Turnpike
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Fanciful Prediction, the Definition of “Turnpike”, The Pineapple as a Symbol of Hospitality and Hokusai, the Great Japanese Printmaker
Reading Room
HOTELS
Summer Time / The Best Concierge Stories
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Concierge stories are told at famous hotels like good Jewish jokes. They are always a success.
Historic Hotelnames
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This growing log explains the origins of names of hotels, frequently used in history. We are constantly expanding this list and you are invited to share your knowledge.
Metropole Hanoi: bunker discovered
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Kai Speth, the general manager of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi was all excited. Many years ago I had written a book about the history of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi. There were rumours about a bunker in the courtyard, a relic from the American War.
The Oldest ‘Grand’ Hotel of Paris
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Baron Hausmann commissioned the Pereire brothers, powerful bankers who heavily financed the reconstruction of Paris, to build a luxurious new hotel. Designed by the architect Alfred Armand, the Grand Hotel du Louvre was opened in 1855, just in time for the International Exhibition staged in Paris that year. It was the first luxury hotel in France and the first 'Grand Hotel' of Paris.
Ritz-Carlton: The Beginning
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Ritz-Carlton's name is based on The Carlton in London and the Ritz in Paris. The first Ritz-Carlton opened in New York in 1911.
Mourby of Books
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Two books by Adrian Mourby, famoushotels roving reporter and tireless collector of hotel anecdotes, should interest all hotel aficionados: "Rooms of One's Own — 50 Places That Made Literary History" and his latest work "Rooms with a View — The Secret Life of Great Hotels“.
Hotel Bristol Vienna on Artivive
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A wall comes to live. Augmented Reality can be found in famoushotels exhibitions like at the Hotel Bristol in Vienna.
Chaïm Soutine — Cooks, Waiters and Bellboys
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LONDON: Chaïm Soutine — First ever exhibition to assemble Soutine’s remarkable portraits of service staff from the fashionable hotels and restaurants of Paris in the 1920s.
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!
First Movies at Hotels
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At the Hotel Scribe, in Paris, on 25 December 1895, Auguste and his brother Louis Jean Lumière showed the first motion picture. Later, hotels used to be the best places to present movies. They offered the infrasturcture needed.
Oriental-Mania
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Around 1900, the Orient was a myth to many. Hotels were baptised 'De L'Orient' or 'Oriental' and inspired legends and fables. For most of us, today, the term Oriental Hotel appears to be linked to the city of Bangkok. That lead to the believe that there always was only one Oriental Hotel.
Grand Hotel Scarborough
The Grand Hotel has been selected (in the travel and tourism category) as one of the top ten places, buildings and historical sites that tell the...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...Read More
Galle Face
"So pleasant a change from the dreary ordinariness of most modern hotels. This is an Island of charm on a charming Island." Simon...Read More
Prince de Galles
The Parisian hotel with two names! And it all started with a kiss! More than anybody else, Edward, the Prince of Wales (1910–1936),...Read More
Grand Hotel Royal (Corinthia Budapest)
The man with the sign ‘Grand Hotel Royal’ awaits me on the platform at Keleti railway station. He takes my bags and me to the hotel. The...Read More