Celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary at These Storied Hotels
Check into one of these historic stays offering a deeper look at their past through newly opened archives, curated exhibitions, historic tours, and more
The Federal Reserve was conceived behind the closed doors of a hunting club on Georgia’s coast. Beneath a stained-glass dome in San Francisco, President Woodrow Wilson made his case for the League of Nations. And in Washington, D.C., generations of presidents, diplomats, and power brokers passed through the Willard’s storied corridors, where the term “lobbyist” is said to have entered the American lexicon.
As America marks its 250th anniversary, a number of the nation’s most storied hotels and resorts are offering a deeper look at their past through newly opened archives, curated exhibitions, historic tours, and preservation initiatives. Others continue to add new chapters through contemporary art collections, thoughtful restorations, and design programs that connect past and present. Offering more than a history lesson, they are living landmarks where architecture, design, and the American story continue to intersect. From Gilded Age clubs and Beaux-Arts masterpieces to coastal retreats and grand city hotels, these are the properties worth checking into as America celebrates its 250th anniversary.
Charleston
Few American cities carry their history as visibly as Charleston, where the architecture of every era—colonial, antebellum, Reconstruction, Gilded Age—remains inhabited rather than preserved behind glass. Church steeples still punctuate the skyline and gas lanterns illuminate cobblestone streets.
At Charleston Place, the landmark King Street hotel that has anchored downtown Charleston for four decades, guests can experience “Liber(tea),” which pairs afternoon tea with a historian-led walk through Revolutionary-era Charleston, exploring the rivalries, loyalties, social circles, and domestic dramas that shaped the city in the years leading up to independence.
Spilling the tea on Charleston: many overlook that the colony hosted a tea protest days before the more famous events in Boston. While the hotel itself didn’t open until 1986, an ongoing reimagining has refreshed the property with richly detailed interiors that nod to Charleston’s architectural heritage, from mahogany furnishings and jewel-toned textiles to Carrara marble baths and a dramatic Georgian-inspired staircase crowned by a hand-blown Murano glass chandelier composed of thousands of individual pieces.
Developed by Method Co. and designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, The Pinch boutique hotel occupies a collection of restored 19th-century buildings, including the 1843 Lequeux-Williams House and former commercial structures dating to 1869. The project layers contemporary design into the existing architecture, preserving original facades, fireplaces, millwork, and proportions while introducing a distinctly modern sensibility. The result feels like visiting your favorite friend’s Lowcountry home.
Don’t miss The Pinch’s Lowland restaurant. “Everybody come alive” is the quote on the wood-burning fireplace at the ultra-romantic Lowland, located on George Street inside a restored 1830s Greek Revival building. The dining room sets a mood with eclectic lighting sconces, taxidermy, mixed-pattern wallpapers, vintage artwork, and a large-scale mural, each offering its own date-night vibe: the tavern with its copper bar, the cozy parlor, and the Southern-chic dining room.
Georgia
When the Jekyll Island Club opened in 1888, membership was limited to a small circle of America’s most powerful families. The Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Morgans, Pulitzers, Goulds, and Cranes escaped the northern winter for this secluded stretch of the Georgia coast, gathering in a sprawling clubhouse and an extraordinary collection of cottages shaded by centuries-old live oaks. In 1910, a group of financiers arrived on the island under assumed names and met behind closed doors in the Clubhouse to develop a plan for a centralized banking system. Their proposal would become the foundation of the Federal Reserve System three years later. In 1915, the Clubhouse was again at the center of a national milestone when AT&T president Theodore Vail placed the ceremonial first transcontinental telephone call, linking Jekyll Island with President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, Alexander Graham Bell in New York, and Thomas Watson in San Francisco. Share birthday well wishes with America by visiting the Federal Reserve Room, strolling the wide verandas that catch the coastal breeze, sliding into rocking chairs that face moss-draped lawns, and exploring many of the island’s landmark cottages that remain remarkably intact.
Washington, D.C.
The Willard InterContinental has occupied its Pennsylvania Avenue address since 1850, and the building’s Beaux-Arts bones carry two centuries of American political life. For generations, presidents, diplomats, military leaders, and activists have passed through its doors. Abraham Lincoln stayed here before his inauguration, Martin Luther King Jr. worked on his “I Have a Dream” speech here, and President Ulysses S. Grant was known to receive a steady stream of petitioners in the lobby, giving rise to the popular origin story behind the term “lobbyist.”
