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2020: Cambodia — A Tale of Two Hotels Raffles Le Royal and Grand Hotel d'Angkor
Path of History — Walls can talk!
Jamaica — Half Moon Treasury — the new book
Paris — Hotel Prince de Galles — the new book
HOTELS
News
Bond of Brothers — the First Asian Hotel Chain
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Arriving from Armenia, settling on the island of Penang, the Sarkies created the first Asian hotel chain — The Story of A Family
The Façade Competition: does Size matter?
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The Façade Competition: famous hotels are sometimes architectural giants in every respect. Often their façade dominates the surrounding. Does size matter? We have meassured and listed the most famous protagonists of the trade.
Hanoi: The Opening Riddle
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The Metropole in Hanoi confronted us with the most challenging project. The material was scattered all over the world, from London to Paris, from Washington to Aix-en-Provence. But not at the hotel left alone in Vietnam itself.
Stefan Zweig at Hotel Regina, Vienna
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His books were burnt by the Nazis, he escaped the terror but never found peace again. On 22 February 1942, he committed suicide in his exile in Brazil. Today Stefan Zweig is regarded one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He is the most translated author of his time.
The Clean Check
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2020 Survey: Almost half of guests will spend 30 minutes cleaning their own hotel room before use! And 14% would bring their own fresh sheets and towels to a hotel
The First “Grand” Hotel
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London: In January 1774 David Low opened the first so called 'Grand Hotel' in the world. He invited the Duke of Bedford's chief agent to the opening. The hotel was intended for residence by a wealthy clientèle, with a top price of 15s. a night for a suite of two rooms. Best seat in church included!
Bailiffscourt
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July 2020: British hotels are reopening — all Select Members of The Most Famous Hotels are about to serve, again, after Coronoa forced many out of business since March 2020. And there are all the others, small, most unusual lodges, inns, boarding houses and special places we all love so much reopening. One of them is Bailiffscourt on Sussex coast. Famous for being the place for madcap country parties during the Roaring Twenties of the wealthy Guinness family.
Feuilleton 385: The Long Term Stay
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Fighting the worst enemy in isolation: Loneliness. Stay at a famous hotel and never have a dull moment again in your life. Looking back there was the long-term-booking opportunity for the long term resident, and the rates advertised were called „terms negotiable“. I see a revival of this historical term. So let me tell you how it works.
Wild Bey of Cairo
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Meet Auguste Wild, born in Alsace-Lorraine in 1869. Twenty-nine years later he became General Manager of the Savoy Hotel in Cairo. He did so learning his trade along the way as a waiter at London’s Café Royal and then being appointed receptionist clerk at the Baur au Lac in Zurich.
150 Years Grand Hotel Vienna
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Since 10 May 1870 the Grand Hotel Vienna reigns proudly over the Viennese boulevard Ringstrasse — an icon of European hospitality.
Toujours L’attaque! — George Goring †2020
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London Hotelier George Goring passed away, taking up his room at the eternal grand hotel which is waiting for all of us. The world has lost a great hotelier in the old school style: a true host who exuded joie de vivre.
Splendid Isolation
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Adrian Mourby was out there again. This time to experience classic British isolation of a third kind: what would you say if it’s night, dinner time, the windows of the dining room of your hotel loom brightly lit in the not to far distance, and all that’s between you and a decent Martini is the British Channel. Oh yes, and your mobile isn’t working.
Raffles Hotel
The historic building (top, slide to the right): The "new" Raffles main building in 1899. It opened on 18 November 1899, featuring the all new...Read More
Le Royal
Indochine 1923/1924. The construction of a 55-room hotel in Phnom Penh was proposed, with Ernest Hébrard as architect. A visionary planner,...Read More
Half Moon
In 1954, a group of wealthy individuals including Donald Deskey, the fabled designer (among his works the Radio City Music Hall); Harvey Firestone,...Read More
Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya
The hotel opened in 1891. One of the first advertisements we found dates from 1899. The hotel was the former residence of Sir Edward Barns,...Read More
Plaza Athénée
1867 saw the opening of the Grand Hôtel Athénée on Rue Scribe by Louis Raphaël Bischoffsheimto provide...Read More
Raffles Hotel
(1887)
The historic building (top, slide to the right): The "new" Raffles main building in 1899. It opened on 18 November... Read more