Grand old hotels

Some hotels have a heritage from the golden age of steam railways and ocean liners, before the Second World War, in the 19th or early 20th centuries. These hotels were where the rich and the famous of the day would stay. Some of them have been the accommodation of choice for foreign leaders, including monarchs and presidents, and have a VIP suite for that purpose; some have hosted important political conferences. They have an appeal all their own: old fashioned fittings, the lack of the latest amenities, and a certain graceful agedness. They are often in superb locations, either smack in the middle of cities – very often being next to or part of a major railway station, as they were often constructed to house railway travelers – or close to major outdoor attractions. Some were also located next to sea ports to serve steamship passengers. They are likely to neighbor a legacy department store or a legacy food market from the same era. For this article, we also include some mid-20th century hotels that are iconic and historically significant.

New York City, London, Paris and the Los Angeles area are known for having a particularly high concentration of such hotels.