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77-583: The Martha Washington Inn is a historic hotel located in Abingdon, Virginia . Originally built in 1832 by General Francis Preston , hero of the War of 1812, for his family of nine children, over the course of the last 174 years, the building has served as an upscale women's college , a Civil War hospital and barracks , and as a residence for visiting actors of the Barter Theatre . In addition to hotel services,

154-478: A business degree , and/or certification programs formally prepare hotel managers for industry practice. Most hotel establishments consist of a general manager who serves as the head executive (often referred to as the "hotel manager"), department heads who oversee various departments within a hotel, middle managers , administrative staff, and line-level supervisors. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by hotel size, function, and

231-449: A general manager who serves as the head executive (often referred to as the " hotel manager "), department heads who oversee various departments within a hotel (e.g., food service), middle managers , administrative staff, and line-level supervisors. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by hotel size, function and class, and is often determined by hotel ownership and managing companies. The word hotel

308-430: A block of hours typically between 8 am and 5 pm, before the typical night shift. These are similar to transit hotels in that they appeal to travelers, however, unlike transit hotels, they do not eliminate the need to go through Customs. Garden hotels , famous for their gardens before they became hotels, include Gravetye Manor, the home of garden designer William Robinson , and Cliveden , designed by Charles Barry with

385-486: A form of property ownership also referred to as a vacation ownership involving the purchase and ownership of an individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage during a specified period of time. Timeshare resorts often offer amenities similar that of a full-service hotel with on-site restaurants, swimming pools, recreation grounds, and other leisure-oriented amenities. Destination clubs on the other hand may offer more exclusive private accommodations such as private houses in

462-652: A guest with lifestyle or personal image in specific locations. They are typically full-service and classified as luxury. A key characteristic of lifestyle resorts is focus on providing a unique guest experience as opposed to simply providing lodging. Lifestyle luxury resorts are classified with a Five Star hotel rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Example brands include: Waldorf Astoria , St. Regis , Wynn Resorts , MGM , Shangri-La , Oberoi , Belmond , Jumeirah , Aman , Taj Hotels , Hoshino , Raffles , Fairmont , Banyan Tree , Regent and Park Hyatt . Upscale full-service hotels often provide

539-770: A hospital since the Middle Ages . The French spelling, with the circumflex , was also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' found in the earlier hostel spelling, which over time took on a new, but closely related meaning. Grammatically, hotels usually take the definite article – hence "The Astoria Hotel" or simply "The Astoria". Facilities offering hospitality to travellers featured in early civilizations. In Greco-Roman culture and in ancient Persia , hospitals for recuperation and rest were built at thermal baths . Guinness World Records officially recognised Japan's Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan , founded in 705, as

616-459: A limited amount of on-site amenities. Economy hotels are small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer basic accommodations with little to no services. Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer-term full-service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel. Timeshare and destination clubs are a form of property ownership involving ownership of an individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage. A motel

693-457: A limited number of on-site amenities that only cater and market to a specific demographic of travelers, such as the single business traveler. Most focused or select service hotels may still offer full-service accommodations but may lack leisure amenities such as an on-site restaurant or a swimming pool. Examples include Hyatt Place , Holiday Inn , Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn . Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer

770-512: A limited number of reservations for the public, which provided an opportunity for people to eat with the actors in the inn's cafeteria. In 1950, novelist James Hilton purchased "several acres of land adjoining the Barter Theater [sic] ... to protect the view from the Barter Inn" after the property had been advertised as being available for building sites. In 1996, a $ 1.7 million renovation of

847-590: A live pig. While remaining based in Abingdon, Barter Theatre has presented plays over a broad geographical area. A September 1939 trip took the group to New York City, performing at the Heckscher Theater. On three nights the troupe presented Lady Baltimore , Everywhere I Roam , and "a mountain version of Romeo and Juliet ". In 1949, one of its companies produced Hamlet in Elsinore , Denmark. That same year it had

