“Our goal is to showcase hotels, resorts and inns that combine history and architectural significance. The addition of these properties gives the consumer even more historic options when traveling for business or pleasure,” said Thierry Roch, executive director of National Trust Historic Hotels of America.  Roch added, “Historic Hotels of America provides alternatives to commonplace lodging. These new members range from a hotel with the world’s longest veranda to former apartments of the rich and famous and are located in cosmopolitan business centers and relaxing country retreats.”

Historic Hotels of America is a marketing association of hotels selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for historic integrity, architectural quality and outstanding preservation efforts made by owners and managers.  To qualify, hotels must be at least 50 years old, listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or recognized locally as having historic significance.

 “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 Historic Hotels of America and general manager of La Fonda in Santa Fe, N.M.

National Trust for Historic Preservation New Members

The Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, Calif. – Celebrated architect Julia Morgan (who designed Hearst Castle) designed the Beaux-Arts style Fairmont, which was about to open when San Francisco suffered the devastating 1906 earthquake. The massive structure survived, and a year later it was the first hotel in the city to reopen.  In 1945, delegates met to draft the United Nations Charter, and every U.S. president since Harry Truman has been a guest. Tony Bennett first sang his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in the hotel’s ornate Venetian Room.  The Fairmont completed an $85 million restoration in 2000.  Located atop San Francisco’s Nob Hill.  (529 rooms and 62 suites)

Sir Francis Drake, San Francisco, Calif. – Doorman dressed in beefeater finery are part of the tradition at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel.  The hotel is named for the English explorer who arrived in the area in 1579. Built in 1928, the 21-story hotel features the Renaissance-era flourishes of Drake’s era.  The ornate lobby boasts enormous murals depicting his life, a marble staircase, hand-painted Corinthian columns and vaulted gold leaf bas relief ceilings.  Guest rooms were refurbished in 2000 and are decorated in California Colonial style.  Located in downtown San Francisco.  (417 rooms)

Paso Robles Inn, Paso Robles, Calif. – Renowned architect Jacob Lenzen designed the El Paso de Robles Hotel, which was hailed as “absolutely fireproof” when it opened in 1891.  The notion went up in flames when the hotel burned down in 1940.  Rebuilt and renamed the Paso Robles Inn in 1942, the Mission-style hotel and its grand ballroom (the only structure to survive the fire) were restored to their original appearance in 2000.  The hot springs on site were re-drilled to bring the healing thermal waters right into the new guest rooms with therapy spas. Gurgling up at a rate of two million gallons a day and reaching 124 degrees Fahrenheit, the springs have been a popular local attraction since the late 18th century when Franciscan padres from nearby missions began using them.  Surrounded by lush gardens and oak trees, the inn enjoys a tranquil setting just steps from Paso Robles’ historic downtown district. (100 guest rooms)

The Gulf Stream Hotel, Lake Worth, Fla. – A six-story pink Mediterranean-style structure, The Gulf Stream Hotel has been a local landmark on Florida’s intracoastal waterway since 1924.  When a devastating hurricane struck Palm Beach in 1928, the hotel served as Lake Worth’s only Red Cross shelter despite its roofless top floor and its lobby full of sand.  During World War II it remained one of the few resort hotels on the southeastern coast open to civilians, and after the war it opened year round.  The three-year renovation completed in 1999 has returned the hotel to the style and atmosphere of its early years. (106 rooms and suites)

The Marshall House Hotel, Savannah, Ga. – In 1851, businesswoman Mary Marshall, noting that Savannah was woefully in need of visitor accommodations, built the four-story Marshall House Hotel.  It served as a hospital for soldiers toward the end of  the Civil War.  It was also home to Joel Chandler Harris, author of the famous Uncle Remus stories.  By 1956, the hotel had closed and the first floor was used for businesses.  In 1999, a $10 million restoration returned the building to its original purpose.  The guest rooms feature Southern-style décor and heart pine floors.  The second story rooms open onto an ornate cast-iron veranda.  Each floor features a display of memorabilia documenting an era in Savannah history, as well as artifacts found during the hotel restoration. (65 guest rooms and 3 suites)

