In this article on Hotel History, we share Stanley Turkel’s final article. He passed away on August...
Author - Stanley Turkel CMHS hotel-online.com
Hotel History: Paso Robles Inn – Heaven’s Spot
Paso Robles Inn is named for its location, “Heaven’s Spot,” because of the curative powers of the...
Wentworth By The Sea: Largest coastal wood structure
Wentworth by the Sea built in 1874 by Daniel E. Chase and Charles E. Campbell was the largest...
History of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) is a trade association that...
Brilliant Hotel Man Builds Palmer House in Chicago in 1871
The original Palmer House was built in 1871 by Potter Palmer who began his career as a bank clerk...
Outstanding Landscape Architect of Central Park
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public...
Tampa Bay Hotel: The Most Complete Dog Accommodations in Existence
The success of Henry M. Flagler’s Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine convinced Henry B. Plant...
The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia: Luxury and Healing Waters
The Homestead is a famous luxury resort that opened a decade before the American revolutionary war...
Old Terminal New Hotel: The Roosevelt Hotel and The Postum Building
Terminal City originated as an idea during the reconstruction of Grand Central Terminal from the...
The Greenbrier Hotel: Water to Cure Everything
The original hotel, the Grand Central Hotel, was built on this site in 1858. It was known as “The...
Willard Hotel: The Historic Luxury Residence of Presidents
The Willard InterContinental Washington, commonly known as the Willard Hotel, is a historic luxury...
Grand Canyon Jewels: El Tovar Hotel and Hopi Gift Shop
One hundred and sixteen years ago, two architectural jewels opened in the Grand Canyon National...
Severin Hotel: Favorite of Passengers on the 300 Daily Trains
The original Severin Hotel opened in 1913 when it replaced the Grand Hotel of Indianapolis. Its...
Hotel History: Shelton Hotel New York Points the Way of the Future
Few skyscrapers were as admired as the 1924 Shelton Hotel at Lexington Avenue and 49th Street, now...
No Ordinary Hotel: St. Regis Provides New Solution to a Social Problem
In 1904, Colonel John Jacob Astor broke ground for the building of the St. Regis Hotel at the...
Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan succumbs to COVID-19
An iconic hotel in mid-town Manhattan is closing its doors for good. The Hotel Pennsylvania will...
Hotel History: Libby’s Hotel and Baths, New York, NY
In the late 1920s, the stock market was soaring, businesses were enjoying record profits and...
America’s Great Hotels During the Golden Age of the Picture Post Card
In February 2000, there was a unique exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York:...
Mohonk Mountain House hotel in New York: Presidential host built by Quaker twins
In 1869, Albert Smiley, a nature-loving Quaker schoolteacher, bought a property at a good price ...
Ocean House at Watch Hill hotel: Grand staircases leading to nowhere
Ocean House is a large, Victorian-style waterfront hotel originally constructed in 1868 on Bluff...
Hotel Theresa: The Waldorf of Harlem
The Hotel Theresa opened in 1913 on 125th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem and closed its doors...
Oldest operating hotel in Austin Texas: Driskill Hotel
The Driskill, a Romanesque-style building completed in 1886, is the oldest operating hotel in...
Hotel McAlpin with its own orchestra and hospital
The Hotel McAlpin was constructed in 1912 by General Edwin A. McAlpin, son of David Hunter McAlpin...
Boone Tavern Hotel in Kentucky: Hotel History 1855
Built on the old Dixie Highway and named after Kentucky explorer Daniel Boone, the historic Boone...
First integrated hotel in Washington DC: Wormley Hotel
In the beginning, the Wormley Hotel was primarily for the wealthy and powerful White males in the...
Fisher Island Hotel History
Once a one-family island home of the Vanderbilts, and later several other millionaires, Fisher...
Hotel History: Menger Hotel
The Menger Hotel, one of the most iconic and historically significant buildings in San Antonio, was...
