Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.
The Mount Washington Hotel is located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The hotel opened in 1902, and was built to be a luxurious hotel for the wealthy. Many famous people have stayed at the Mount Washington over the years. A major $50 million renovation of the property started in 2007 that will upgrade the entire hotel, add new convention and spa facilities, and rebuild the golf course. The Mount Washington Hotel is a National Historic Landmark, a recognition only given to properties that have made significant contributions to both architecture and history. While not on a major tourist route, the Mount Washington Hotel is a truly impressive hotel that is well worth going out of your way to visit!
These photos are from our visit on Monday, July 9, 2007. Click on any photo to enlarge and view in the lightbox.
Front exterior of the Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.
(The scaffolding on the right side is for storm repair work.)
The Mount Washington Hotel was constructed by railroad tycoon Joseph
Stickney (of the Pennsylvania Railroad). Construction started in 1900
and the hotel opened in 1902. Stickney wanted a first-class hotel and
brought in 250 Italian artisans to help in the construction. The
original cost of the hotel was 1.7 million dollars. The hotel was built
for summer operation only. Each year it opened in May, and then was
closed up in October.
This is the North End Tower of the hotel. Check out the fancy scroll work.
View of the rear of the Mount Washington Hotel.
The entrance drive winds up to the porte-cochere where valets and bellhops greet you.
This is the Front Veranda. The Veranda of the Mount Washington Hotel is an amazing 903 feet long.
Mount Washington Hotel, south veranda. Wide verandas wrap around 3 sides of the hotel.
The Great Hall and Public Areas
The main entrance to the hotel (this is the left door). Unimpressed? That's the idea!
Note the rather plain front doors. This is an architectural trick.
While driving up to the hotel you would certainly be impressed, and
possibly even over-whelmed, by the massive exterior. The unimpressive
front doors provide visual relief, a moment for your eyes to rest, and a
lowering of expectations. The result is that when you step through the
doors and see the Great Hall just inside, the hall seems even more
impressive!
The Great Hall at the Mount Washington Hotel.
One of the most spectacular, elegant hotel lobbies in the world!
One of the most spectacular, elegant hotel lobbies in the world!
Moose head over the fireplace in the Great Hall.
The carpets in the great hall feature flowers that are indigenous to the hotel area.
The half circle shaped Conservatory on the back hotel behind the Great Hall.
The Reign of the Princess
Joseph Stickney passed away in 1903, shortly after the hotel opened, and
the operation of the hotel was assumed by his widow, Caroline Foster
Stickney. In 1908 Caroline remarried to Prince Lucinge of France,
making her a princess. She later acquired additional hotels in France
and Switzerland. She operated the Mount Washington until her death at
which time her nephew, Foster Reynolds, took control of the hotel.
At one time this was an actual balcony. It overlooks the hall leading to the Dining Rooms. The balcony opened from one of the
Princess' private rooms behind it. The room has now been walled off,
and this painting of the Princess (Caroline Foster Stickney) now graces
the balcony. From this balcony she used to watch her guests as they
arrived for dinner. A shear curtain allowed her to see out but
prevented them from seeing in.
When guests were invited to dine with the princess, it would seem she always was the best-dressed lady at dinner. This was no accident, as she always was the last to arrive for dinner. She watched her guests arrive from the balcony of a darkened room (photo above), looking out through a sheer curtained window that allowed her to see out, without them seeing her watching. She would then pick her outfit for the evening after seeing what the other ladies were wearing!
The Main Dining Room at the Mount Washington Hotel. Most of the furniture is the original furniture from when the hotel opened, and the carpets are a replica of the original carpet. The upper level clerestory windows are Tiffany stained glass.
The Ballroom.
The ballroom doors viewed from inside the ballroom. Through the doors is the Great Hall. The colored glass transom windows are original and are genuine Tiffany glass.
The Bretton Woods International Monetary Conference
In 1944 delegates from 44 countries met here for the
Bretton Woods International Monetary Conference. The World Bank was
established and a gold standard of $35.00 (USD) an ounce was set at the
meeting and remained the standard for 25 years. The hotel had fallen on
hard times through the Great Depression and fallen into disrepair. In
addition it had been closed since 1942 (due to World War II), so it
needed to be completely refurbished for the conference. Government
workers were sent to paint, repair and clean. The repairs served as a
kick start to getting the hotel ready to reopened to the public again in
1947.
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Guest Rooms
From the Great Hall this is the main staircase heading up to the guest rooms.
A upgrade double guest room. Note that rooms are often remodeled, so current appearance may vary.
The depression brought hard times for the Mount Washington Hotel. The
Mount Washington survived, but suffered and fell into disrepair.
Finally in 1942, at the outset of World War II, the hotel was closed.
The now closed hotel was sold in 1944 to investors from Boston who
remodeled it, with help from the government, so that the Bretton Woods
International Monetary Conference could be held at the hotel. The hotel
reopened after the war. Since that time the hotel has passed through a
series of owners, with both up and down periods.
Beautiful view from the window.
Another room with a single king bed.
The Princess Room suite.
The Princess Suite
The Princess Suite, room 314, was one of Princess
Faucigny-Lucinge's rooms at the hotel (she moved around from room to room over the years.) The four
poster bed in the photo was her favorite, she would not sleep in
other beds. When she changed rooms or moved to one of her other hotels
at the end of the season, the bed was disassembled, boxed up, shipped
to the new location, and then set up in her new room prior to her
arrival.
Stickney Street
So called "Stickney Street" is the hallway that extends most of the length of the patio level (the lowest public level.) Historic
photos of the hotel line the walls of Stickney Street. A number of things have been down here over the years, a billiard room, card rooms, bowling alley, and even a speak easy (an illegal bar during the prohibition era, when alcoholic beverages were illegal here.) At the time we visited there was an
ice cream shop, gift shop, Kid's Camp (day care), and a real estate
office down here that I didn't photograph. The gift shop was originally
the Ladies Card Room. The bricks are facing only, the actual walls are
constructed of granite.
This is the bar in Stickney's Lounge & Restaurant. Originally this was the Men's Billiard Room.
The Stickney's Lounge features "Stickney's Measuring Stick" on the wall. The stick is
a joke, check your height on it and you will find you have shrunk by a
couple of inches! Getting your picture taken with the stick is a
tradition.
Entrance to The Cave. Why the narrow hallway entry? If you look at the
floor plan you will notice that the Cave is tucked out of sight under
the front porch of the hotel. It was a "speak-easy" during prohibition,
so they didn't want it to be too obvious!
The Cave lounge, located under the front porch of the hotel.
I'm not encouraging you to sneak around or stick your nose in places off-limits, but I always do, and I try to grab a photo of something that isn't "public." At the north end of Stickney Street you will find a unmarked door that leads to the area under the dining room where some of the hotel's support facilities are located. Just look for a steady stream of employees walking in and out. The hotel has a staff of 300 persons in winter, swelling to 400 in the summer season.