Melhana Plantation, Thomasville, Ga. – Escaping the ravages of the Civil War and Sherman’s March to the Sea, Melhana Plantation has been continuously maintained since it was first developed in 1825.  Standard Oil executive Howard Melville Hanna, Sr., and his son later added a number of structures between 1896 and the 1930s when the plantation was used for hunting quail.  Today live oaks, pines and magnolias shade 40 acres of lush, landscaped grounds and numerous historic structures, including the Pink House (ca.1825), the original Greek Revival-style main house. Also on site are the Georgian-Revival carriage houses and stable house and the Showboat Theater. It was here in 1939 that businessman John Hay Whitney, a neighbor of the Hannas, held the first private screening of a film he helped to finance called Gone with the Wind. (39 guest rooms and suites)

Hotel Winneshiek, Decorah, Iowa – In 1904, it took less than 24 hours to raise $32,000 to build the Hotel Winneshiek.  By the end of the 20th century, it took two years and $7 million to restore the three-story Italianate structure  which reopened in 2000.  Based on pictorial documentation, many of the hotel’s original features, including marble wainscoting, stained glass panels, terrazzo floors and exterior stonework were accurately restored to their original appearance.  Other details were carefully recreated from the cherry millwork in the atrium to the grand staircase.  The guest rooms are furnished with period fabrics and reproductions that create a turn-of-the-last-century atmosphere. (31 guest rooms and suites)

The Hotel Savery, Des Moines, Iowa – The Hotel Savery opened in 1919 as the city’s first “skyscraper hotel” and the third incarnation of the Savery dating back to 1862.  A 12-story, Renaissance Revival-style building and local landmark, the hotel served as an induction center and supplemental barracks for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II.  With its cherry wood furnishings, textured wall coverings and crystal chandeliers, the refurbished Savery reflects its elegant early twentieth century past.  A $9 million renovation was completed in 1999 to commemorate The Savery’s 80th anniversary.  The hotel’s “Francesca Suite,” named for Meryl Streep’s character in the film The Bridges of Madison County, is decorated with objects that appeared in the movie, including dishes that Streep hurled at co-star Clint Eastwood. (224 guest rooms)
 

Hotel Pattee, Perry, Iowa – When the Hotel Pattee opened in 1913, it had the latest in hotel amenities – from its own bowling alley to telephones in each guest room.  In 1997, the Colonial Revival-style hotel underwent a massive restoration and renovation.  Today, the bowling lanes are back and there are now three telephones in each guest room.  The Hotel Pattee is a celebration of those who settled the Midwest. Each room is individually themed and decorated to honor the history, tradition and people of the region. Among these are the Louis Armstrong Suite, the Quilt Room, the Irish Room and the American Indian Room.  The public spaces are decorated in the Arts and Crafts style, and the lobby has returned to its original appearance, complete with Persian carpets and period chandeliers. (40 guest rooms and suites)  Fairmont Hotel – New Orleans, New Orleans, La. – A New Orleans landmark, the Fairmont Hotel served as the inspiration for Arthur Hailey’s best-selling novel, Hotel. The massive Renaissance Revival-style hotel grew out of the original 1893 Grunswald Hotel (which no longer remains) and comprises two 14-story additions, built in 1908 and 1925, whose merger resulted in an enormous lobby.   With its ornate colonnades, marble floors and crystal chandeliers, the lobby runs the length of a city block.  In the late 1920s, Louisiana’s colorful governor, Huey Long, took up residence and conducted business in the hotel’s Sazerac Bar, named for the world’s first cocktail, a local creation.  A $50 million restoration and renovation

