The word " iconic " gets throw around by hotel almost as often as the lyric " $ 34.95 overnight parking . " But unlike charging your car its own AARP room charge per unit , the condition is pretty hard to define . hotel that opened in January will be calling themselves " iconic " by March if something as crazy as theBad Girls Clubfilm bunch shows up . What we ’re saying is , the word has gotten a piffling dilute .
But in each state there ’s at least one hotel that can legitimately call itself an icon . Whether it ’s historic , famous from movies and television receiver , or just enduringly emblematical , if you ’re going to remain in that state , this is the quintessential shoes to do it . Turns out that some are grand , Gilded Age structures , some are Art Deco masterpieces , some are wild social club . All are worth checking out , or even parking yourself at for a spell .
Alabama
The Battle House RenaissanceMobileOpened:1852 ( the original)Perhaps a more exact name for this institution would be the " out - of - battle house , " as its most historical use was during the Civil War as a confederate hospital . The building , on the curtilage of Andrew Jackson ’s War of 1812 headquarters , was open up by James Battle in 1852 . The archetype fire down in 1905 , and was reconstructed four year later . Since then it has put up such luminaries as Woodrow Wilson when he gave his first public address as president .
Alaska
Denali Backcountry LodgeDenali National ParkOpened:1989With a serious tip of the hat to the Historic Anchorage Hotel , which opened right smart back in 1936 , nothing is more ironically Alaska than a lodge in the middle of Denali National Park . And even though this property opened comparatively recently , its luxe private cabins pose in the broken Alaska wild are the stuff of dream vacation . sure as shooting , it ’s an all - inclusive , but that just means that Edgar Albert Guest can do all the classic Alaskan activities like sportfishing , hiking , and atomic number 79 - panning at no extra bang . ditto mark encountering wildlife – a bus ride there has at least a 50/50 fortune of being held up by moose in the route .
Arizona
Arizona BiltmorePhoenixOpened:1929This place is so Arizona , it ’s literally made of desert Baroness Dudevant . No trick , when Frank Lloyd Wright consulted with his former student Albert Chase McArthur on the hotel ’s designing , they chose to reconstruct it out of " Biltmore Blocks " made of inured desert sand . The place has been a famous person hot spot since the twenty-four hour period it open up ; the Hellenic Catalina Pool is said to have been Marilyn Monroe ’s pet , and where Irving Berlin wrote " White Christmas . " Which , if you ’ve ever spend the holidays in Arizona , make perfect sense .
Arkansas
Capital HotelLittle RockOpened:1870The memorial tablet on the exterior of this Downtown landmark lets you know that Ulysses S. Grant stayed there ; another president , by the name of William Jefferson Clinton , used it as his local landing place spot during his two terms before he build his presidential depository library down the street . More relevant to your stay is the $ 24 million renovation that local I - banking billionaire Warren Stephens sank into the joint a 10 ago . The rooms may be the classy in town – a visiting David Sedaris once gush over his stay there , saying that ’s where he ’d go to have a sister . But even passerby - by can ramble in to ogle the tile and chandeliers of the grand pressure group , or duck into the bar for outstanding cocktails , suffice with complimentary pork - fried fateful - eyed pea . –Sam Eifling , Thrillist Travel editor
California
Beverly Hills HotelBeverly HillsOpened:1912In a state as vast and iconic as California , there are bound to be some cut . The Coronado in San Diego , the Claremont in Berkeley , the Biltmore in Santa Barbara . But nowhere exudes Hollywood celebrity like the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows , a 208 - room , 28 - bungalow pink - and - dark-green legend that fuel celebrity scuttlebutt decade before TMZ . This is the place where John Lennon and Yoko Ono holed up for week to hightail it the wardrobe . Where Nixon ’s chief of staff instruct about Watergate , and where the picture on the cover of the Eagles’Hotel Californiawas guessing . you may turn back it out anytime you like .
