 15, 1939, when the film opened in Atlanta, and guests included stars Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh and author Margaret Mitchell. Today the restored hotel features a 19-story glass atrium that illuminates a muraled lobby furnished with antiques, Oriental rugs and crystal chandeliers. (326 suites)

The Lenox, Boston

As much a local landmark as Faneuil Hall or Fenway Park, The Lenox is a handsome Italianate structure located at Copley Square. It was built in 1900 in just eight months-but at a cost of $1.1 million-and was one of the first hotels constructed in Boston’s Back Bay. For years The Lenox was adjacent to a railroad yard, which made it convenient for wealthy guests like opera star Enrico Caruso to pull their rail cars right up to hotel and walk on in.  Today the hotel’s intimate and elegant atmosphere is complemented by its modern comprehensive environmental program, which includes more than 70 creative recycling and conservation measures. Guest rooms feature Colonial décor, and many have working fireplaces; rooms also come with numerous amenities, including voice mail, hairdryers, bathrobes and umbrellas. (212 rooms and suites)

Seaview Marriott Resort, Absecon, N.J.

Legend has it that business tycoon and utility magnate Clarence Geist grew so impatient waiting to tee off at a nearby country club that he testily announced he would build his own golf course...which he did in 1912. He commissioned renowned course designer Donald Ross to create the first of two championship courses that are the centerpiece of the scenic, 670-acre resort. Geist developed Seaview as his personal golf retreat, and it later became an elite country club before evolving into the refined resort that it is today. The Colonial Revival-style hotel has welcomed avid duffer President Warren G. Harding, who spent long vacations here while in office, actress and princess Grace Kelly, who celebrated her sixteenth birthday in Seaview’s Oval Room, and Bob Dylan, who reserved his room under the name “Justin Case.” (297 rooms and suites)

“The time is right to celebrate the past.  Though highly diverse and representing a cross section of traveling experiences, our hotels share one common denominator—a sense of time and place in history,” said James C.  Bradbury, chairman of the advisory board of National Trust Historic Hotels of America and general manager of La Fonda in Santa Fe, N.M.  “This becomes evident when you look at the diversity of the five properties added. Two are located in the business centers of Atlanta and Boston; one is a luxurious hideaway in the Rocky Mountains; another is a traditional east coast resort; and one is a classic hotel located in America’s oldest city.” Representing nearly more than 27,000 rooms, National Trust Historic Hotels of America ranks as one of the top 20 largest hotel consortia, according to Hotels magazine.

The directory of member hotels can be purchased by sending a $3.50 check or money order to National Trust Historic Hotels of America, c/o Bank of America, P.O. Box 320, Washington, D.C. 20055-0320.  Rooms at any of the 150 member hotels can be reserved by calling 800-678-8946 or a travel planner.  When reservations are made through this number, a portion of the cost is returned to the non-profit National Trust.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, chartered by Congress in 1949, is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable.  It fights to save historic buildings and the neighborhoods and landscapes they anchor. It has six regional offices, owns 20 historic sites and works with local community groups in all 50 states.