Behind the Hotel Pattee About 1915, the City of Perry produced a brochure.  One example of Perry's "cosmopolitan nature" was the Hotel Pattee, opened in 1913. Here is how the hotel was described: Perry's magnificent, new and luxurious fireproof hotel, the Hotel Pattee, is a feature of untold value to the social and commercial life of the city. It was erected and furnished at a cost exceeding $150,000.00 and is universally acknowledged by travelers to be the finest hotel in central Iowa, and, size considered, one of the best in the entire country.... There are other hotels of course, all well serving their particular clientele and filling a very necessary requirement in the civic existence of the city. But in the commodious, elegant and modern appointments of the Hotel Pattee, Perry's social proclivities and inclinations need know no limitations. Now, 84 years later, the Hotel Pattee has been renovated to reflect the grandeur of that earlier time. A unique reminder of the millions of immigrants who came from all over the world to build America, the Hotel Pattee is one of the few hotels in the world where every room is individually decorated to celebrate the history, tradition, and people who make up the region. The hotel pays tribute to small towns, the people who settled them, and the people who continue their tradition today. The original colonial revival facade has been restored, and the English Arts and Crafts interior brought back to life with the comforts of the late 20th Century. From the Dallas County Boardroom and David's Milwaukee Diner to the Louis Armstrong Suite and the Quilt Room, the hopes, dreams, and contributions of those who came before and those with us today are celebrated with painstaking attention to detail in the service, the food, the art, and the furnishings. Whether you come for a quiet drink by the fireside in the Willis Library or celebrate a family reunion in the Spring Valley Ballroom, Howard and Roberta Green Ahmanson invite you to experience once again "the cosmopolitan nature, the solid worth" of the Hotel Pattee.

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Mich. – Grand Hotel has been a venerable icon of summer resorts since 1887.  With its 660-foot-long veranda—the world’s longest—the Victorian-style hotel offers other amenities on an equally impressive scale. The film Somewhere in Time (1980), starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, was shot on location at the hotel.  Guest rooms are individually-appointed, and a variety of suites include antiques and rare memorabilia.  Beyond the hotel grounds, the island offers numerous other diversions, including Fort Mackinac (1780) and a historic village with quaint shops featuring Mackinac’s world-famous fudge.  Resort amenities include tennis, golf, swimming, horseback riding, cycling and carriage tours. (343 guest rooms)

The Raphael Hotel, Kansas City, Mo. -- A European-style boutique hotel, the Raphael Hotel opened in 1927 as a nine-story upscale apartment building adjacent to what is now the Country Club Plaza district.  The Spanish Renaissance Revival-style building’s brick exterior has been carefully preserved, and within its Old World interiors are state-of-the-art amenities.  The comfortably furnished guest rooms offer relaxing accommodations for the leisure traveler and features for the business traveler.  (35 guest rooms and 88 suites)
 

The Mount Washington Hotel & Resort, Bretton Woods, N.H. – Nestled in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, The Mount Washington Hotel & Resort is the creation of industrialist Joseph Stickney, who built the hotel in 1902.  The sparkling white and red-roofed Spanish Renaissance-style hotel, with its grand colonnaded veranda, was the setting for the historic Bretton Woods Monetary Conference in 1944, thus becoming the birthplace of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This National Historic Landmark offers guests a vast array of recreational and leisure activities both indoors and out—from its Prohibition-era speakeasy to its acres of wooded National Forest.  Extensive renovation and restoration efforts during the 1990s revived the hotel’s rich Victorian atmosphere.  Resort amenities include 27 holes of championship golf, 12 red clay tennis courts, horseback riding, carriage rides, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, alpine and cross country skiing and family programs. (234 historic guest rooms; 101 additional guest rooms) The Bishop’s Lodge Resort, Santa Fe, N.M. – The Bishop’s Lodge Resort was once the retreat of Jean Baptiste Lamy, the frontier cleric who became the first archbishop of Santa Fe in 1851.  How Lamy acquired the“ranch” in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos—and the archbishop’s famous hospitality to visitors—is related by Pulitizer Prize winners Willa Cather (in her 1927 novel Death  Comes for the Archbishop) and Paul Horgan (in his 1975 biography Lamy

