The Grand Mount Washington Resort Hotel - Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

cognoscere (68)in #photography • 7 years ago (edited)

During our stay in the White Mountains of New Hampshire last week, one of the cool things we did was to ride the Mount Washington COG Railway. More on that excursion in an upcoming post.

Afterwards, we drove to the nearby Mount Washington Hotel to check out its magnificence and also to have a nice lunch and take in the incredible mountain views.

If we ever go back to the White Mountains, this would be a great hotel to try and get a good deal on!!!

The Mount Washington Hotel was built in 1902 and is one of the surviving Grand Resort Hotels that were popular New Hampshire tourist destinations in the latter part of the 1800s and throughout most of the 1900s.

I have three posts I'm planning on submitting about this hotel, and in this first one I'll be sharing some captures to give you a sense of this hotel's grandeur. It's an amazing hotel in a breathtaking surrounding.

Excerpt from The Grand Hotels of New Hampshire by Christine H. Randall:
_{One of the few Grand Resort Hotels that escaped the fates of fire, increasing mobility, and changing economic times was the Mount Washington Hotel in what is now Bretton Woods. Built in 1902, the Mount Washington was the inspiration of wealthy Concord N.H. native Joseph Stickney. Stickney brought in over two hundred Italian stonemasons and woodworkers to construct a Grand Resort Hotel in what was referred to as the “Spanish Renaissance Revival” style of architecture. The hotel featured a steel structure, electric power plant, and an advanced heating system. The Mount Washington Hotel was referred to as the most luxurious hotel of its day, with a staff of 350 serving over 600 guests. Train service to the hotel was frequent - over fifty trains were said to have stopped at Bretton Woods’ three train stations per day.}

_{In 1944, the Mount Washington Hotel was selected to be the site of the World Monetary Conference, and extensive renovations were made. The Conference, involving forty-four nations, set the gold standard and established the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Despite several periods of economically trying times and a few different owners, renovations continue to be made on a regular basis, and only recently, the hotel started staying open during the winter season.}

_{One of the main attractions of the Mount Washington Hotel, as is true of many other popular resorts, has to be its setting. It is perfectly situated against the backdrop of the several of the peaks of the Presidential Range, including Mount Washington. In the tradition of the earlier Grand Resort Hotels, the Mount Washington Hotel also offers elegant dining, exemplary service, and a host of other amenities and activities, some traditional and some contemporary, including a ballroom, lounges, golf, tennis, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, horseback riding, hiking, and downhill and cross country skiing. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.}