Colorado
Stanley HotelEstes ParkOpened:1909Two hotels are inextricably linked toThe shine . One is the Timberline in Oregon ( more on that later ) and the other is this 420 - room behemoth , which house Stephen King in the seventies and , ostensibly , served as the mannequin for the shoes where Jack Nicholson commune with dead barman . Inventor Freelan Oscar Stanley created it to introduce wealthy Northeasterners to the wonders of the Rockies . The hotel effectively turn the settlement of Estes Park into a legitimate urban center , and help with the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park . ThoughThe Shiningmight be the hotel ’s most recognizable legacy , the common will be its most imperishable .
Connecticut
Foxwoods Resort CasinoMashantucketOpened:1986Connecticut , famous for sportfishing gild and wild resorts , has one symbol that stands above the rest : Foxwoods , the pre - eminent gaming destination for discerning atomic number 28 - one-armed bandit players throughout the tri - state area and New England . One ground : It couple destination play with a trove of outlet stores , including the new Tanger Outlets , home to high - end retail from the ilk of Coach , H&M , and Michael Kors . All that , and it ’s also home to thebest steakhouse in Connecticut , David Burke Prime .
Delaware
Hotel du PontWilmingtonOpened:1913The most prestigious menage name in Delaware is also on the distinguished hotel in the state . Located in the heart of Wilmington , the hotel opened in 1913 , after a team of 18 European craftsmen spent two years completing the marble , woodwork , and artisan ceiling . A late $ 40 million renovation only cements it as one of the finest hotels on the continent . Its DuPont Theatre inwardly boasts the fourthly - gravid stage in America , and the Green Room eatery has garner the coveted AAA Four Diamond rating . No wonder presidents such as Warren Harding , JFK , and Obama have all stay nights in its delicately appointed guest way .
District of Columbia
Watergate HotelOpened:1967Every American scandal or quasi - scandal since 1974 has been call " Something - gate . " What happened in ' 74 to change the American lexicon ? In a word , Watergate . This is where burglars working for Richard Nixon ’s run stop into Democratic National Committee offices , localize in apparent movement events that lead to the only presidential surrender in US history . While the curving , distressingly 1960s design has been draw as being " as appropriate as a flight strip dancer perform at your grandmother ’s funeral , " the building was DC ’s first assorted - use complex , with apartments , offices , shopping , swim pool , and garden . After a recent nine - yr closure , it reopen this summer as one of the most modern hotel in the city .
Florida
FontainebleauMiami BeachOpened:1954Florida has some beautiful historical hotels : the Breakers in Palm Beach , the Don CeSar in St. Pete Beach . But necessitate anyone stick out after 1990 to name a hotel in Florida , and Fontainebleau will be the only one they MIGHT get up with . This gem is a lot more than the home of the night club LIV and celebrity - fill pool parties . prowess Deco business leader Morris Lapidus design it the 1950s , intending it to be the DoS ’s grandest example of that architecture style . It soon became a playground for the likes of Frank Sinatra , Elvis , and Lucille Ball , help to make its puddle America ’s most far-famed outside of California . Today , after a billion - clam renovation , it ’s still the go - to hotel for living the Miami fantasy better than any other place in the state .
Georgia
Clermont HotelAtlantaOpened:1939"Iconic " does not necessarily signify " nice . " Or even " up to legal wellness codes . " Nowhere is this more apparent than at Atlanta ’s notorious Clermont Hotel . It may be the only hotel in the world that is exponentially more famous for its airstrip club than it is for its invitee rooms , where the authentically divey Clermont Lounge has been an last - of - the - night staple for generations of Atlantans . The Lounge has remained undetermined even as the hotel was shut for wellness - codification violation in 2009 , but a monumental renovation and reconstruction programme is currently afoot in the hotel , and its slated to open up in March 2017 as a completely reinvented , but no less iconic , fixture of the urban center .
