Momentum’s Favorites: Historic Hotels

THE MILESTONE HOTEL – LONDON, ENGLAND

Ambassadors and barons once called this home, making a stay here a milestone of achievement for sure. It was 1689 when Foot Onslow, a Commissioner of Excise under William III, built Kensington House on this site, but it wasn’t until 1830 that the property’s story started getting colorful. That was when the house became a private asylum, only to be replaced by a second mansion by the same name, courtesy of the notorious company promoter, “Baron” Albert Grand, the founder of London’s famous Leicester Square. Called the “White Elephant,” this building stood until the 1880s, after which it was replaced with the two houses that mark the Milestone today.

The first to be completed was No. 1 Kensington Court, where the first Baron Redesdale—the diplomat, author, and grandfather of the scandalous, notorious Mitford sisters—made his home. That was back in 1883, but hot on his heels was another noteworthy resident: Count Peter Grigorevich, the Russian Ambassador to London. It wasn’t until 1922 that the two houses were joined together to become a hotel, but an unfortunate fire damaged them both in 1986. Thankfully, it fell under the patronage of the esteemed Red Carnation Hotel Collection in 1998, which has restored it to the glory of its past and updated it with all the luxuries of the future.

GOLDENEYE RESORT – OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA

James Bond may be fictional, but his “birthplace” sure isn’t. We’re not talking about the place the 007 character was born in the novels but rather where the Bond was dreamt up. His nascent city is still open to speculation by fans of the books and movies, but there’s no question about the fact that his life began in Jamaica, when Ian Fleming built his dream house, GoldenEye, in Oracabessa (Golden Head) Bay.

Having been stationed in Jamaica during WWII to investigate U–boat activities, he fell in love with the island and purchased property there after the war. He started writing his novels in 1952, putting down 2,000 words per day until Casino Royale was completed, and didn’t stop until all 13 were finished. All were written right in his bedroom in GoldenEye.

He’s not the only writer to have found his muse here, though. Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, bought the property after Fleming’s passing, and it was while Sting was staying there that The Police wrote “Every Breath You Take.” Today, it’s part of the Island Outpost’s collection of laid–back yet sophisticated hotels and villas in Jamaica.

BALLYNAHINCH CASTLE HOTEL – GALWAY, IRELAND

Ever wish you could outrun your problems? The Martins of Galway may have done exactly that. In the vast and wild Connemara Burren seems as good of a place as any to hide out, especially if you have 196,000 acres in which to do it. According to written anecdotes, it seems that the Ballynahinch estate was used by the Martins not only as a sporting retreat, as was the fashion in the late 1700s, but also to get off the radar of their creditors.

Before the Martins had the run of the land, it was part of the domain of the O’Flaherty Clan. Although the castle as it stands today was only built around the end of the 18th century, the first castle on the estate was erected in the 1580s…by a pirate queen who married into that family. Grace O’Malley was her name, and she became the formidable chieftain of her clan after her father’s passing. Notable owners after her included Richard “Humanity Dick” Martin, the founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and High Highness the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, or Ranjitsinhji “Ranji,” Prince of Cricketers. It was he who erected the fishing piers and huts along the river and landscaped the gardens and woods guests can enjoy today when they stay at this luxury country house hotel that is now owned by Ireland’s tourist board.

THE ROOSEVELT HOTEL NEW ORLEANS, A WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL – NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

In a city where music has always reigned, staying here is like sleeping on hallowed ground. New Orleans is known for a whole lot of things, from its chart–topping cuisine to notorious holiday celebrations. But what ties it all together is that it’s a destination that marches to the beat of its own drummer, creating a rhythm of joy that’s easy to just fall into. And what better place to embrace the music than the Roosevelt Hotel, first known as the Grunewald Hall performing arts center?

Although it was relaunched as the Grunewald Hotel in 1893 and expanded as the same in 1907, its musical history continued long after. It became one of the hottest entertainment spots in the Crescent City with the opening of The Cave, a basement grotto filled with rock formations, nymphs, and gnomes—and one of the country’s first nightclubs, rousing with the sound of Dixieland jazz.

Although this famous venue gave way to The Blue Room and the Sazerac Bar after it became The Roosevelt, the richness of its trappings and music heritage continued on. Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, and other modern legends have performed here, and future musical geniuses will find themselves pampered in grand style after a $145 million restoration.

THE BUCCANEER – ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

With a past like this, the only thing this pirate will run away with is your imagination. Dashing and romantic in setting and attributes, it makes sense that this hotel’s name takes after a term for a swashbuckling pirate. Its origins date back as far as that part of history; it was 1653 when Charles Martel, a Knight of Malta, raised up the French manor home that remains on this historic site where indigo and tobacco ended up being grown. However, sugar became the primary crop when Governor von Prock built a home of his own on the estate and turned the original manor into a sugar factory and mill. It was in this reincarnation that Alexander Hamilton spent time as a child, whose pitter–patter footsteps you can quite literally walk in should you stay in the Hamilton Wing.

In The Buccaneer’s next life as Estate Shoys, it became a cotton plantation. Next, it was a cattle farm for the Heyliger Company and for its current owners, the Armstrongs, who purchased the property in 1922. It wasn’t until 1947 that the family opened 11 guestrooms to the public, making it the first hotel on St. Croix to be built, owned, and operated by a local family. Since then, this member of Historic Hotels of America has grown within its 340 acres, with three beaches, a full golf course, eight tennis courts, and more. It’s also entranced many more, so much so that it set the scene for ABC’s “The Bachelor” in 2013.