Historic Hotels in Southern USA: New Orleans, Georgia, Florida

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20 Most Historic USA Hotels and Inns | Heritage Hotels of the South | Heritage Hotels of the West
Heritage Hotels of the Mid West | Heritage Hotels of South West USA
Heritage Hotels of New York and the Mid-Atlantic States | Heritage Hotels of New England

Alabama

St. James Hotel, Selma. There aren’t too many antebellum (pre-Civil War) hotels left in the USA, but the St. James is one of them. Built in 1837, the hotel has recently benefited from a multi-million dollar restoration – work which has ensured that this cherished riverfront building continues to exude the “southern charm” of the past. Historic significance: It is said that the infamous outlaws Frank and Jesse James stayed at The St. James Hotel during the 1880’s. Expedia

Arkansas

Do you know of any accommodation connected to historic figures in Arkansas? Please get in touch and let us know.

Florida

1857 Florida House Inn. Amelia Island. On the National Register of Historic Places and said to be Florida’s oldest surviving hotel, the 1857 Florida House Inn offers 14 guest rooms and 1 suite on a bed & breakfast basis. Ulysses S Grant is, perhaps, its most notable former patron, but it is known that both the Rockefellers and Carnegies regularly visited and ate in the hotel’s restaurant. If only walls had ears…

The Gasparilla Inn. Boca Grande. Located at the tip of Boca Grande Island, the present day accommodation includes rooms, suites and cottages. The inn has welcomed visitors since 1909, including wealthy and influential figures of the time - Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and J P Morgan to name but a few. TripAdvisor

Georgia

Also see The Jekyll Island Club. Click here

The Partridge Inn. Augusta. This splendid hotel was almost demolished in the 1980’s. Thankfully, though, it was spared and ultimately restored to its former glory. Today it offers 145 rooms and suites, and an award-winning restaurant. The hotel was chosen to host Augusta’s welcoming banquet for President Warren G Harding in 1923. The Rockefellers are also reputed to have been regular patrons. Expedia

Washington Plantation. Washington. Beginning life in 1828 as two small farmhouses, the current hotel offers five individually furnished guest rooms on a bed & breakfast basis. It is said the Jefferson Davis – President of the Confederate States – visited the house (quite likely given that he signed papers dissolving the Confederacy nearby on May 5th 1865). Expedia

The Presidents Quarters. Savannah. Built circa 1860, this bed & breakfast inn offers 16 rooms at the heart of one of America’s most attractive cities. It is said that General Robert E Lee stayed at the property in 1870. TripAdvisor | Lastminute.com

Kentucky

See The Old Talbott Tavern. Click here

Louisiana

Also see The Monteleone Hotel. Click here

Maison de Ville. New Orleans. Built around 1800 soon after the disastrous fire which destroyed much of the old city, Hotel Maison de Ville also features a number of other accommodation options including cottages (some of which are thought to be the oldest surviving buildings in New Orleans). Tennessee Williams often stayed in room number 9, where it is believed he worked upon his classic A Streetcar Named Desire. Meanwhile, the hotel’s seven Audubon Cottages (on nearby Dauphine Street) are named after the famous naturalist and artist John James Audubon – he lived in what is today cottage number one. Expedia

Mississippi

Monmouth Plantation. Natchez. A National Historic Landmark, this small luxury inn has 30 guest rooms and suites throughout both the main building (built 1818) and numerous outbuildings throughout its 26 acres of land. The current owners have completed an extensive restoration, returning the building to its former glory. It has also been rated as one of the “Top Ten Most Romantic Places in the U.S.” by USA Today. Politicians Henry Clay and Jefferson Davis are both said to have been guests at Monmouth Plantation during the mid-1800’s. Expedia

North Carolina

Grove Park Inn Resort. Asheville. Opened in 1913 and built from granite mined from Sunset Mountain, the resort offers 510 guest rooms (including 12 suites) located in both the “Historic Main Inn” and the more recently constructed wings. Many rooms benefit from excellent views of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountain ranges. Famous guests include William Jennings Bryan (who delivered the keynote address at the inn’s opening in 1913), F. Scott Fitzgerald (who stayed in Room 441 during the summers of 1935 and 1936), George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and a total of eight U.S. presidents beginning with Woodrow Wilson. Expedia

The Albemarle Inn. Asheville. Every inch the Greek Revival mansion, the Albemarle Inn holds an AAA Four-Diamond Award and offers ten guest rooms and a suite. It was here that the Hungarian composer Bela Bartok lived during the 1940’s, and where he composed the Asheville Concerto. TripAdvisor

