October 9, 2007 — BY WILLIAM M. DOWD, Albany Times Union
In a nation replete with motel chains slugging it out for the public's dollar, the thought of staying in a luxury hotel with pedigree may not occur to many travelers.
This is neither about the overwrought decor of the sort commonplace in lavish Las Vegas hostelries, nor about having to re-mortgage your home to raise the money to underwrite a night or two in such a place.
At one time, a young and rambunctious America thought nothing of wild spending to replicate in some form the visual amenities and creature comforts commonplace in the grand hotels of Europe. Most such American hotels, however, have fallen victim to the wrecker's ball, the flight to the suburbs and the rush to architectural sameness.
Alive and well in Europe, the grand hotel concept cannot be found in most American towns and cities outside, for example, New York and Chicago. That makes the exceptions all the more remarkable.
In a still-young country, the East and the South represent our ''old society,'' so you'll tend to find a few more of the surviving grande dames built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Take Nashville, Tenn., and Louisville, Ky., for example. Each a center of Southern pace and style, each with a core activity that carries its own special cache and its own financial lifestyle that can help support grand hotels.
THE HERMITAGEIn Nashville, the global center of the country music industry, stands the Hermitage Hotel, located on Sixth Avenue North across from the Tennessee State Capitol. It's headed for its 100th birthday in 2010, although it was closed from 1977 to 1981.
Luckily for those who enjoy such places and traditions, Historic Hotels of Nashville purchased the property in 2000, ran it for several years, then closed it and put $18 million into a nearly yearlong restoration effort.
The result is a breathtakingly elegant 123-room facility offering accommodations ranging from the 2,000-square-foot presidential suite to a trio of 1,000-square-foot executive suites and 120 other rooms, a grand ballroom, the mezzanine-level Governor's Salon where the legendary Rudolf Wanderone Jr., better known as Minnesota Fats, held forth on his own pool table against all comers when he lived in the hotel for several years in the 1980s.
Nashville was home to Andrew Jackson, after whose home, The Hermitage, the hotel was named.
Architect John E.R. Carpenter, a native Tennessean who had studied in Knoxville, Boston and Paris before setting up shop in New York City, where he became known for his apartment building designs, created the hotel. He used the lines of Beaux Arts classicism, which he had studied in depth at the Les Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris.
The interior, restored to its original style and color palette, is elegance itself. Grecian and Tennessee marble accentuate the soaring lobby, which is topped by stained cut glass. The Grand Ballroom is paneled in Circassian walnut from Russia and, like many of the building's public spaces, has an ornate handcrafted ceiling.
Arched openings between coupled columns and extravagant decorative detailing in the French Renaissance style lead visitors from the lobby to the lush mezzanine, as well as the eating and drinking areas. The Capitol Grille is a AAA Four Diamond-rated restaurant that serves nothing that has ever been frozen. Well, except the ice cream, and even that is made on premises.
On the upper floors, the guest rooms are spacious and plush. Anxious as I was to see the sights and sample the nightlife of Nashville, the huge, cushy beds and spacious baths plus all the other room amenities tempted me to linger.
One might think all this history and luxury would be prohibitively expensive. Not so. While full suites range from $550 to $1,259 a night, you can book a perfectly nice deluxe room with a king or two queen beds, plenty of amenities including complimentary Wi-Fi for those who can't live without Internet availability, for just $219 a night for a couple. And there are numerous room and meals packages available, always worth considering when the establishment is known for good food as is the Hermitage. So, take that, Manhattan.
THE SEELBACH HILTONThree hours' drive north on I-65 is Louisville, in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass Country. Home to the Kentucky Derby, the Muhammad Ali Center, University of Louisville basketball and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.
And, of course, the Seelbach Hilton.
This grand hotel has attracted the rich and famous for more than a century. F. Scott Fitzgerald was so taken by its posh look that he had his ill-fated characters Tom and Daisy Buchanan of The Great Gatsby get married there.
Gatsby himself, it is said, was based on George Remus, a personable Cincinnati mobster who liked to make the easy 90-mile drive from his home turf to Louisville for bourbon and cigars at the Seelbach, pastimes Fitzgerald also enjoyed, to excess.
While Nashville's Hermitage has had plenty of famous visitors, the Seelbach tops it. Its location in bourbon and horse country and its proximity to Cincinnati, Baltimore, Richmond and other sizable cities made it a mecca for the literary, gambling and bootlegging set before and during Prohibition and a cast of equally colorful characters afterward.
The Seelbach is a descendant of Seelbach's Restaurant and Cafe, an exclusive gentlemen's club that was opened in 1874, the year before the first Kentucky Derby, by Louis Seelbach, who had emigrated from Bavaria.
Five years later, he brought his younger brother, Otto, to Louisville and they opened a larger establishment, with 30 guest rooms over the bar. Over the years, the business kept expanding until a brand new Seelbach Hotel opened in 1905. It was such a smash hit an additional 154 rooms were immediately added.
But, as with most undertakings, the Seelbach ran its course and was repeatedly sold or leased out. It finally closed in 1975 as business began moving to the newly emerging suburbs. It reopened in 1982, run by a subsidiary of Radisson Hotels, and became a successful convention venue as well as a hotel.
The Seelbach you see today, owned and operated by the Hilton company, has been restored to its original grandeur. In 1996, its Oakroom Restaurant reopened and earned the AAA 5 Diamond Award. In 2001 it was named to the Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nation's Restaurant News. It also has been named to Conde Nast Traveler magazine's gold list of ``The World's Best Places to Stay.''
The Old Seelbach Bar, named to several ''Best Bars in the World'' list, is a study in old-fashioned comfort and ambience. Low lights, soft leathers, dark woods and an excellent line of drinks make it a great place to while away some leisure time. I recommend the house special, the Seelbach Cocktail, a delicious combination of bourbon, champagne, triple sec and Peychaud and angostura bitters in a champagne flute.
Like the Hermitage in Nashville, the Seelbach is on the National Register of Historic Places. Unlike the Hermitage, its rooms are a bit on the small side. However, they're fully appointed, immaculate and up to date without losing the period feel. Price? You can stay there for as little as $199 a night for two people.
Old-fashioned Southern charm, modern conveniences, easy access by air or by car, all in affordable packages. The era of the grand hotel in America is not yet over.
Source:
Miami Herald, 10/3/2007