Le Chateau Frontenac Quebec City: Celebrated Historic Landmark
Listed as a National Historic Site of Canada, the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is among the...
The Algonquin Hotel: Better than The Puritan
The Algonquin Hotel was originally planned as an apartment hotel with the idea of renting...
The Fairmont Hotel: Nob Hill Grande Dame
The luxurious Grande Dame atop Nob Hill in San Francisco was named after U.S. Senator James Graham...
Hotel Allegro Rises from the Site of the Bismarck Hotel
The Hotel Allegro was created on the site of old Bismarck Hotel in 1998 in Chicago, Illinois. The...
2020 Historic Hotel of the Year: Hermitage Hotel in Nashville
Historic Hotels of America is proud to announce that the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee...
Lodge at the Golden Gate: Steeped in Military History
The history of the spectacular site of the Lodge at the Golden Gate commences with the coastal...
Hotel History: President of Hilton International
On July 12, 2020, I received the following email: “Dear Friends of Curt, With a broken heart, I am...
The Adolphus Hotel: Named for Beer Brewing Founder
The Adolphus Hotel was built by and named for Adolphus Busch, the founder of the Anheuser-Busch...
Union Station Hotel: Recalling Railroad’s Glory Years
Long before it was a historic hotel, the Nashville, Tennessee, Union Station was a key center in...
Brown Palace Hotel: Built on a Cow Pasture
The Brown Palace Hotel opened in 1892 with an eight-story atrium designed by architect Frank E...
Four Seasons Hotel NY Now Housing Medical Professionals
Is it possible to conceive that the Four Seasons Hotel in New York has been converted to house...
Admiral Fell Inn: 4-Story-High Skyscraper
Fell’s Point was founded in the early 1700s when the Fell Brothers arrived from Lancaster, England...
The Barbizon Hotel in New York was Once Only for Women
The Barbizon Hotel for Women was built in 1927 as a residential hotel and clubhouse for single...
Carlyle Hotel: A Living Legend that Embodies the Spirit of New York
The Carlyle Hotel was built by Moses Ginsberg and designed in Art Deco style by architects Sylvan...
Peninsula Hotel New York: Recalling the golden age of luxury hotels
On February 7, 1989, the Peninsula Hotel was designated as a Landmark by the New York Landmarks...
Grand Hotel, Point Clear, Alabama: The Gathering Place
The site on which The Grand Hotel sits today has seen two earlier hotels so named, and the area...
Red Lion Inn Nearly Demolished for Gas Station
Hotel History For more than 246 years, the Red Lion Inn has been welcoming visitors to the...
Hotel History: The Wales Hotel
One of the most charming historic hotels in New York, the Wales Hotel is closing its doors in 2020...
Hotel History: YMCA of Greater New York
Do you know that there is a 167-year old organization located in New York City which owns and...
Hotel History: Hotel Florence – elegance and beautiful design
The Hotel Florence is a former operating hotel located in the Pullman Historic District on the far...
Hotel History: The Heathman Hotel
The original Heathman Hotel was built in 1926 one block from the current structure by George...
Hotel History: Josh Billings on hotels 148 years ago
Josh Billings was the pen name of the 19th century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818-1885)...
Hotel History: Hotelier Raymond Orteig meets Mail Pilot Charles Lindbergh
Raymond Orteig (1870-1934) was the New York City hotel owner who offered the $25,000 Orteig Prize...
Hotel History: Catskill Mountain Resort Hotels – phenomenon unlike any other
This is the story of an area of 250 square miles, approximately an hour-and-a-half drive northwest...
Hotel History: Hotel Man of the Half Century awarded 22 years after death
In 1950, the hotel industry named Ellsworth Milton Statler “Hotel Man of the Half Century,” even...
TWA back at JFK Airport: Sleep quietly
On May 15, 2019, New York’s spectacular new TWA Hotel opened at John F. Kennedy International...
