Niagara Falls For Love – The Sheraton On The Falls ResortWritten by Kriss Hammond
Niagara Falls For Love – The Sheraton On The Falls ResortRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/hotels/omni/parker/house.html Founded by Henry D. Parker in 1855, Omni Parker House (then known as simply The Parker House) has been a Boston resident for over 150 years, located at junction of Tremont and School Streets, and one of oldest of Boston's elegant inns. and longest continuously operating hotel in United States. It was here that brightest lights of America's Golden Age of Literature—writers like Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Longfellow, regularly met for conversation in legendary nineteenth century Saturday Club. Baseball greats like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams wined, dined, and unwound at Parker House. And it was here too, where generations of local and national politicians, including Ulysses S. Grant, James Michael Curley (Boston's Mayor of poor), Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and William Jefferson Clinton, assembled for private meetings, press conferences, and power breakfasts. The Omni Parker House is close to Boston's Theater District, and it has played an important role for thespians. Many of finest actors from nineteenth century made hotel their home away from home, including Charlotte Cushman, Sarah Bernhardt, Edwin Booth, brother of matinee-idol, John Wilkes Booth, who was seen pistol practicing nearby only eight days before assassination of Abraham Lincoln; wouldn't you know it would be an actor jumping onto a stage in his last great performance at Ford Theater in Washington, D.C. During twentieth century, stage, screen, and television stars, from Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and William ("Hopalong Cassidy") Boyd, to Adam "Batman" West, Kelsey Grammer (Cheers was started in Boston as a local pub.), David Shiner and cast of "Seussical, Musical", made hotel their home. The kitchens of Parker House made Americana culinary culture a mainstay, with talented bakers who invented famed Parker House roll. Parker's has also been training ground for internationally known chefs. The Omni Parker House's restored lobby with original heirlooms, giving it a museum ambiance. The Omni Parker House is located on today's Boston Freedom Trail, and it is a museum of its own in a way. Even though it has twenty-first century amenities, it still retains its nineteenth century charm and history. The lobby, bar-lounges, and restaurant are still armored with dark wood hues, elevators are freshly burnished bronze, while walls are vintage American oak. When walking to my room I had to stop and view numerous paintings on hallways, a living museum, indeed. Crystal chandeliers glow in lobby as a bus group was checking out. The lobby is a vibrant living landmark, more like a private clubroom, with many more exquisite paintings surrounding museum goers—I mean guests. The corner of Tremont and School is as old as Boston itself. In 1630, Englishman John Winthrop and Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony first settled in area, naming peninsula Trimount, after three hills—Beacon, Premberton, and Mount Vernon—dominating landscape. The name was changed to Boston to honor Lincolnshire town that many of pilgrims had departed,. After three mountains were leveled Tremont Street was laid out at base of hills and Boston Common. The location and name of School Street originated in Puritan times, as well. From 1635-1636, British colonists established a college in nearby Cambridge (Harvard). By 1645 prep school, America's first public school, was housed in a cabin on what would be know as School Street. The school was later known as Boston Latin, and it educated a host of Boston's elite, including Sam Adams, John Hancock, Charles Bullfinch, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ben Franklin was a dropout. Parker's Bar now sits where old cabin was located.
| | Mr Jefferson’s Land – Keswick Hall ResortWritten by Carol Sorgen
Mr Jefferson’s Land – Keswick Hall ResortRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/hotels/south/virginia/charlottesville/keswick/keswick.html Stand on front lawn of Monticello on a misty autumn morning and it’s not hard to see why Thomas Jefferson was so drawn to this beautiful corner of Virginia at foot of Blue Ridge Mountains. I’ve visited Charlottesville, home of our third president, several times over years and never tire of countryside that seems untouched by passage of time. But I also enjoy sophistication that accompanies a university town (Charlottesville is home to University of Virginia), with its restaurants, boutiques, bookstores, and increasingly, a number of well-regarded wineries. There are any number of choices for lodging in Charlottesville, from bed and breakfasts to modern motels and hotels. On my last visit, however, I decided to spend a few days being pampered at beautiful Keswick Hall, close to downtown Charlottesville and just a few minutes’ drive from Monticello. Originally built as a private home in 1912 and known as Villa Crawford, Keswick Hall is a beautiful example of Italianate architecture, and you could just as easily think you were in Italy as in Virginia. The hotel is situated on 600 acres, and has an 18-hole golf course, three pools — including a spectacular infinity pool that looks over grounds of estate — five tennis courts, a fitness center with spa, and various dining options, including recently opened restaurant, Fossett’s. There are plenty of cozy spots throughout Keswick to sit back and enjoy wood-burning fireplaces, order lunch in one of public rooms, or take afternoon tea, served every day from 3 to 5 p.m. (and well worth extra calories). I especially enjoyed library, which is housed on main floor of hotel, and contains a collection of more than 400 books by Virginians or about Virginia, covering a wide range of topics from history to memoirs, photography, cookbooks, nature, and fiction. Authors John Grisham and Rita Mae Brown, who live nearby, are represented in library. You can enjoy any of books in library or take them back to your room. Every room in hotel is decorated individually with a mix of antiques and furniture and decorative objects that reflect life of Virginia countryside. My room was on first floor, just steps off reception area (which was more like a very comfortable living room than a hotel lobby). The room was beautifully furnished, with a four-poster bed, antique armoire for my clothes, a small writing desk with books on a shelf above, and a large bathroom with all modern amenities. French doors led to a terrace that overlooked rolling hills of estate.
|