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924-412: A neighborhood-style setting. Examples of timeshare brands include Hilton Grand Vacations , Marriott Vacation Club International , Westgate Resorts , Disney Vacation Club , and Holiday Inn Club Vacations . A motel , an abbreviation for "motor hotel", is a small-sized low-rise lodging establishment similar to a limited service, lower-cost hotel, but typically with direct access to individual rooms from

1001-410: A room and board arrangement. In Japan , capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities. The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe . For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging for coach travelers. Inns began to cater to wealthier clients in the mid-18th century. One of

1078-525: A rose garden by Geoffrey Jellicoe . The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi , Sweden , was the first ice hotel in the world; first built in 1990, it is built each winter and melts every spring. The Hotel de Glace in Duschenay, Canada , opened in 2001 and it is North America's only ice hotel. It is redesigned and rebuilt in its entirety every year. Ice hotels can also be included within larger ice complexes; for example,

1155-845: A stay or re-admission through security checkpoints. Some hotels are built with living trees as structural elements, for example the Treehotel near Piteå , Sweden, the Costa Rica Tree House near the Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge , Costa Rica ; the Treetops Hotel in Aberdare National Park , Kenya ; the Ariau Towers near Manaus , Brazil, on the Rio Negro in

1232-731: A touring company that did one-night stands in localities in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. In 1993, the First Light Players were founded, a troupe within the Barter dedicated to theatre for young audiences . Today, they live on as the Barter Players, bringing live theatre to young audiences across under-served regions in the South and East coast. In 2014 the Barter Theatre and

1309-572: A traditional hotel. Extended stay hotels may offer non-traditional pricing methods such as a weekly rate that caters towards travelers in need of short-term accommodations for an extended period of time. Similar to limited and select service hotels, on-site amenities are normally limited and most extended stay hotels lack an on-site restaurant. Examples include Staybridge Suites , Candlewood Suites , Homewood Suites by Hilton , Home2 Suites by Hilton , Residence Inn by Marriott , Element , and Extended Stay America . Timeshare and destination clubs are

1386-522: A trail of mud in his wake have been reported from a hallway of the Inn. Long past medical help, there is only speculation why he is here at the old hospital, a ball leaving only a hideous mangle of bone and sparse flesh had split his head. A tunnel once connected the Martha Washington Inn with the Barter Theatre . The entrance on the inn's side has been closed off for several years, but the section below

1463-498: A type of booking for less than 24 hours where the customer chooses the check in time and the length of the stay. This allows the hotel increased revenue by reselling the same room several times a day. They first gained popularity in Europe but are now common in major global tourist centers. Hotel management is a globally accepted professional career field and academic field of study. Degree programs such as hospitality management studies ,

1540-549: A type of economical hotel first introduced in Japan, where people sleep in stacks of rectangular containers. In the sleeping capsules, beside the bed, the customer can watch TV, put their valuables in the mini safes, and the customers also can use the wireless internet. Some hotels fill daytime occupancy with day rooms , for example, Rodeway Inn and Suites near Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida . Day rooms are booked in

1617-613: A very limited number of on-site amenities and often only offer basic accommodations with little to no services, catering to the budget-minded traveler seeking a "no frills" accommodation. Limited service hotels often lack an on-site restaurant but in return may offer a limited complimentary food and beverage amenity such as on-site continental breakfast service. Examples include Ibis Budget , Hampton Inn , Aloft , Holiday Inn Express , Fairfield Inn , and Four Points by Sheraton . Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer-term full-service accommodations compared to

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1694-881: A wide array of guest services and on-site facilities. Commonly found amenities may include: on-site food and beverage (room service and restaurants), meeting and conference services and facilities, fitness center, and business center. Upscale full-service hotels range in quality from upscale to luxury. This classification is based upon the quality of facilities and amenities offered by the hotel. Examples include: W Hotels , Sheraton , Langham , Kempinski , Pullman , Kimpton Hotels , Hilton , Swissôtel , Lotte , Renaissance , Marriott and Hyatt Regency brands. Boutique hotels are smaller independent non-branded hotels that often contain mid-scale to upscale facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings with full-service accommodations. These hotels are generally 100 rooms or fewer. Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer

1771-482: Is a hotel chain that offers branding to independently operated hotels; the chain itself is founded by or owned by the member hotels as a group. Many former referral chains have been converted to franchises; the largest surviving member-owned chain is Best Western . The first recorded purpose-built railway hotel was the Great Western Hotel , which opened adjacent to Reading railway station in 1844, shortly after

1848-428: Is a small-sized low-rise lodging with direct access to individual rooms from the car parking area. Boutique hotels are typically hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting. A number of hotels and motels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture. Some hotels are built specifically as destinations in themselves, for example casinos and holiday resorts . Most hotel establishments are run by

1925-648: Is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world, operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sexual activities , typically for one to three hours, but with overnight as an option. Styles of premises vary from extremely low-end to extravagantly appointed. In Japan, love hotels have a history of over 400 years. In 2021 a New York-based company introduced new modular and movable hotel rooms which allow landowners and hospitality groups to create and easily scale hotel accommodations. The portable units can be built in three to five months and can be stacked to create multi-floor units. A referral hotel

2002-844: Is built into the remains of an opal mine. Located on the coast but high above sea level, these hotels offer unobstructed panoramic views and a great sense of privacy without the feeling of total isolation. Some examples from around the globe are the Riosol Hotel in Gran Canaria, Caruso Belvedere Hotel in Amalfi Coast (Italy), Aman Resorts Amankila in Bali, Birkenhead House in Hermanus (South Africa), The Caves in Jamaica and Caesar Augustus in Capri. Capsule hotels are

2079-474: Is dead." Beth died a few weeks later from typhoid fever. Many of the female students who later attended the college, as well as inn employees and guests, have heard Beth's sweet violin music in the night. Others report that Beth visits Room 403 to comfort her Yankee soldier. A young Confederate soldier in Abingdon was assigned to carry important papers about the location of the Union army to General Robert E. Lee. He

2156-544: Is derived from the French hôtel (coming from the same origin as hospital ), which referred to a French version of a building seeing frequent visitors, and providing care, rather than a place offering accommodation. In contemporary French usage, hôtel now has the same meaning as the English term, and hôtel particulier is used for the old meaning, as well as "hôtel" in some place names such as Hôtel-Dieu (in Paris), which has been

2233-564: Is located within the Abingdon Historic District . The main theatre (named Gilliam Stage) has 505 seats with 216 of those in the balcony, and Barter Stage II (Named Smith Theatre) has 167. Starting in 2020, the theatre has been producing plays and staging them at the Moonlite Theatre . Plays are performed on a stage while being simultaneously projected on the big screen. Seating in cars allows for social distancing and audio

2310-612: Is now the main lobby of the inn. One of the original items owned by the Preston family is the Dutch-baroque grandfather clock which measures over nine feet tall. This beautiful clock, which was shipped from England by one of the Preston daughters, now takes its rightful place in the East Parlor of the inn. After passing through various hands over the next three years, in 1935, the Martha Washington Inn opened. The inn has operated ever since in

2387-706: Is often determined by hotel ownership and managing companies. Boutique hotels are typically hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting. Some hotels have gained their renown through tradition, by hosting significant events or persons, such as Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam , Germany, which derives its fame from the Potsdam Conference of the World War II allies Winston Churchill , Harry Truman and Joseph Stalin in 1945. The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai

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2464-849: Is one of India's most famous and historic hotels because of its association with the Indian independence movement . Some establishments have given name to a particular meal or beverage, as is the case with the Waldorf Astoria in New York City , United States where the Waldorf Salad was first created or the Hotel Sacher in Vienna , Austria, home of the Sachertorte . Others have achieved fame by association with dishes or cocktails created on their premises, such as

2541-452: Is provided through car radios. This was begun to allow staging of plays with coronavirus precautions in place and plays were produced there from July 2020 through December 2021. Indoor performances resumed at Gilliam Stage in September 2021, with protocols in place to keep actors, staff, crew, and audience as safe as possible during the ongoing pandemic. In 1939, the theatre first presented

