April is National Poetry Month and in this edition of Discover & Explore, take a literary journey following authors, songwriters, and poets to some of America's greatest historic hotels. Words on pages or in songs inspire us to dream, believe, and explore. After all, St. Augustine said "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."
|
|
Not All Who Wander Are Lost
The time is now to plan your own literary journey and be inspired by Mark Twain, Anne Rice, Willa Cather and Ernest Hemingway, among others. Many incredible historic hotels served as the inspiration or backdrop for some of America's literary masterpieces.
|
|
In 1877, while visiting Boston, Mark Twain told a reporter that he was staying "pretty near Heaven—not theologically, of course, but by the hotel standard." Twain was at the Omni Parker House, which opened in 1855 at the dawn of a Golden Age of American Literature. Literary women also frequented the hotel; Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe both have meeting rooms named after them.
New Orleans, Louisiana
|
|
Throughout its history, Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street in New Orleans has been a popular haunt for many prominent Southern authors and playwrights. Tennessee Williams wrote The Rose Tattoo (1951) at this hotel, and Ernest Hemingway used various locations throughout the building as the setting for his short story, Night Before Battle. In recognition of the hotel’s literary history, the Friends of the Libraries Association U.S.A. designated Hotel Monteleone as a Literary Landmark ™ in 1999.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
|
|
Truman Capote and Harper Lee—two of the most famous American authors of the 20th century—visited The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, together in 1963.The pair were childhood friends who met when their families were neighbors in Monroeville, Alabama, and bonded over their shared love of literature. In the early 1960s, shortly after Harper Lee had submitted her final manuscript for To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), she and Capote teamed up to research a grim news item that had intrigued Capote. The murder of a family in Holcomb, Kansas, became the inspiration for a series of articles by Capote and finally his nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood (1966). Together, they interviewed people who knew the family over the course of several years. While in the area, they stayed at The Broadmoor at least once, and were photographed there, together, in 1963.
Read More Chapters
Browse The 2024 Historic Hotels of America Most Literary Hotels List to start planning your next adventure. Four members of this list are listed on the Literary Landmarks™ Register by the Friends of Libraries U.S.A. Other historic hotels were selected because they offer guestrooms with substantial libraries or fascinating library architecture. Many of the historic hotels on this list offer history tours for visitors to learn more about the hotel’s history, including the hotel’s literary past and cultural connections. The historic hotels on this list all share a commitment to preserving stories from throughout the ages and the places where history was made.
|
|
Fairytale Hotels
Many historic hotels and lodgings of Historic Hotels Worldwide look like they came straight out of tales by the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson. These hotels can whisk you away to magical lands where you can be the main character of your own fairytale, while dining like royalty or exploring the gardens. Discover authentic destinations in Ireland and Norway where guests might feel whisked away to star in their own fairytale, dining like royalty and exploring magnificent gardens.
|
|
 |
Known as the “hotel from the fairytales,” thanks to its storybook-like Norwegian Dragestil (or Dragon Style) architecture, Dalen Hotel was built in 1894. Its distinctive appearance was inspired by traditional stave churches from the Middle Ages and continues to enchant to this day. Dalen Hotel has retained its authenticity and historical significance, as the hotel is almost identical to the wooden castle that opened at the site those many years ago. Many European royals stayed at Dalen Hotel when it first opened, such as King Oscar II of Norway and Sweden, Emperor Wilhelm of Germany, and King Leopold of Belgium. |
|
|
|
New Market-on-Fergus, Ireland
|
Dromoland Castle has been welcoming guests since the 16th century. It is the ancestral home of the O’Briens of Dromoland, with a lineage that dates back over 1,000 years to one of the last High Kings of Ireland, Brian Boru. The castle was updated and renovated in the 1820s, with additions, carvings, and priceless art, and little has changed since then. After traversing a long, curved drive past a large walled garden and lake, visitors can behold the monumental castle, with its four linked castellated turrets and Gothic-style porch. Locally, visitors can experience Ireland’s rich history, from the medieval town of Ennis to a trip to the Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark. |
|
|
|
Discover and Explore is a service mark of Historic Hotels of America. © Copyright 2024 Historic Hotels of America® and Historic Hotels Worldwide®. All rights reserved.
Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide
1420 New York Avenue, Washington, DC 20005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