The Nu Wray Inn. Burnsville. Featuring 26 guest rooms and six suites, the Nu Wray Inn sounds as if it were a fairly recent construction. In fact, this particular building is said to be the oldest continually operating inn in western North Carolina. Mark Twain and Thomas Wolfe are both known to have stayed here, as indeed did Elvis Presley. TripAdvisor

Pine Crest Inn & Restaurant. Tryon. Built in 1906 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the inn has a total of 35 en suite guest rooms, suites and private cottages. It should be noted that both accommodation and restaurant carry the esteemed AAA Four-Diamond Award. The inn was opened in 1917 by the celebrated equestrian Carter Brown, and is reputed to have been a great favourite of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Expedia

The Inn at Brevard. Brevard. On the National Register of Historic Places, the Inn at Brevard was originally built as a private residence in 1885. The main house has five guest rooms and two suites, while the adjacent annexe has 10 cabin-style rooms. The original owner, Mrs Woodbridge, is said to have entertained many a Victorian noble – including her friend, Lady Astor – while in 1911 the property also hosted a reunion of surviving soldiers who had served under General Stonewall Jackson in the American Civil War. Expedia

South Carolina

Also see John Rutledge House Inn. Click here

Best Western King Charles Inn. Charleston. Built in 1830 and for many years known as the Pavilion Hotel, the building is located right at the heart of Charleston’s historic district. It offers a total of 93 guest rooms. Edgar Allen Poe is known to have stayed here while stationed at nearby Fort Moultrie. Lastminute.com | TripAdvisor

Tennessee

The Hermitage Hotel. Nashville. This 122-room hotel is a cherished Nashville landmark. Opening on September 17 1910, it was named after Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage estate having been commissioned by 250 city residents two years previously. There’s a distinctly political feel to the list of famous former patrons: William Howard Taft visited on November 9, 1991; Woodrow Wilson in 1912; and both President Roosevelt and the First Lady stayed in 1934. Other notable names connected to the Hermitage Hotel include Al Capone, Greta Garbo and Bette Davis. TripAdvisor

The General Morgan Inn. Greeneville. A landmark in downtown Greeneville, the General Morgan Inn dates back to 1884. It offers a total of 52 guest rooms, conference centre, banqueting facility and restaurant. The first building to stand on the site was the De Woody Tavern, a timber structure constructed in the late 1790s. During the mid 1800’s, however, the inn was known as the Bell Tavern, and it was here that the Confederate General, John Hunt Morgan – sometimes called the “Thunderbolt of the Confederacy” – was killed in a gun battle with Union soldiers. Expedia

Virginia

Also see The Mayhurst Inn and The Inn at Narrow Passage. Click here

The Jefferson Hotel. Richmond. Located at the heart of Richmond’s historic district, the Jefferson boasts 262 guest rooms, 19 meeting/banqueting rooms, indoor swimming pool, fitness centre, business centre and two restaurants. Opened in 1895, in little over 100 years it has played host to no fewer than 11 U.S. Presidents including, Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge and both Roosevelts. Too numerous to list here in its entirety, the impressive register of former guests also includes Sergei Rachmaninov (who played in the Grand Ballroom), F Scott Fitzgerald and Sarah Bernhardt. Booking.com | Expedia | Lastminute.com

The Inn at Meander Plantation. Locust Dale. Less than an hour from the nation’s capital, this grand Colonial mansion sits amid 80 acres of pasture and woodland. It offers a total of 8 guest rooms, including “Mr Jefferson’s Suite”, many of which benefit from views of the famous Blue Ridge Mountains. Built in 1766 it is said that both Thomas Jefferson and General Lafayette were frequent visitors. TripAdvisor

West Virginia

The General Lewis. Lewisburg. Offering 25 very different rooms, the oldest part of the building is the “Withrow House” of 1834 - now the east wing of the General Lewis inn, housing a restaurant on the first floor and three guest rooms above. The inn is situated on the site of a bloody 1862 Civil War battle. TripAdvisor

We are keen to improve and expand Nights In The Past in the future. As such, we would be very grateful to learn of any great places to stay you think we should include in this section. We are seeking all sorts of accommodation providing it is of historic or heritage value, and would appeal to travellers to or from the USA. Boutique hotels, grand hotels, or rural bed & breakfasts are all of interest, but we urge that suggestions are limited to those providing genuinely excellent hospitality. We sincerely hope you enjoy the site and visit again soon.

Historic Hotels in Southern USA

Also see our 20 Most Historic Places to Stay in America section for other Deep South heritage hotels

Monmouth Plantation, Mississippi

The Inn at Brevard, North Carolina

Washington Plantation, Georgia