2618-598: Is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression , many people could not afford to pay for theater tickets, and many actors had trouble finding employment. A review by Paul Dellinger in the December 17, 2006 issue of The Roanoke Times summarized the situation as follows: But Broadway was not doing so much swinging during

2695-658: Is the second-oldest theatrical building in the United States. In 1953, its interior was renovated with fittings from the Empire Theatre in New York. The seats from that renovation were later replaced with seats from the Jefferson Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia , after it closed. Each year, Barter Theatre celebrates its heritage with Barter Days. For these performances, patrons are invited to barter for admission by bringing

2772-743: The Amazon ; and Bayram's Tree Houses in Olympos , Turkey. Some hotels have accommodation underwater, such as Utter Inn in Lake Mälaren , Sweden. Hydropolis , project in Dubai , would have had suites on the bottom of the Persian Gulf , and Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo , Florida , requires scuba diving to access its rooms. Barter Theatre Barter Theatre , in Abingdon, Virginia , opened on June 10, 1933. It

2849-520: The Barter Theatre , which is adjacent to the inn, but now the actors usually stay at the Barter Inn . This story is about a tragic love affair between a student at Martha Washington College and her Yankee sweetheart. Although still a girl's college, Martha Washington College served as a hospital during the Civil War. Several of the girls did not return home during the war but bravely volunteered to stay at

2926-643: The George and the Tabard . A typical layout of an inn featured an inner court with bedrooms on the two sides, with the kitchen and parlour at the front and the stables at the back. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging for coach travellers (in other words, a roadhouse ). Coaching inns stabled teams of horses for stagecoaches and mail coaches and replaced tired teams with fresh teams. Traditionally they were seven miles apart, but this depended very much on

3003-620: The Great Western Railway opened its line from London. The building still exists, and although it has been used for other purposes over the years, it is now again a hotel and a member of the Malmaison hotel chain . Frequently, expanding railway companies built grand hotels at their termini, such as the Midland Hotel, Manchester next to the former Manchester Central Station , and in London

3080-861: The Hotel de Paris where the crêpe Suzette was invented or the Raffles Hotel in Singapore , where the Singapore Sling cocktail was devised. A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, such as the Ritz Hotel in London , through its association with Irving Berlin's song, " Puttin' on the Ritz ". The Algonquin Hotel in New York City is famed as

3157-675: The 19th century. Luxury hotels, including the 1829 Tremont House in Boston , the 1836 Astor House in New York City , the 1889 Savoy Hotel in London, and the Ritz chain of hotels in London and Paris in the late 1890s, catered to an ever more-wealthy clientele. Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is part of a United States law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation. Hotels are included as types of public accommodation in

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3234-435: The 2000s as hotel chains have been building economy-priced, limited-service franchised properties at freeway exits which compete for largely the same clientele, largely saturating the market by the 1990s. Motels are still useful in less populated areas for driving travelers, but the more populated an area becomes, the more hotels move in to meet the demand for accommodation. While many motels are unbranded and independent, many of

3311-525: The Act. Hotels cater to travelers from many countries and languages, since no one country dominates the travel industry. Hotel operations vary in size, function, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies that operate hotels have set widely accepted industry standards to classify hotel types. General categories include the following: International luxury hotels offer high-quality amenities, full-service accommodations, on-site full-service restaurants, and

3388-541: The Depression, when theaters went dark and actors found themselves out of work. Back in Porterfield's part of Virginia, farmers were stuck with crops they couldn't sell. That was when Porterfield came up with his genius of an idea, bringing actors to Abingdon to barter their performances for farm goods. Beginning with "some twenty of his fellow actors", Robert Porterfield , founder of the theatre, offered admission by letting

