The year 2005 is proving to be an exceptionally
good one for “grande dame” hotels. As an increasingly uppity crop
of young upstart properties peddle their luxury wares, America’s
historic resorts, offering all the charm of a national landmark,
have been dusting themselves off for a new generation of attendees.
Old-time banquet halls, resplendent facades and seemingly endless
acreage now stand alongside wireless Internet, cutting-edge spas
and more. Following are some distinctive veterans that refuse to
rest on their well-won laurels.
Commodious and cozy:
The Al Capone suite at the Biltmore
The Biltmore Hotel
Coral Gables, Fla.
(305) 445-1926
www.biltmorehotel.com
When the jazzy, flashy Biltmore opened in 1926 as hospitality
centerpiece to the budding development of Coral Gables, it
announced itself immediately as an enormous national magnet,
attracting nearly everyone who mattered, from the stalwarts of
government in the East to the denizens of a new entertainment mecca
called Hollywood. Even the Great Depression left the Biltmore
largely unscathed, as the resort filled its legendary pool with
synchronized swimmers and alligator wrestlers, and its bleachers
with captivated thousands. After it was converted to a U.S. Army
regional hospital during World War II, however, the property bore
little resemblance to its original incarnation.
After going unoccupied for 14 years, Coral Gables’ trademark
gem finally reopened in 1987 as a restored glamour hotbed, tipping
its heavily refurbished hat both to its Roaring ’20s origins and
the current zeitgeist.
In 2005, the Biltmore celebrates yet another rebirth. Aside from a
recent soft-goods renovation of all 280 guest rooms and a revamping
of the lobby, in January the resort debuted the 12,000-square-foot
Biltmore Spa. But that’s not all: An expanded fitness center (now
covering 10,000 square feet) reopened in January as well, paraded
alongside a $1.5 million upgrade to the 18-hole golf course and a
revamped Palme d’Or, the Biltmore’s signature restaurant. Updated
poolside cabanas will be unveiled this year as well.
Meeting planners can take special delight in the extensive
technological redo performed on the property’s 76,000 square feet
of meeting space, which includes three ballrooms, two tiered
amphitheaters and a hefty count of breakout rooms.
Meanwhile, the fabled Biltmore pool with a capacity of 700,000
gallons and purported to be the largest such watery playground in
the continental United States continues to draw its share of
splashing, gawking crowds.
In bloom again:
The grand grounds
of the Broadmoor
The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, Colo.
(719) 471-6200
www.broadmoor.com
The self-proclaimed grande dame of the Rockies, the Broadmoor
was born in 1891 as a 2,400-acre casino. It wasn’t until its
repurchase and renovation in 1918, however (following an
intermediary stint as a girls’ boarding school), that the Colorado
Springs landmark, with its opulent interiors and pink stucco
facade, blossomed into the legendary resort it
is today.
And a flood of recent activity suggests the property is
blossoming still. Following an ambitious $75 million renovation in
2002, this 700-room dazzler is still making additions. Last year,
the 10-year-old Spa at the Broadmoor underwent a $3 million
redesign by distinguished spa guru Tag Galyean, gaining 3,200
square feet of treatment space and posh perks such as computerized
hydrotherapy Serenity Showers, valued at $100,000 each.
This fall, the property will debut a restaurant designed by
Adam D. Tihany, the creator of New York City’s Le Cirque 2000. By
the summer of 2006, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Mountain Course will
reopen as a renovated, 18-hole powerhouse. And in October, the
resort will premiere the elegant Broadmoor Hall, a
60,000-square-foot event center. Until then, there remains 114,000
square feet of flexible (and historic) meeting space.
Commodious and cozy:
The Al Capone suite at the Biltmore
The Equinox Resort & Spa
Manchester Village, Vt.
(888) 367-7625
equinox.rockresorts.com
Just because Cosmopolitan magazine rated it one of the
sexiest places in America last year doesn’t make the Equinox Resort
& Spa any less venerable a grande dame than its cohorts. In
fact, for meetings that favor historic character over sultriness,
this Vermont landmark offers more than its fair share. Dating back
to 1769, when it opened as the somewhat more quaint Marsh Tavern,
the property stands as one of the earliest lodging houses in New
England. The pleasures of the Equinox lie far beyond its historical
value, however.
Nestled between the Green and Taconic mountain ranges, and set
at the base of its namesake mount, this 136-room wonder spans 1,300
acres of cushiony green (or white, depending on the season)
landscape. Offering the full battery of activities expected of a
Vermont-area resort i.e., skiing, golf, hiking the distinctly
outdoorsy property also provides group training in archery,
mountain biking and fly-fishing, although few diversions will rival
the seductions of the crackling fireplace installed in all town
house and Dormy House suites.