Hawaii
Royal HawaiianHonoluluOpened:1927On a Honolulu skyline jammed with fungible hotel and apartment tower , this pink stucco monument stands out like a beacon of history . What to begin with start as a four - tarradiddle , 400 - way luxury holiday resort went on to serve as a major R&R center for soldiers and sailors in the Pacific front during World War II . Since then it ’s meet a few major renovations , total the Royal Tower wing in the 1960s and the new Mailani Tower extension in 2015 . The refuge now boasts 528 rooms , make hordes of visitor to Waikiki , the most renowned touristry neighbourhood in Hawaii .
Idaho
Sun Valley LodgeSun ValleyOpened:1936Destination ski lodges are nowde rigueurin any self - respect ski town . But in the thirties , the approximation of build an integral hangout based around a seasonal sport was unheard of , until this cardinal Idaho spot spread its door . After a massive overhaul this year , the nation ’s first destination ski lodge has never looked grander .
Illinois
Drake HotelChicagoOpened:1920Right now , a dozen people hold after 1995 are reading this and thinking , " Holy bullshit , they open a Drizzy - themed hotel ! " But this Windy City landmark outdates the Auto - TunedDegrassialum by about 66 years . The bright - red rooftop sign stands over a place where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio once chip at their initials into the Cape Cod Room bar , and where the Coq d’Or opened to serve 40 - cent whiskey the solar day after Prohibition ’s repeal . Its legendary Gold Coast room has been a swanky hangout for fame from Charles Lindbergh to Walt Disney .
Indiana
French Lick ResortFrench LickOpened:1845Thanks to this hotel French Lick was a grand destination for a C before Larry Legend came along . Opened by Dr. William Bowles as a wellness hideaway , the hotel pass on its most grandiose with the 1901 addition of the " spa backstage " – now the West Baden Spa – an architectural precursor to the Astrodome with its sprawling , 200 ft atrium , once dubbed " the eighth wonder of the macrocosm . " The dimension ’s golf game path in 1924 hosted the PGA Championship ; during the 1930s the hotel was the unofficial household of the popular party . While not the most notable hotel in the Midwest , it ’s still a popular name and address for conventions , golfing , or just unornamented relaxation .
Iowa
Hotel BlackhawkDavenportOpened:1914This historical gemstone , not to be put off with the Blackhawk Hotel in Cedar Falls , is a grand , visit structure that has undergone numerous renovations in 102 years . While its storied story as one of the old hotel in the state take in it iconic in and of itself , nothing is quite as quintessentially Midwestern as having a massive fire break out because of a meth research lab explosion . Which is exactly what happened in Room 803 back in 2006 .
Kansas
Drury Plaza Hotel BroadviewWichitaOpened:1922This 200 - way brick landmark sits on the Arkansas River , close to major runway lines . During a fourth dimension when traveller through the Midwest detect few signs of civilization it was a bastion of comfort on the vast , empty plains . During forbiddance its basement was home to Wichita ’s only speakeasy , and the rooftop bar was the first in the city . But perhaps the hotel ’s most notable feature is the 1,500sqft mosaic in the Crystal Ballroom from Blackbear Bosin calledThe Advance of Civilization in Kansas , which portray the state during its most tough frontier period .
Kentucky
Brown HotelLouisvilleOpened:1923When J. Graham Brown opened his 16 - narrative , $ 4 million hotel , Downtown Louisville was n’t much . The hotel kick off a manna from heaven in theaters , function , and eating place around the intersection of Fourth St and Broadway , which became known as the city ’s Magic Corner . The Brown dish up as both a gather place during the swell Ohio River deluge of 1937 , and a first - stop - home for World War II soldier returning from Fort Knox
Louisiana
Hotel MonteleoneNew OrleansOpened:1886Narrowing down the most iconic hotel among the Gallic Quarter jewels is almost as operose as figure out who has the best drinks on Bourbon Street . While the Roosevelt is famous for its ornate anteroom and theSazerac Bar , the nod here has to go to the Monteleone . Its heroic white façade is almost as patent as the jumbo , lit - up house on the roof . Capote , Hemingway , and Faulkner used to hole up here to write , taking the occasional break for a Pimm ’s Cup at the notable Carousel Bar . Which is , as the name might imply , a gallant indoor carousel that doubles as a place to get a footling woozy .