3465-1095: The Mammut Snow Hotel in Finland is located within the walls of the Kemi snow castle; and the Lainio Snow Hotel is part of a snow village near Ylläs , Finland. There is an arctic snowhotel in Rovaniemi in Lapland , Finland, along with glass igloos. The first glass igloos were built in 1999 in Finland , they became the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort with 65 buildings, 53 small ones for two people and 12 large ones for four people. Glass igloos, with their roof made of thermal glass, allow guests to admire auroras comfortably from their beds. A love hotel (also 'love motel', especially in Taiwan)

3542-491: The Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms. The Null Stern Hotel in Teufen , Appenzellerland , Switzerland, and the Concrete Mushrooms in Albania are former nuclear bunkers transformed into hotels. The Cuevas Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (named after the author ) in Guadix , Spain, as well as several hotels in Cappadocia , Turkey, are notable for being built into natural cave formations, some with rooms underground. The Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy , South Australia,

3619-441: The William King Art Center collaborated to produce an art exhibition by Abingdon artists affiliated with the two institutions. Initially, the theatre's plays were performed in the Abingdon Opera House, and actors stayed at the Martha Washington Inn. In 1935, it moved to the campus of the defunct Stonewall Jackson College for Women. The 1939 article in Life reported that the actors received no pay but were fed well and were housed in

3696-487: The building was completed. The depth of the stage was increased from 28 feet to 60 feet. New lighting and sound systems were installed, and the heating and air-conditioning systems were upgraded. The balcony was extended to provide more seats and a better view from that level. Today, Barter is one of the last year-round professional resident repertory theaters remaining in the United States. The current building, originally Sinking Springs Presbyterian Church built in 1833,

3773-566: The capacity of a hotel. In 1984, the United Group , an investment group of businessmen, purchased the inn and paid for an 8 million dollar renovation. Eleven years later, the property was admitted to the Camberley Collection of historic places. Today, the Martha Washington Inn serves as both a hotel and spa. Many famous guests have spent the night at the Martha Washington Inn, including Eleanor Roosevelt , President Harry S. Truman , Lady Bird Johnson , Jimmy Carter , and Elizabeth Taylor . The hotel has also played host to actors performing at

3850-404: The car park. Motels were built to serve road travellers, including travellers on road trip vacations and workers who drive for their job (travelling salespeople, truck drivers, etc.). Common during the 1950s and 1960s, motels were often located adjacent to a major highway, where they were built on inexpensive land at the edge of towns or along stretches of freeway. New motel construction is rare in

3927-455: The defining characteristic of a resort hotel is that it exists purely to serve another attraction, the two having the same owners. On the Las Vegas Strip there is a tradition of one-upmanship with luxurious and extravagant hotels in a concentrated area. This trend now has extended to other resorts worldwide, but the concentration in Las Vegas is still the world's highest: nineteen of the world's twenty-five largest hotels by room count are on

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4004-501: The equivalent amount of canned food. All food is donated to a local charity. Porterfield served as director until his death in 1971. Rex Partington was selected as the next artistic director, serving from 1972 to 1992. From 1992-2019, Richard Rose has served as the Barter Theatre's third artistic director. In 2019, Katy Brown, the longtime director of the Barter Players, took over as the fourth and first female artistic director. The Barter's continued success under their leadership made it

4081-558: The first hotels in a modern sense was opened in Exeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the early 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the 19th century, particularly in the United States. Hotel operations vary in size, function, complexity, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies have set industry standards to classify hotel types. An upscale full-service hotel facility offers luxury amenities, full-service accommodations, an on-site restaurant , and

4158-486: The first regional theater "to survive the passing of its founder." Many well-known stars of stage, screen and television have performed early in their careers at Barter, including Gregory Peck , Ernest Borgnine , Patricia Neal , Ned Beatty , Hume Cronyn , Gary Collins , Frances Fisher , Kevin Spacey , Larry Linville , John Glover , Jim Varney , and Wayne Knight . Will Bigham, the 2007 winner of On The Lot , acted at Barter Theatre for several years. The theatre

4235-400: The former college's dormitories. The troupe produced plays in the auditorium on the campus. Productions branched out into the surrounding area after three nights on campus, going "on a ten-day tour of mountain towns and resorts in an ancient bus widely known as 'Bessie.'" The facility in which actors stayed became known as the Barter Inn. Besides housing members of the theatre, the inn offered