On the renovations front, 2003 was the Equinox’s big year, and
meetings business was a clear motivator. The property added the
300-seat Rockwell Room and accompanying breakout rooms, as well as
the outdoor Taconic Tent, hung against the majestic backdrop of
Mount Equinox itself, bringing the total on-site tally to 18,500
square feet of function space.
Equally indispensible to the modern meeting planner: the
sparkling new 13,000-square-foot Avanyu Spa, focusing on water
treatments and indigenous plant life, all intended to invigorate
guests for another brisk encounter with the great outdoors. (Why
else the Mountain Man Facial?)
Fontainebleau Hilton Resort
Miami Beach, Fla.
(305) 538-2000
www.fontainebleauhilton.com
Fifty Christmases after it opened in December 1954, the 920-room
Fontainebleau continues to add a glittering presence to the Miami
Beach shoreline. Over time, the vivacious architecture of this
20-acre resort has evolved in the public eye from radical to
timeless, but its magnetism and prestige remain consistent. The
storied guest log (including the signatures of every president of
the United States since Dwight D. Eisenhower) adds notable sheen to
the property’s legend.
Lately, renovations at the Fontainebleau have been coming fast
and strong. After completing a $65 million overhaul that included
revamped guest rooms, expanded meeting space and a host of new
recreational offerings from restaurants to a water-park ride the
property this year unveiled the 36-story, 462-room Fontainebleau II
Tower, an especially elite wing for guests glitzy enough to require
extra-special VIP treatment within what already is a VIP facility.
Presumably inspired by America’s continual frenzy for sequels,
groundbreaking on the Fontainebleau III already has taken
place.
But there’s more on tap for the property. After the resort was
sold this year to Turnberry Associates, the new owners wasted no
time in announcing plans to secede from the Hilton dynasty and
initiate a new series of ambitious refurbishments to the tune of
approximately $150 million. The slate of improvements will include
the creation of new signature restaurants, several Las Vegas-style
entertainment additions, and the complete renovation of all the
meeting and event space which happens to be as abundantly
over-the-top as the monumental property itself: 190,000 square feet
of flexible function space is distributed over three uninterrupted
floors.
Pretty in pink:
The Greenbrier’s
elegant main ballroom
Greenbrier
White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
(800) 453-4858
www.greenbrier.com
The history of the Greenbrier is as winding as the garden paths
snaking through its 6,500 acres. The property began life in 1778 as
the White Sulphur Springs estate, named for the spring still
bubbling at the resort’s center, under the green-domed Springhouse
that continues to serve as architectural anchor. The estate quickly
took the form of an isolated cottage village for those who came on
medicinal pilgrimage to “take the waters.”
By the Civil War, new stagecoach roads through the mountainous
terrain and increasingly embellished lodges led to the area’s solid
reputation as a hotspot for society’s finest. In 1913 came the
addition of the Greenbrier Hotel, which eventually became popular
enough to share its name with the entire resort. By the turn of
this century, the resort was offering 803 guest rooms, including
its signature cottages and guest estates, famous for their delicate
balance of home and heaven.
The year 2004 brought a welcome touch of modern luxury to the
timeless estate, including the installation of a new infinity pool
on the grounds. The resort also has opened the Treetop Cafe, a
poolside restaurant that seats 72. The new venue joins the ranks of
85,000 square feet of propertywide event space branded with the
Greenbrier seal of elegance.
Grove Park Inn
Resort & Spa
Asheville, N.C.
(800) 438-5800
www.groveparkinn.com
Since Grove Park’s opening in 1913, few sights have been able to
rival the view from one of the property’s guest-room windows.
Planted 2,500 feet above the sea and within kissing distance of the
celestial Blue Ridge Mountains, the resort offers abundant
opportunities for gasping with wonder.
The interiors, however, with their own brand of simple,
homespun luxury, are not to be outdone by the surroundings. The
landmark lobby is still made of the heavy stones, mined from nearby
Sunset Mountain, that gave form to the property when it opened.
These building blocks bear the now-aged engraved quotes from
respected and anonymous sources alike.
Without losing a grip on its rustic beginnings, however, Grove
Park has been venturing boldly into more modern territory. A
multiyear renovation of all 510 guest rooms came to completion last
year and included the premiere of new era-themed suites in the
property’s cottage area. Any guest hoping to occupy, for example,
the swinging 1960s for one more night is now in luck.