Today, the hotel’s history is preserved not only in its architecture but in its archives. Resident historian Robert Watson helps guests trace the Willard’s connections to the people and events that shaped the nation through artifacts, archival materials, and customized explorations of the city. The building itself remains one of Washington’s great interiors with marble corridors, ornate plasterwork, and soaring public spaces. Among its most notable accommodations is the Thomas Jefferson Presidential Suite, which overlooks Pennsylvania Avenue. From its windows, guests look onto the ceremonial route that has carried generations of presidents, protesters, dignitaries, and dreamers through the heart of the nation.
Close to the White House, The Jefferson approaches history the way its namesake approached collecting: thoughtfully, intellectually, and with an obvious appreciation for beautiful objects. Original documents bearing Thomas Jefferson’s signature hang throughout the hotel, while portraits, maps, rare books, and artifacts reference the statesman whose interests extended far beyond politics. More private residence than grand hotel, the atmosphere feels distinctly Washingtonian. At the heart of the property is the Book Room, a wood-paneled library lined with volumes devoted to the subjects that captivated Jefferson throughout his life.
Guests can gather in the private study to hear stories about Jefferson, the city, and the lesser-known figures and moments that helped shape the nation. In recognition of America’s 250th anniversary, the hotel has introduced Suite 250, a curated stay built around the cultural life of the capital. Alongside a tasting menu dinner in The Greenhouse and access to the newly reopened National Geographic Museum of Exploration, guests are invited onto the Potomac for a private sunset cruise, where views of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Jefferson Memorial reveal the city from a fresh perspective.
Few buildings are as instantly recognizable as The Watergate Hotel, whose curving modernist façade overlooking the Potomac became synonymous with one of the most consequential political scandals of the 20th century. As America marks its 250th anniversary, the hotel is choosing to reflect on a different moment in the national story—the period of cultural transformation, political upheaval, and creative experimentation that defined the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The all-new Americana Suite is a permanent reimagining of one of the property’s signature accommodations with furnishings, artwork, and references to the road trips, music, film, and design movements that shaped a generation. The suite debuts alongside “The Great American Road Trip,” an exhibition curated by Daniela Mercuri that examines American identity through the work of contemporary artists.
California
When San Francisco’s Palace Hotel reopened in 1909 following the devastating earthquake that reshaped the city, it unveiled what remains one of the grandest interiors in the American West. Designated San Francisco Landmark No. 18, the Garden Court is a Beaux-Arts showpiece crowned by a stained-glass dome composed of more than 70,000 pieces of colored glass. Beneath it, 20 Austrian crystal chandeliers shimmer above 16 marble columns imported from Italy, creating a hotel lobby that feels like a cathedral.
The hotel’s Garden Court has long served as a stage for American history. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson hosted a dinner beneath its soaring dome to make the case for U.S. participation in the League of Nations. As he concluded his remarks with the word “peace,” a flock of white doves was released into the room. Nearby, Maxfield Parrish’s celebrated 1909 mural, The Pied Piper, remains in its original setting inside the Pied Piper Bar. More than a century later, the Palace’s architectural treasures continue to draw lovers of the Gilded Age. The hotel’s Landmark 18 museum offers a deeper look at 150 years of San Francisco history.
At San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, the Kennedy Cottage is a toast to love, American style. The 2,700-square-foot two-bedroom California Ranch-style abode has been preserved in its 1953 aesthetic, as it was when future president John F. Kennedy Jr. and his bride, Jacqueline Kennedy, honeymooned there. To experience this slice of Camelot, SYR offers the lavish American Icon Experience, where guests can live like Jackie O, including a welcome arrangement of fresh-cut flowers in the former first lady’s favorite style, a in-cottage bar stocked according to JFK’s preferences with New England spirits, perfectly stirred Negronis, and a collection of wines and whiskies. The organized stay also includes a horseback ride along the coastline, a leisurely game of croquet on the lawn, a quiet afternoon beneath the trees, or a private candlelit dinner.