Hotel History: Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo known for opulence, famous guests, and the military
Shepheard’s Hotel history goes back 178 years when it was originally built by Englishman Samuel...
Hotel del Coronado: One of the most popular beach resorts in the US
The renowned Hotel del Coronado is a grand example of elegant Victorian architecture providing one...
Hotel History: Asian American Hotel Owners Association
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) is a trade association that represents hotel...
John Q. Hammons: Master hotel developer and builder
One of the great hoteliers/developers of our time, John Q. Hammons developed 200 hotel properties...
Hotel History: The Americana of New York
The Americana of New York opened on September 25, 1962 as a 2,000-room convention hotel. It was...
Hotel history: The Grand on Mackinac Island still thriving after 132 years
The “Grand” as it is called on the island, is a historic coastal resort with a...
Hotel history: Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter
Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter was a pioneering American woman architect and interior designer whose...
From pot walloper to hotel maven: Frederick Henry Harvey
With foresight and entrepreneurship, Fred Harvey, an immigrant from England, built up business...
The Skirvin Hotel: Oldest hotel in Oklahoma
On September 26, 1911, the ornate Skirvin Hotel was opened for public inspection in Oklahoma in the...
The Grande Dame of Washington: Hotel of Presidents
The Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC opened on February 18, 1925 with 440 guestrooms. It is known as...
Hotel history: Swiss hotelier and chef de cuisine run revolutionary Savoy
Cesar Ritz, Swiss hotelier, and chef de cuisine, Auguste Escoffier, were invited to run the...
Hotel history: The art of hospitality
Fanciful prediction; “turnpike;” pineapple as hospitality; Hokusai, the Japanese printmaker –...
Hotel History: Jefferson Hotel, U.S. Grant Hotel, The Montauk Manor, and The Jung Hotel
Some years ago, I served as the hotel consultant to the Sybedon Corporation, a New York-based real...
Hotel history: Ralph Hitz – Contact the hell out of ‘em
The hotel business has seen many fine promoters and salesmen but perhaps none as creative as Ralph...
Hotel history: The Broadmoor hotel, Colorado Springs
For over a century, dreamers, farmers, investors, and even a Prussian Count have held a vision of...
Hotel history: The Elephantine Colossus Hotel
When Coney Island went from a sandbar resort in Brooklyn to the city’s biggest beachfront...
Hotel history: John McEntee Bowman – builder of the Biltmore chain
During his lifetime career as a hotel developer and operator, John Bowman was a horse lover and a...
Hotel history: President of the Bowman-Biltmore Hotel Corporation (1875-1931)
John McEntee Bowman, president of the Bowman-Biltmore Hotel Corporation, had no easy boyhood. Born...
Hotel history: The Negro motorist Green Book
This series of AAA-like guides for black travelers was published by Victor H. Green from 1936...
“Buffalo Bill” Cody: Wild West promotor of tourism
Hotel History: Irma Hotel
Hotel history: The First Lady of Waikiki
Hotel history: The First Lady of Waikiki
The Boar’s Head Inn resort in Charlottesville: Accolades despite President Trump
The Boar’s Head Inn resort in Charlottesville: Accolades despite President Trump
Pierre Hotel: Highest list price for NY hotel residence at $125 million
Pierre Hotel: Highest list price for NY hotel residence at $125 million
Queen of the Gulf: Hotel Galvez & Spa in Texas
The Hotel Galvez opened on June 10, 1911, a little more than a decade after Galveston was decimated...
Harvard Club of New York: An exercise in historic respect
Harvard Club of New York: An exercise in historic respect
The Beverly Hills Hotel: Fascinating history – famous bed, Kleenex box shoes, 2 vodka bottle breakfasts
The Beverly Hills Hotel is one of the most famous hotels in the world. It was developed in 1912 by...
Hotel history: Stanley Hotel capitalizes on cult film classic
A newspaper story from a couple of years back entitled, “Hotel That Inspired ‘The Shining’ Builds...