Aside from novelty projects, the famously comfortable resort
has dutifully entered the mattress race and now provides nothing
but plush-top beds in all guest rooms. For meetings, the resort
still offers 50,000 square feet of dedicated space, including a
17,676-square-foot ballroom and 42 meeting rooms.
Other sweet spots on property include the 50,000-square-foot
sports complex (featuring six tennis courts) and the
40,000-square-foot spa, serving up distinctly modern menus (i.e.,
color and light therapy with aura imaging) in a deliberately
unmodern setting (high stone walls and ornate torcheres).
Of course, whether prone on a massage table or sitting upright
at one of the property’s four restaurants, attendees at this North
Carolina institution are promised plentiful helpings of its
trademark Southern hospitality.
In good stead:
The face of the
15,000-acre Homestead
The Homestead
Hot Springs, Va.
(800) 838-1766
www.thehomestead.com
There’s nothing like a 1766 opening date and some famously
refreshing water treatments to prove that spa destinations are no
new fad. When the Homestead originally was built on 300 Virginia
acres, 10 years before the American Revolution, the main draw of
the resort was its matchlessly purifying water springs, emphasized
even more heartily by the legendary Dr. Thomas Goode, the
property’s third owner and father of America’s first hydrotherapy
craze: the spout bath.
But this grande dame had more to offer than its liquid assets.
Both extravagant and serene, the 506 rooms of the Homestead gained
a reputation of their own, as did the resort’s famous golf, dining,
and riding and hiking trails, especially once the new ownership of
J.P. Morgan ushered in an exhaustive revitalization process.
This year, the landmark Homestead now expanded to 15,000 acres
celebrates yet another rebirth. A $75 million, 10-year restoration
that began in the mid-’90s is expected to finish as the property
renovates its rooms, expands some of its suites, installs wireless
and high-speed Internet throughout the property, and adds two new
event spaces: a gun room and an adjoining pavilion. The additions,
offering 5,865 square feet as well as generous views of the Warm
Springs Valley, complete a total of 72,000 square feet of on-site
function space.
Unlike the typical resort renovation, this refurbishment does
not aim to leave the property looking brand new. Walking trails and
guest rooms alike are meant to conjure the dignity and heritage of
immortals such as George Washington and Thomas Edison, both of whom
spent some time here. It is for this reason that the on-site spa,
while offering all the modern fare one would find elsewhere, still
provides a dip in the spout bath. After all, it’s no accident that
aside from all the Homestead’s glamour, its guest room porches
provide some of the country’s last perfect settings for a rocking
chair.
Hotel Hershey
Hershey, Pa.
(717) 533-2171
www.hersheypa.com
For decades, untold numbers of schoolchildren have come to adore
the chocolate universe that is Hershey, Pa., a fact not lost on
smart meeting planners, thanks to the simple maxim: Yesterday’s
children grow up to become today’s attendees.
Free-flowing cocoa wasn’t the only thing Depression-era
developer Milton Hershey had in mind when he created the eponymous
resort town in the early 1930s. At the center of it all, joined by
a selection of Hershey properties, is the legendary Hotel Hershey,
classic and elegant enough to satiate even a guest indifferent to
the charms of chocolate.
Set atop 300 acres of rolling Pennsylvania landscape, the
property was built in 1933 with the heady inspiration of Egypt’s
grand Heliopolis Hotel, and it shows. The mildly Mediterranean
style reflects a forward-looking aesthetic vision for the time and
an ageless level of luxury in the present day.
Of course, it helps that the hotel undergoes frequent
renovations. The 225-room property dedicated $2 million to
renovating 120 of its 232 guest rooms last year, enrobing the rooms
with touches such as new linens and lamps and upgrading all
beds.
The spa, too, which the property opened in 2001, doubled in
size in time for the new year. Now measuring 30,000 square feet,
the wellness sanctuary offers a total of 53 treatment rooms. Even
the treatments performed here come characteristically
chocolate-dipped, with the whipped cocoa bath and chocolate fondue
wrap offered alongside more traditional pamperings. The spa now
features a clutch of Cuban treatments as well, a nod to the
Cubaphilic Hershey himself.
It takes a village:
The cozy but fabulous Spa Ojai
Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
Ojai, Calif.
(805) 646-5511
www.ojairesort.com
This luxurious gem about 75 miles northwest of Los Angeles
International Airport has been in operation since 1923, when the
220-acre resort originated as an ambitiously sprawling golf course.