Maine
Westin Portland HarborviewPortlandOpened:1927When the then-369 - room Eastland Park Hotel opened in 1927 , it was the large hotel in New England , standing as a welcoming ikon over the port at Congress and High Streets . It gained ill fame as a place that refuse to let Eleanor Roosevelt continue with her dog , and later on became famous for Ozzy Osbourne tossing pool article of furniture off the rooftop ( a practice guests later imitated , lead to the eventual culmination of the pool ) . The hotel fell into disrepair until 2011 , when it undergo an 18 - month , $ 50 million renovation and reopened as the Westin Portland Harborview .
Maryland
Inn at Perry CabinSt . MichaelsOpened:1999Have you ever used the idiomatic expression " stage - five clinger " to describe someone ? Welp , that term originated here , at a former manor house that was used as the backcloth forWedding Crashers , and the former IRL menage to the family that create the Laura Ashley descent of material . Now it ’s a full - religious service resort in Maryland ’s most exclusive vacation area , ply by Belmond , replete with a health spa , o.k. dining , and load of sailing excursions .
Massachusetts
Omni Parker HouseBostonOpened:1855What do Emeril Lagasse , Malcolm X , and Ho Chi Minh all have in vernacular ? All were waiter at this fabled hotel on Boston ’s Freedom Trail . ( Bust that out at your next cocktail party . ) The oldest continuously operating hotel in America has seen more history than probably any in the nation , and just walk through the lobby is an immersion in nineteenth - hundred luxuriousness . Its guest roster is a dish : Henry David Thoreau , Babe Ruth , FDR , Yo - Yo Ma . " The Grand Dame of Boston hotels " is so intertwined with our nation ’s history , an entire book has been write about it , calledHeaven , by Hotel Standards .
Michigan
Grand HotelMackinac IslandOpened:1887Traveling across the Straits of Mackinac , where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan converge , to Mackinac Island is like enter an totally different nation , in a different century . You ’ll still have mobile phone service and Wi - Fi – but cars are prohibited , so the preferred mode of transportation is horse cavalry - run go-cart or bicycle . The social centrepiece of the island is the Grand Hotel ’s front porch – the world ’s long – where visitors assemble day and nighttime from May to October , even if they ’re not guest of the resort . As such , the Grand hold a special situation in the middle and mind of anyone who ’s ever stuffed their cheek with Mackinac Island fudge . If you are so lucky to have slept in the Grand , you did so in one of the hotel ’s 386 rooms , no two of which are identical .
Minnesota
Saint Paul HotelSt . PaulOpened:1878You know that friend who always has , like , four random strangers sleeping on his couch ? That was John Summers , a St. Paul man who epitomize " Midwestern Nice " and let traveler the worldly concern over crash at his house . He finally partnered with John Baugh to build the Windsor in 1878 . Through a series of ownership variety and wide-ranging uses , the hotel reopen in 1910 , touted as " St. Paul ’s Million - Dollar Hotel . " It break on to serve as headquarters for Leon Gleckman , the mob boss who flow St. Paul in the 1920s and ' 30s . After falling into disrepair in the 1970s , the end of the twentieth century saw the hotel return to its gloriole as a 255 - way Minnesota mainstay .
Mississippi
Beau RivageBiloxiOpened:1999Being the tallest building in Mississippi may not be much of a gasconade compass point , but this 32 - account hotel & casino is not only the marvelous manmade anatomical structure in the state , it ’s by far the most recognizable . Even after Hurricane Katrina forced it to close for an integral year , it has reopened as a little slice of Vegas on the Bayou . Originally a Wynn property , the hotel is now owned by MGM and stomach as the backdrop to the outfield at minor - league baseball ’s MGM Park across the street . It ’s the primary understanding the perspective from the seats there is so unmistakably Mississippi .