The Mount Washington Hotel was built by New Hampshire native Joseph Stickney, who made his fortune in coal mining and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Stickney spared no expense in building the imposing hotel. The latest design and construction methods were used. Innovative and complicated heating and plumbing systems were installed. To this day, the Bretton Woods Hotel has its own private telephone system and Post Office. Ground was broken in 1900 and construction was completed in 1902. Two hundred and fifty Italian craftsmen, skilled in masonry and woodworking, were brought to Bretton Woods and housed on the grounds. A new type of powerplant served reliably for over 50 years. On July 28, 1902, the front doors of this Grand Hotel opened to the public with a staff of no less than 350. The most luxurious hotel of its day, The Mount Washington catered to wealthy guests from Boston, New York and Philadelphia. As many as fifty trains a day stopped at Bretton Woods' three railroad stations. One of these stations, Fabyan's, is now one of the Resort's dining establishments.

The Sherry-Netherland, New York – When ice cream magnate and confectioner Louis Sherry built The Sherry- Netherland in 1927, it was the world’s tallest apartment hotel at 560 feet and 37 stories.  It is still regarded as one of the city’s finest architectural gems, with its soaring Baroque-style tower and Romanesque and Renaissance-style flourishes.  The New Yorker observed that the hotel was “Italian in architecture, French in spirit and American in price.” Its vaulted lobby, modeled after the Vatican library, showcases intricate inlaid marble floors, gilded detailing, and crystal chandeliers as well as friezes and sculptural panels rescued from William K. Vanderbilt’s demolished New York mansion.  The Sherry-Netherland includes both hotel suites and private residences. Its restaurant, Harry Cipriani’s, which closely resembles the original Harry’s Bar in Venice, is as much a New York institution as the hotel itself. (168 guest rooms)

The Warwick Hotel, New York – In 1927, publishing magnate William Randolf Hearst built the 36-story Warwick Hotel as a residential hotel that included private apartments for his Hollywood friends.  His great love, actress Marion Davies, had an entire floor to herself.  The $5 million Hearst spent on the Renaissance Revival-style structure shows in the rich architectural detailing, but the lobby was deliberately kept small to enhance the hotel’s residential atmosphere and better ensure privacy.  This feature made The Warwick the hotel of choice for the Beatles, as well as many other celebrities, including Cary Grant, a 12-year resident.  The oversized guest rooms and huge suites are spacious and stylishly furnished with mahogany armoires and marble baths. The restaurant features original Art Deco murals painted by Dean Cornwell, the “Dean of American Illustrators.” (354 guest rooms and 72 suites)

Leola Village Inn and Suites, Leola, Pa. – Slated for demolition in 1999 to make way for a convenience store and an automotive servicing franchise, the Bard tobacco farm survived the threat and opened as the Leola Village Inn and Suites in 2000.  The inn is a model example of adaptive use and historic preservation, as its carefully renovated ca. 1890 family farmhouse and ca. 1860 Lehman tenant farmhouse feature preserved original woodwork and reflect local vernacular architectural styles.  Each richly furnished suite is individually decorated with period and reproduction furniture, and many come with handmade quilts.  The farm’s carriage house now serves as the lobby and registration area; the restored structure still has its original wood beams and the corncobs used to hold the beams together.  The inn is located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country and is convenient to numerous historic and Amish attractions. (27 guest rooms)

Yorktowne Hotel, York, Pa. – During the Revolutionary War, York, then known as “Yorktowne,” functioned as the nation’s capital for a time while Philadelphia was under British occupation.  It was here that the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation.  Despite its name from the city’s Revolutionary past, the Yorktowne Hotel reflects the history of another nostalgic era, the Roaring Twenties. Built in 1925, the 11-story, Renaissance Revival-style hotel features 20-foot-high ceilings, ornate brass and crystal chandeliers, wood paneled rooms and wall-sized mirrors. Guest rooms are appointed with period furnishings and colorful designs. (155 guest rooms)