Chicago
Beneath a ceiling covered in monumental French-inspired murals and surrounded by gilded ornament, the lobby of the Palmer House in Chicago resembles a grand European theater. After the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the original Palmer House in 1871, businessman Potter Palmer and his wife, Bertha, rebuilt the property, creating one of the most lavish hotels of the Gilded Age. Bertha Palmer was among the country’s most influential art patrons and collectors, helping introduce Impressionist works to American audiences and championing the arts during a period of extraordinary growth for Chicago.
To celebrate America’s 250, guests of the hotel can explore that history through guided tours of the hotel’s museum, historic ballrooms, and Prohibition-era tunnels beneath the building. Along the way are reminders of the figures who passed through its doors, from Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to generations of politicians, performers, and socialites.
Boston
Housed within the former Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, The Langham puts the soaring banking hall, once the center of the Federal Reserve Bank’s daily operations, front and center as the hotel’s principal gathering space, allowing guests to dine beneath the same monumental ceilings and classical detailing that defined the building a century ago. The art collection at the 1922 landmark includes 268 works, with more than 100 pieces tied directly to the city’s heritage. An “Artists Lane” features archival photography documenting the construction and early years of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Four Seasons Hotel Boston offers access to the city’s revolutionary past through its private “Chasing Paul Revere” experience, a full-day journey developed with historians from the Boston History Company. Beginning at the Museum of Fine Arts, visitors can view John Singleton Copley’s portrait of Revere alongside the Sons of Liberty Bowl; the experience follows the silversmith, messenger, and revolutionary organizer through the streets and institutions that shaped his life. Stops include the Massachusetts State House, where Revere helped lay the cornerstone; the North End, home to the Paul Revere House and his iconic statue; and Concord’s Minute Man National Historical Park, where guests learn the lesser-known ending to the famous midnight ride.
More Historic Stays Worth Knowing:
Rosewood, Washington, D.C.: Hidden among Georgetown’s Federal-era row houses, Rosewood offers a more intimate perspective on the capital, pairing contemporary design with one of Washington’s most architecturally significant neighborhoods. Walk to the city’s monuments while remaining firmly rooted in Georgetown’s residential character.
Inn at Warner Hall, Gloucester, Virginia: Established in 1642 by Augustine Warner I, the great-great-grandfather of George Washington, Warner Hall is among the oldest estates in Virginia. The restored manor house overlooks the Severn River, where centuries-old oaks, broad lawns, and water views provide much the same backdrop enjoyed by generations of the Warner family and their guests.
Birdwood Mansion, Charlottesville, Virginia: Recently restored by the UVA Foundation, Birdwood Mansion combines the grandeur of a 19th-century Virginia estate with an interpretation of the property’s full history, including the lives of enslaved individuals connected to the site. The result is one of the country’s most thoughtful preservation projects.
Historic Cavalier Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia: The Cavalier has welcomed presidents, writers, athletes, and Hollywood stars since 1927. Following an extensive restoration, guests once again arrive beneath soaring ceilings and grand staircases, with original terrazzo floors and millwork carefully preserved throughout the property. Just beyond the hotel, Jamestown and First Landing State Park place some of the nation’s earliest colonial history within easy reach.
Casa Cody, Palm Springs, California: Founded in the 1920s by Harriet Cody, cousin of Buffalo Bill, Casa Cody is Palm Springs’ oldest operating hotel. Behind its adobe walls, the guest rooms of this Spanish Colonial Revival landmark open onto citrus-filled courtyards and gardens that have changed little over the decades.
The Cooper, Charleston, South Carolina: Charleston’s newest waterfront hotel occupies a coveted position along the harbor that shaped much of the city’s history. For travelers exploring America’s 250th anniversary, the property’s greatest asset is its proximity to the landmarks that helped define Charleston’s role in the American story.
Hotel du Pont, Wilmington, Delaware: Built by the du Pont family in 1913, Hotel du Pont brought the opulence of the Italian Renaissance to America’s First State. A long-running Historian-in-Residence program connects guests to both the architectural ambitions of the Gilded Age and Delaware’s role in the nation’s history.
The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee’s decisive vote on the 19th Amendment unfolded, in part, within the walls of The Hermitage, where suffragists lobbied lawmakers in the days leading up to ratification. More than a century later, the hotel’s Beaux-Arts interiors provide the same backdrop to one of the defining moments in the fight for women’s voting rights.