Missouri
Chase Park PlazaSt . LouisOpened:1931This 28 - story Art Deco castle stands as the symbol of St. Louis ' Central West End and was THE place to see and be go steady from the ' 30s to the ' 60s , when acts like Nat King Cole and Bob Hope toy the Chase Club in front of celebrity crew . The hotel on the edge of Forest Park became have it off for hosting the biggest effect in St. Louis , so much so that a book calledMeet Me in the Lobbywas write about it . And though the hem in locality is now satisfy with Starbucks and Lululemons , this Greco-Roman hotel digest as a reminder of an earned run average when St. Louis was a famous person hotspot .
Montana
Hotel FinlenButteOpened:1924People get all workmanship beer misty - eyed about Missoula and Bozeman , and Robert Redford has made Whitefish a " rustic " getaway for the rich and famous . But a hundred eld ago the only city in Montana that mattered was Butte , the large town at the prison term between Chicago and San Francisco . The copper - mining boom there fueled the opening of the McDermott Hotel , the most sumptuous in the Northwest , in 1889 . The McDermott was purchased in 1902 by James Finlen , who tear it down to construct his own palace , a 200 - room , nine - story Second Empire masterpiece simulate after the Hotel Astor in New York . After several Restoration the hotel is still as elegantly name as it was when Butte was a major destination .
Nebraska
Hotel Deco XVOmahaOpened:1989Omaha ’s most historic hotel was once the Flatiron , which is now apartments . Its most iconic ? This position , which until 1989 was a stocky Art Deco office building called Redick Tower , built in the style of the urban center ’s Union Station . It stands as Nebraska ’s gravid Art Deco building , is one of only two AAA Four Diamond dimension in the state , and has Omaha ’s best Bourbon dynasty bar in the antechamber . Though the interior is unquestionably modern , the edifice itself is an crucial part of the city ’s artistic history .
Nevada
BellagioLas VegasOpened:1998In a city filled with famous structures from other cities , perhaps the most recognizably Vegas are the fountains outside this 3,950 - way monster . The hotel was the setting for the remake ofOcean ’s 11 , and is in all probability the most photographed plaza in Sin City after the famous welcome sign . A misstep to the buffet here might be the most overwhelming dining experience of your lifetime . Another fun fact : The original name of this hotel was supposed to be Beau Rivage , a name Steve Wynn instead used for his Mississippi project , which is now the most iconic hotel in that state .
New Hampshire
Wentworth by the SeaNew CastleOpened:1888Do you know how many hotel in the United States have host the signing of treaties to end major external wars ? Not many . But one of them is this prissy " wedding party cake " palace in New Hampshire , that in 1905 housed delegates from Japan and Russia as they hammer out a treaty to finish the Russo - Japanese War . Teddy Roosevelt fail on to succeed the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in the negotiation , and the Wentworth went on to become the backdrop for Robert Downey Jr. ‘sIn Dreams .
New Jersey
Claridge HotelAtlantic CityOpened:1930Though it ’s not made entirely of red charge plate , this boxy hotel is exactly what Rich Uncle Pennybags would have envisioned building after putting four gullible star sign on Park Place . Upon possible action in 1930 it was know as " the Skyscraper by the Sea , " a 370 ft concrete monument that look more appropriate to Manhattan than to the Jersey Shore . As Atlantic City became a glamourous beachside lam , fame with figure like Sinatra , Capone , and Princess Grace all stay there . Though AC is n’t the vacation destination it once was , the Claridge maintains its Greco-Roman charm .
New Mexico
La Fonda on the PlazaSanta FeOpened:1922Though the current building go steady back to 1922 , some sort of hotel has stood on these grounds since 1601 . That ’s 415 years , making this the sure-enough hotel site in America . Santa Fe ’s first inn was established here by the Spanish , and throughout the years several adobe buildings housed backwoodsman , gold miners , soldier , and others who found their manner to remote portions of New Mexico . Its current avatar has 25 ft cathedral ceilings and maculate - glass fanlight , and continues the tradition that has stand on this recession longer than the US has existed .
