Wentworth by the Sea

The hotel provides the public with little information about its history. Our team researches the hotel's past, from the very beginning, verifying its exact opening date and providing an overview of its history up to the present day.?If you have any useful information and would like to share it, please send it to archives@famoushotels.org.?Thank you This is what we know so far (attention: unverified history!): After a facelift that has remained long overdue, the 127-year-old building, the Wentworth by the Sea, will once again attract those seeking a vacation retreat in New England, a timeless desire.    Though much has changed since 1874 when this resort was built in Newcastle, New Hampshire, the rich history and beauty possessed by the resort will soon be recaptured.    Daniel Chase, a Boston distiller from Somerville, Massachusetts, built the eighty-two-room resort originally named the Wentworth Hall, located at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and close to the Maine border.    In 1876, the name of the resort was changed again to the Hotel Wentworth.    In 1879, Frank Jones purchased the resort.    Jones was responsible for many alterations to the Wentworth.    Just after purchasing the Wentworth, he added another floor, hired a 16-piece orchestra, expanded the existing garden, added a golf course and clubhouse as well as a pond and an icehouse.    Jones’s continued expansions in 1888 as he added another floor, bringing the total number of rooms to 300, as well as a sailboat launch and a dining room. The Wentworth is also an historical attraction as it hosted negotiation talks in 1905.    Russian and Japanese delegates stayed at the Wentworth and devised the Treaty of Portsmouth that ultimately ended the Russo-Japanese War.    President Theodore Roosevelt brought about these peace talks between Russia and Japan, and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions. Not only was the Wentworth noted for being visited by political figures including Prince Charles, many actors, actresses and writers were guests at the Wentworth. The resort provided superior service and accommodations-three floors of attractively furnished rooms, buffet meals, a beauty parlor, garage, valet and laundry service.    The water was supplied from deep artesian wells, and meals were prepared with fresh vegetables from the Wentworth gardens. In 1981, Pacific Park Corporation, a Swiss Company, bought the Wentworth from the Smiths and closed the resort in 1982.    From that time on, the Wentworth was passed around in the hands of multiple owners. Many locals became outraged at the thought of losing the Wentworth.    These people joined together to form Friends of the Wentworth, a group of loyal Wentworth-lovers whose goal was to preserve the resort.    Etoile Holzaepfel is chairman of the 500-member organization.    In May of 1992, the current owners, Henley Properties hired the Green Company, a real estate management firm, to manage the property.    They compromised with Friends of the Wentworth, requesting funds and a plan to allow for feasible renovations to the Wentworth.    Though the Green Company and ‘Friends’ worked together closely in an effort to devise a plan for the restoration of the Wentworth, it was the responsibility of the Friends of the Wentworth to renovate and market the resort.    In an effort to meet their goal of locating a buyer for t+D237he resort, Friends of the Wentworth poured out a great deal of money and time.    For a while, the Wentworth’s future looked bleak, as ‘Friends’ did not receive many inquiries regarding renovations to the resort.    In the fall of 1994, the Green Company purchased the Wentworth.    In June 1995, however, after it became apparent that ‘Friends’ were having difficulty finding a buyer, Alan Green, president of the Green Co., announced that the Wentworth would be demolished.    In July 1995, Green claimed the demolition would occur in three months. In June 1996, the Wentworth received greater attention as it was placed on the National Trust for Historical Preservation’s List of America’s Eleven Most Endangered Places.    Also that month, it appeared in the History Channel’s screening of “America’s Most Endangered.”    The Green Company prolonged the demolition due to its historic preservation status and allowed the Friends of the Wentworth until October 1996 to find a buyer.    October 1st arrived and a definite buyer of the Wentworth had not yet been found.    However, because prospective buyers had been identified, the plans for demolition were delayed again until January 1997.    In January 1997, ‘Friends’ announced that five buyers were interested in purchasing the resort.    Finally, they declared that negotiations were taking place with a certain buyer. After many deadline extensions and much awaited anticipation, Ocean Properties Ltd. entered into an agreement to purchase the Wentworth in February 1997.    Akio Kawato, the Boston consul general of Japan, was present at the press conference, and because the Wentworth is an important part of Japan’s past, he will encourage Japanese tourists to visit the Wentworth. Ocean Properties, one of the ten largest hotel management companies in the country, has a controlling interest in over eighty hotels in the United States and Canada.    They are currently restoring the Wentworth by the Sea to its glamorous Victorian style décor and a premier Marriott destination hotel and spa. The Wentworth will include 164 guest rooms and suites, over 10,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, two full-service restaurants, recreation facilities, and exclusive hotel guest access to the adjacent Wentworth Marina and Wentworth by the Sea Country Club.    An outdoor pool will compliment a full-service 6,300 square foot spa including treatment rooms, saunas, whirlpools and indoor pool. As renovations have begun in anticipation of a Spring 2003 Grand Opening, it has now become reality that the Wentworth by the Sea will once again be a cherished New England getaway, offering world-class accommodations complimenting its rich international history. Excerpted from J. Dennis Robinson as posted at www.seacoastnh.com