Camino Real, El Paso, Texas – In building the grand Paso del Norte Hotel—as the Camino Real was first known—owner Zach T. White and his architects studied the structures that withstood San Francisco’s Great Earthquake of 1906.  When the Renaissance Revival-style hotel opened in 1912, its brick and steel construction made it fireproof and solid, but its marble interiors, ornate pillars, mahogany woodwork, and its spectacular Tiffany glass dome made it dazzling. The dome, measuring 25 feet in diameter and suspended by wires, dominates the monumental lobby. A popular gathering spot for cattlemen and ranchers, the hotel and its rooftop patio proved to be an ideal spot from which to watch Pancho Villa and his army across the Rio Grande as the Mexican Revolution unfolded. Although the rooftop patio no longer exits, visitors today enjoy comfortable accommodations with a Southwestern flair. (359 guest rooms)

Renaissance Casa de Palmas Hotel, McAllen, Texas – First came the railroad in 1905, then the U.S. Army established a post in 1916, and by 1918 McAllen, Texas, was in need of a fashionable new hotel.  That year, the Spanish Colonial Revival-style Casa de Palmas opened and McAllen’s growing population of businessmen and military officers made the hotel a center of activity in south Texas.  It also proved to be the safest place to stay following the Corpus Christi hurricane of 1919, when the virtually unscathed hotel provided refuge for numerous townspeople. Today, the newly renovated hotel—a Texas Historical Landmark—continues to offer a traditional hacienda atmosphere.  With its white stucco towers and red tile roof overlooking an arcaded courtyard, the hotel boasts rich landscaping, including 70-foot-tall palm trees, lush vegetation and tropical birds.  (165 guest rooms and suites)

The Boar’s Head Inn, Charlottesville, Va. – An 1834 gristmill is the focal point of the Boar’s Head Inn, a country resort set on a 573-acre estate.  The mill was originally located at Bellair, the estate of Martin Dawson, a neighbor and financial advisor to Thomas Jefferson.  It escaped destruction during the Civil War despite Union plans to burn it.  In 1965, the mill was moved to its present site and carefully reconstructed.  Today, it houses 39 guest rooms, a restaurant and lounge.  Many of the guest rooms feature the original pine beams and paneling, and all are decorated with Colonial-style furnishings. The newer structures throughout the resort maintain an 18th-century English atmosphere.  Resort amenities include golf, tennis, horseback riding, pools, sports club and spa. (160 guest rooms and 11 suites)

The Bailiwick Inn, Fairfax, Va. – In 1809, Joshua Gunnell built his two-story, Federal-style mansion on the old Ox Road in northern Virginia, one of the nation’s oldest toll roads.  More than ordinary history passed by, and the house witnessed an early skirmish in the Civil War know as the battle of Fairfax Courthouse.  Captain John Quincy Marr was killed on the front lawn—becoming the war’s first Confederate casualty—and the Confederate spy Antonia Ford was a frequent guest at the house.  Today, the antiques-filled house is known as the Bailiwick Inn, and each of its richly furnished guest rooms is named for and reflects a prominent figure in Virginia history, including Ford, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and George Mason. (14 guest rooms)

The Wayside Inn, Middletown, Va. – Originally known as Wilkinson’s Tavern when it opened as a stagecoach stop in 1797, the inn offered a welcome respite for travelers journeying across the Shenandoah Valley. During the Civil War, Union and Confederate forces swapped control of the area more than 70 times, but the inn managed to stay in business by catering to whichever side was in command at the moment. Renamed the Wayside Inn at the turn of the last century, the hostelry’s Valley Pike location and the increase in automobile travel led to its appellation as “America’s First Motor Inn.” The individually appointed guest rooms reflect different eras, and the inn retains its 18th-century atmosphere with an extensive collection of antiques, fine art and memorabilia. (24 rooms and suites)

Representing nearly 31,500 rooms, Historic Hotels of America ranks as one of the 15 largest hotel consortia in the world, according to Hotels magazine (July 2000).
The directory of member hotels can be purchased by sending a $3.50 check or money order to National Trust Historic Hotels of America, P.O. Box 320, Washington, D.C.  20055-0320. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable.  With more than a quarter million members nationwide, it provides leadership, education and advocacy to save America’s diverse historic places and revitalize our communities.  It has six regional offices and 20 historic sites and works with thousands of local community groups in all 50 states.