New York
The PlazaNew York CityOpened:1907The Plaza likes to call itself " The World ’s Most Famous Hotel , " and while that ’s a fairly bold program line , once you ’ve appear inHome Alone 2you’ve realize the right to claim anything you wish . Even the eating place here are icons , with name like " The Palm Court " conjuring up epitome of opulent good afternoon tea among tropical foliage . While this 19 - history , Gallic chateau - inspired turning point is know the public over , it holds some surprise still . For instance : TheTodd English Food Halldownstairs serve up fast - casual food of almost any cuisine , that all hold out up to the reputation of the hotel above it .
North Carolina
BiltmoreAshevilleOpened:2001When George Vanderbilt be after his heroic Asheville estate in 1889 , he also envisioned opening an inn so others could share in the star sign ’s splendour . lamentably , it never happened . Or at least it claim more than 100 years to happen , as the hotel part of North Carolina ’s greatest man - made landmark did n’t begin operation until 2001 . The 250 - room mansion is the most awe - inspiring private hall in America where you ’re pay for to bide . It offers the moderately price Village Hotel , the gilded Inn on Biltmore Estate , and the Cottage , the only lodging here that dates back to the days of Vanderbilt .
North Dakota
Hotel DonaldsonFargoOpened:1893Throughout its history , the Hotel Donaldson has been a symbol of Downtown Fargo ’s revival . After a fire burned down much of the city , this new hotel was among the first things to be built in 1893 . Then after 10 of neglect , Downtown Fargo – like so many American business district – began to revive in the early 2000s . The Donaldson had turned into a dosshouse in the years in between , but its 2003 reopening signaled a new geological era for the urban center . Now , it ’s a 17 - elbow room boutique , where each room is inspire and designed by a local creative person .
Ohio
Golden Lamb InnLebanonOpened:1803Though the Cincinnatian and the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza are both grand , urban hotels , the Golden Lamb is the oldest continuously run business in Ohio . It began as a unproblematic tavern and remain billet for traveller on their room from Cincinnati to the old National Road ( now US-40 ) , boast entertainment and buckram drinks . Two hundred years and 12 presidential visits afterward , it ’s a bona fide landmark , where you could still get a drink in the original Black Horse Tavern , or drop the dark in one of its uniquely appointed rooms .
Oklahoma
Mayo HotelTulsaOpened:1925Opened by a couple of furniture store mogul in 1925 , this 19 - story brick beauty was the tallest building in Oklahoma at the sentence of its building . It was also the first hotel in the state to boast ceiling fans and cold running water , pretty welcome feature if you ’ve ever spent an August nighttime in Tulsa . Though it was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 , it closed the next yr and did n’t reopen until 2009 , by which time it had considerably fewer room ( 102 vs. 600 in 1925 ) and 76 secret residences .
Oregon
Timberline LodgeGovernment CampOpened:1937Eagle - eyed film wonk / sociopath will greet this ski lodge at the top of Oregon ’s towering Mount Hood as the place where Jack Nicholson froze to destruction inThe shine . That ’s because Kubrick shot the exteriors at the raft ’s highest drivable locating , the historic Timberline Lodge . There ’s no actual hedge maze , but there is a labyrinthine inside with a mammoth stone hearth adorned with snowboarders ' dry iron boot , a series of upscale rooms with outdoor spas , and the every bit iconicBlue Ox Bar : a hobbit gob of a stone - fence drinkery that make up for the deficiency of red rum with wood - fired pizza pie and Oregon wiliness beer . The skiing ’s not bad as well , though you ’d be just as happy sitting in one of the fantastic lounge areas , sipping a hot hot toddy and gazing out at possibly the best panoramic view in a land experience for its scenic majesty . Book at New Year ’s and it ’ll even drop a total darkness - tieShiningball . Or do n’t . Shit ’s pretty creepy . –Andy Kryza , National Food and Drink editor program
Pennsylvania
Inn at Leola VillageLancasterOpened:2000 ( est . 1867)This collection of erstwhile Dutch country house and shops was supposed to be smash for a convenience computer storage 17 eld ago . But realizing its historic importance and situation as an Amish land picture , some enterprising common people saw fit to grow it into a hotel . The 64 rooms are all situated in a couple of old farmhouse and a tobacco plant barn that engagement back to the 1860s , and the bearing house – still with the original wood beams – serves as the adjustment desk . A few twenty-four hours here is an immersion in the state ’s post - colonial account , and an apparent Pennsylvania experience .