Indeed, the course’s lushness and difficulty remain legendary.
Happily, however, golf has ceded its monopoly on Ojai offerings,
and the resort has since introduced a number of other reasons to
marvel.
Not least among them is Spa Ojai, a sun-dappled,
31,000-square-foot village. Impeccable touches include the organic
candy store for children at Camp Ojai and the hired herbalist
continually brewing and explaining site-specific essences in the
resort’s main garden.
Ojai’s renovations in preparation for this year have been
particularly exhaustive, leaving sometimes as much as half of the
acreage unavailable for months at a time. With the $70 million,
16-month project finally completed last month, however, the resort
once again is operating at full blast. The property now offers 305
new or renovated rooms, all designed to match the Spanish Colonial
makeover, not to mention a new signature restaurant called
Maravilla, a substantially larger main pool and a 1,650-square-foot
golf shop.
Ojai also has set its relentless sights on meetings with a
newly opened conference center featuring an updated Topa Center
ballroom (4,800 square feet) and a new Hacienda ballroom (6,000
square feet), as well as an executive boardroom and 12,000 square
feet of prefunction space.
Otesaga
Cooperstown, N.Y.
(800) 348-6222
www.otesaga.com
Named after the Iroquois term for “a place for meeting,” the
Otesaga has been drawing guests in droves ever since its grand
opening in 1909. From the moment one passes the 30-foot columns
that fortify its entrance, the Federal-style property, set along
700 feet of Lake Otsega shoreline (better known as “Glimmerglass”
in the novels of James Fenimore Cooper), announces itself as an
impressively timeless resort in a thoroughly lovely setting.
With its various landmarks (the National Baseball Hall of Fame
and Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum) and its consistent tone of
quiet Americana, the surrounding city of Cooperstown is one of the
Otesaga’s most charming offerings. On property grounds themselves,
however, guests have spent decades adoring the classic, elegant
interiors as well as the ever-popular Leatherstocking golf
course.
This year, the Otesaga gives its admirers new reason to come
flocking, as it completes a $39 million renovation begun nearly six
years ago. Since 1999, the resort has spent its winters (when the
property is closed to the public) renovating the 139 guest rooms,
installing blessedly modern touches such as high-speed Internet and
central air and heat. Also retouched: the moved and updated
swimming pool and a newly renovated Leatherstocking. Last month,
renovations finished on the 2,600-square-foot ballroom and 13
meeting rooms. A new spa is the next consideration.
Now that the current round of renovations is ending, Otesaga
winters are available for buyouts, an ideal way to appreciate the
place in all its exclusivity.
Pinehurst
Village of Pinehurst, N.C.
(800) 487-4653
www.pinehurst.com
One of America’s most illustrious golf getaways, the time-tested
Pinehurst has been hosting high-class putters since 1898, while
bearing the favored greens of Jack Nicklaus, Payne Stewart and most
other aspirants. Original owner James Walker Tufts didn’t discover
that his guests had an interest in golf until a year after opening
a neighbor complained of little white balls flying out of the
resort’s 5,500 acres and scaring the cows. Tufts immediately
brought in a course designer, beginning two long Pinehurst
traditions: links building, and paying close attention to the
wishes of clientele. With more than a century in existence, the
site now offers 144 infamously difficult holes, spread out over
eight courses, as well as all the other comforts its guests expect
including the 31,000-square-foot spa (with 28 service rooms and a
three-lane lap pool) the Pinehurst team opened in 2002 in response
to an increasingly massage-hungry world.
This year brings the U.S. Open Championship to the property,
and quite a few renovations have been arranged to prepare the
greens for the return visit. The last two years have seen overhauls
to three courses. Most recently updated is the Tom Fazio-designed
course six, whose renovation (under the watchful eye of Fazio
himself) began last June and finished only last month, upgrading
the course to championship level. Also new at course six is a
covered pavilion perfect for greens-side events. Attendees eager
for a lesson will appreciate the redesigned Pinehurst Learning
Center, too.
Other new event spaces are coming to the grand West Lawn area,
with another covered pavilion, this one capacious enough for 500
cocktail drinkers, expected by early 2006. Next door, the Carolina
Hotel, a 2,000-acre property holding 220 of the Pinehurst’s 470
rooms, features a revamped dining room, a new coffee shop and a new
business center. Also updated at the Carolina are all bathrooms
modernized, but stately and elegant still. Renovations have cost
the property more than $20 million over the past several years.
Like its guests, however, Pinehurst tries to wear its money
discreetly.