Hotel History

Since winter is in full swing, we knew it was time for the Stanley Hotel – everyone's favorite haunted hotel and inspiration for The Shining by Stephen King (and the movie by the same name, natch). But the hotel had a haunted reputation even before King made it famous and those twin movie ghosts made it infamous. Throw in their very own frozen dead guy a la the world's only cryonics museum, and yo...

We've dug into some interesting corners of the internet (thank you messynessychic.com !) to bring you five strange, surprising, and fun hotels around the world, including the last steamship on the Nile, a hotel in the south of France that wishes it were a ship, a conservation-based hotel where you can hang out with giraffes, a kitschy hotel turned pop culture icon, and a Hogwarts-esque castle in P...

New York City at Christmastime is the most wonderful time of the year! We bring you our top five NYC hotels during the Christmas season, all full of immaculate decorations, bespoke packages and excursions, and boozy brunches for Christmas and New Year's Day to take the edge off all the holiday fun. ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addiction) here or on Patreon . 📰 Sign up for o...

The Savoy Hotel redefined hospitality for London in the late 19th century, and it remains one of the top hotels in the world. In Part 3, we discuss the hotel's history following World War II through today, including Queen Elizabeth's coronation ball, Bridget D'Oyly taking the helm, famous celebrities who stayed (and got turned away), and a fun reality TV show back in 2020 titled, fittingly, "The S...

We interview the creators of The Hotel Who, an immersive and interactive theater experience currently based in Los Angeles (but hopefully coming to more cities soon). They tell us about their current show (a 1930's murder mystery held in a castle in the Hollywood Hills), how they got started, and what's next for this unique art form. 🎟️ You can buy tickets to an upcoming show here 🏨 Follow The Ho...

Salem, MA, is a town steeped in history. It is forever embossed in pop culture as Witch City thanks to the witch trials in 1692 and its 20th century resurgence as a spiritual (and literal) home for many Wiccans. Salem's hotels are also entrenched in history. Built anywhere from the 1600's to 1925, they offer an escape wrapped up in local history, lore, and even a few ghosts. ☕️ You can support Ho...

If you fancy a midnight run-in with the famed Headless Horseman, or maybe just want to stroll down the road with the Lady in White, you should take a little trip to Sleepy Hollow. Yes, it's a real place made famous by Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow . In addition to its ghost stories, it boasts a plethora of historical places, including the Florence Inn and the Castle Hotel & S...

The Savoy Hotel redefined hospitality for London in the late 19th century, and it remains one of the top hotels in the world. In Part 2, we discuss the hotel under Rupert D'Oyly Carte from the Belle Epoque, through the Jazz Age, and into the Second World War with plenty of scandals, spies, and intrigue along the way. ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addiction) here or on Patreon...

The Savoy Hotel redefined hospitality for London in the late 19th century, and it remains one of the top hotels in the world. In Part 1, we discuss the man behind the vision, Richard D'Oyly Carte, his decades-long partnership with light opera composers Gilbert & Sullivan, and some of the early scandals that plagued the hotel, (including one of its most famous guests, Oscar Wilde). ☕️ You can...

Fall is finally here, so we're taking a little trip to Stars Hollow, CT, to talk about the inns that provide a backdrop, back story, and realized dream for Lorelai Gilmore; her daughter, Rory; and her best friend, Sookie St. James – the Independence and Dragonfly Inns. We'll also give a little history on the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT, which helped inspire the show’s creator. We may get sidet...

In part three of our interview with Jen Stewart, host of the Borscht Belt Tattler Podcast, we continue learning about famous hotels of the region and discuss the Borscht Belt in pop culture. 🎧 Listen and subscribe to Jen's podcast here and follow her on Instagram . ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addiction) here or on Patreon . 📰 Sign up for our free newsletter, The CHECK-IN...

In part two of our interview with Jen Stewart, host of the Borscht Belt Tattler Podcast, we talk about the impact the Borscht Belt had on sports, especially boxing and basketball, and talk about one of the most famous Borscht Belt hotel owners, Jennie Grossinger. 🎧 Listen and subscribe to Jen's podcast here and follow her on Instagram . ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addictio...

We're going to the Catskills! It's summer vacation, and for thousands of 20th century families, that meant a trip out of the sweltering heat of New York City into the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where they patronized thousand-acre resorts, bungalow colonies, and B&B's. We welcome special guest Jen Stewart, host of the Borscht Belt Tattler Podcast, as she takes us through the rise a...

Welcome back to the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, where scandals live side by side with art and culture. This episode starts with the tragedy of John Belushi's death in the 1980s and finishes in the present day with union strikes and sexual assault allegations against the hotel's owner with a fair amount of sex, partying, death, and even rioting in between. ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and...

Just above the famed Sunset Strip in West Hollywood lies an architectural fluke, an artist's muse, a celebrity playground. Chateau Marmont is one of Los Angeles' best known hotels, even if most Angelenos can't actually pinpoint where it is. This one has it all folks — high society, mobsters, the Hollywood elite, and debauchery of all sorts. ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addic...

Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? If it's to learn about one of Hollywood's oldest hotels, we've got you covered. The Hollywood Roosevelt has been a hot spot for celebrities since it was built in the late '20s and continues to delight tourists and residents alike with celebrity sightings and a few hauntings, including Marilyn Monroe. ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addic...

The second half of the Plaza's history is filled with glamorous parties, rock stars, activists, billionaires, bankruptcy, a precocious 6-year-old running wild, and a slew of household names, including the Beatles, Truman Capote, Betty Friedan, and Donald Trump. ☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addiction) here or on Patreon . 📰 Sign up for our free newsletter, The CHECK-IN . 📖...

For our inaugural episode, we take on a New York institution – the Plaza Hotel. We discuss its Gilded Age origins (ambitious, glamorous, and a wee bit violent), its rich and famous residents, and how it handled progress and change through the first half of the 20th century. You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addiction) here or on Patreon . Sign up for our free newsletter, The CHECK-IN...