Rhode Island
Ocean HouseWatch HillOpened:1868Rhode Island was the 19th one C ’s Florida . No , there was n’t a " Rhode Island Man " pillar in local newspaper publisher , but it was the beach - getaway destination of option for flush Northeasterners , and nowhere brought in the holiday middle class like the Ocean House . For 135 years this chickenhearted palace stood on 13 oceanfront estate , with 159 rooms full of people looking for a metropolis leak . The pilot closed in 2003 . A unadulterated replica arise in its place , now boasting 49 rooms and 18 touch suites – one of only eight Forbes Triple Five - Star hotels in the worldly concern .
South Carolina
The WillcoxAikenOpened:1898If you ’re not familiar with Aiken , you probably did n’t drop your childhood in riding stirrups with a funny orotund helmet on . But Aiken is one of the top equestrian - preparation sites in America , and the high - society guest ' lodgement of option has been the Willcox . The Second Empire / Colonial Revival bloodless social system is the picture of Southern elegance , envisioned by British immigrant Frederick Willcox , and a place where a invitee might be turned down because he wore the wrong brand of shoes . Judgmental ? Perhaps . But when you ’re home to the country ’s first running - water system bathtub , you call the shots .
South Dakota
Hotel Alex JohnsonRapid CityOpened:1928Unfortunately , South Dakota has throttle itself to only a maize palace , and not a full - on corn whiskey hotel . So until that day the honors in SoDak go to the Alex Johnson , a building that embodies everything South Dakota . It begin construction the day before work began on Mt. Rushmore , and the Germanic Tudor architecture reflects the state ’s German immigrants , with tucket from the aboriginal tribe of the area : a chandelier made of war lance flow in the vestibule , and fixtures throughout the hotel are adorned in a tribal symbol represent the four corners of the world . The hotel also has a famous haunt history : a St. Brigid who allegedly leap out the windowpane of room 812 is say to roam the place as the “ Lady in White . ” And many have reported take in the trace of Alex Johnson himself , who conk in 1938 .
Tennessee
The HermitageNashvilleOpened:1910Though originally envisioned as a grand centerpiece for Nashville ’s newly commercialized downtown at the turn of the 20thcentury , the Hermitage has become a symbolic representation of gamy society in Tennessee ’s loaded city . The interior is long on marble and mahogany , with a painted - glass skylight in the vestibule and exquisite detail in the mutual areas . It ’s also where Tennessee lawmaker debated the confirmation of the nineteenth Amendment for women ’s suffrage , and where the Country Music Association was formed . It was the hotel of pick for the likes of Johnny Cash , Patsy Cline and Hank Williams , and even today has its own farm outside Nashville where it raise much of the food for thought served inside .
Texas
Driskill HotelAustinOpened:1886Though the façade is Roman , the interior of the rooms Victorian , and the manus - laid marble floors find Italian , the plaza is still distinctly Texan . The stuffed cattle heads on the paries are a good showtime , and the Driskill ’s pressure group also has a massive , custom - progress stained Methedrine covered stadium , adorned with only stars and tower over a statue of galloping horses . It has host numerous gubernatorial inauguration balls and was where Lyndon Johnson awaited the results when he fly the coop for vice president in 1960 .
Utah
Ruby ’s InnBryce CanyonOpened:1923The Hotel Utah is decidedly the most iconic hotel edifice in the Beehive State . It ’s also unquestionably now call the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and has n’t learn an overnight Edgar Guest since 1987 . So the most iconic operating hotel is this atavism Best Western near Bryce Canyon . It ’s actually the closest commercial lodgement to the car park , the unofficial skip over off point for wilderness expeditions there . It ’s also the best place in the land to ascertain Utah ’s role in the Wild West , before it was a ski destination and Mormon homeland . The best way to get cultivate : take in the Old West dinner show at Ebenezer ’s Barn and Grill , which plays during the summertime at the hotel .
Vermont
Inn at Shelburne FarmsShelburneOpened:1987For the most Vermont experience you could find at a hotel , nowhere beats this nineteenth - century farmhouse tucked in the hill : a 24 - elbow room brick mansion house with four guest cottages , many clothe with the original furnishing . The campus of the Inn is a working , 1,400 - acre farm where guests can tour to see how the boniface contribute to sustainable farming . Shelburne Farms even offers educational programs with topics like “ Farm Craft : Past and Present , ” as well as moonlit Dipper ride .
Virginia
Jefferson HotelRichmondOpened:1895This marble - and - stone hotel was the brainchild of Lewis Ginter , who made and lost two fortunes before die into tobacco and building this position . away from the clock tower , its most iconic feature of speech is the thenar courtroom , filled with tree imported from Central and South America , that once upon a time saw errant alligators wandering through when they left their homes in the nearby fountains . Though it , like many historic place , became decay in the 1980s , the Ballroom was still used as the solidification forMy Dinner with Andre . And after a monumental overhaul in the early nineties , it received the coveted AAA Five Diamond evaluation in 1995 .
Washington
Fairmont OlympicSeattleOpened:1924Though the most historic hotel in Seattle are probably in Pioneer Square , those spots that used to deal rooms for 25 cent to travel miners have n’t exactly been hold on sassy . A lilliputian mo north sit this stone loftiness , located on the original site of the University of Washington and a fixture of Seattle societal life for closely a century . Though the 2005 restoration made this an epic , 450 - room Downtown gem , locals have been come here for generations too , whether it was for particular events in the Georgian way or for happy hour oysters atShuckers . Between 1924 and 1996 , every president spent at least a night here , whether on the safari track or during official visits to Seattle .
West Virginia
The GreenbrierWhite Sulfur SpringsOpened:1778Sometimes being iconic way being entirely emblematic of a hotel ’s home . Not so much the grammatical case here , where the plaza lauds itself as “ America ’s resort ” and is , in fact , uncompleted opposition to every West Virginia stereotype . The Greenbrier has 10 lobby , 96 client houses , nine restaurants , eight bar , a 100,000sqft casino , and a golf course that hosts an yearly PGA event . The imposing blank independent construction also sits on 11,000 Acre of perfectly manicured country , andPrime 44 Westisn’t just the secure steakhouse in the res publica , it ’s among the best in the populace .
Wisconsin
The EdgewaterMadisonOpened:1948Because it sits smack in between the University of Wisconsin campus and the capitol building , the Edgewater has become cognize as the optimal place to stay no matter what you ’re doing in Madison . Its location right on the shore of Lake Mendota provides a relaxing waterfront ambience , and easy admission to boat and waterskiing . It has also host Elvis , Bob Hope and the Dalai Lama , so it ’s got that goin’ for it , which is nice .
Wyoming
Old Faithful InnYellowstone National ParkOpened:1904With apologies to the Virginian Hotel ( est . 1911 ) in Medicine Bow , which was and is one of the most significant cowboy landmarks in the West , Old Faithful Inn is one of the most proud lodges in the world – if you may ignore the smell of the famous sulphur geyser visible from the terrace . The 327 - elbow room prop boasts a four - story main lobby in the “ old planetary house , ” the largest log structure in the globe , emphasise by a daunting Edward Durell Stone fireplace . Many rooms here have front row seat for the noted geyser , and while the all-night rates are n’t cheap , it ’s a great way to see the eruption without 4,000 cell phones in your face .
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