4312-424: The founders of Martha Washington College . The college devoted entirely to women operated for seventy years until finally succumbing to the Great Depression . At the time of the Civil War , the college served as the training ground for the Confederate unit, the Washington Mounted Rifles . After various skirmishes between United States and Confederate forces, wounded were brought to the school for treatment. It

4389-416: The front steps, a Union soldier that was shot in front of the house in 1864. On moonless nights, the horse has been seen roaming the grounds searching for his owner and awaiting the call to ride home. The basement holds the spirits of black slaves, they were kept in an underground chamber and some were buried within its stone walls. Numerous accounts of a soldier hobbling with help from a crutch and leaving

4466-509: The highest level of personalized and professional service in major or capital cities . International luxury hotels are classified with at least a Five Diamond rating or Five Star hotel rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Example brands include: Grand Hyatt , Conrad , InterContinental , Sofitel , Mandarin Oriental , Four Seasons , The Peninsula , Rosewood , JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton . Lifestyle luxury resorts are branded hotels that appeal to

4543-443: The highest level of personalized service, such as a concierge , room service , and clothes-ironing staff. Full-service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with many full-service accommodations, an on-site full-service restaurant , and a variety of on-site amenities . Boutique hotels are smaller independent, non-branded hotels that often contain upscale facilities. Small to medium-sized hotel establishments offer

4620-400: The inn now offers spa treatments. The Martha Washington Hotel & Spa is a member of Historic Hotels of America , the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation . In 1832, General Francis Preston built the brick residence for his family at a cost of $ 15,000. The mansion remained in the Preston family possession until 1858, when it was sold at the cost of $ 21,000 to

4697-457: The inn's basement during the Civil War . Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator , and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a television, and en-suite bathrooms . Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only

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4774-408: The insulation values of the walls it needs no conventional heating or air conditioning system, although the Maya Guesthouse is built at an altitude of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the Alps. Transit hotels are short stay hotels typically used at international airports where passengers can stay while waiting to change airplanes. The hotels are typically on the airside and do not require a visa for

4851-519: The local people pay with food goods, hence the name "Barter". He said, "With vegetables that you cannot sell you can buy a good laugh." The original ticket price for a play was 30 cents, or the equivalent in goods. Referring to the barter concept, an article in Life magazine's July 31, 1939, issue reported, "What sounded like the craziest idea in the history of the U.S. theater is now a booming success." Actors were kept very busy, even when they did not have parts in current plays. They contributed to

4928-464: The meeting place of the literary group, the Algonquin Round Table , and Hotel Chelsea , also in New York City, has been the subject of a number of songs and the scene of the stabbing of Nancy Spungen (allegedly by her boyfriend Sid Vicious ). Some hotels are built specifically as a destination in itself to create a captive trade, example at casinos , amusement parks and holiday resorts . Though hotels have always been built in popular destinations,

5005-566: The mid-18th century, and consequently grew in grandeur and in the level of service provided. Sudhir Andrews traces "the birth of an organised hotel industry" to Europe's chalets and small hotels which catered primarily to aristocrats. One of the first hotels in a modern sense, the Royal Clarence , opened in Exeter in 1768, although the idea only really caught on in the early-19th century. In 1812 Mivart's Hotel opened its doors in London , later changing its name to Claridge's . Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in

5082-568: The most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium , restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs ) to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of

5159-495: The oldest hotel in the world. During the Middle Ages , various religious orders at monasteries and abbeys would offer accommodation for travellers on the road. The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe , possibly dating back to the rule of Ancient Rome . These would provide for the needs of travellers, including food and lodging, stabling and fodder for the traveller's horses and fresh horses for mail coaches . Famous London examples of inns include

5236-411: The ones above St Pancras railway station and Charing Cross railway station . London also has the Chiltern Court Hotel above Baker Street tube station , there are also Canada's grand railway hotels . They are or were mostly, but not exclusively, used by those traveling by rail. The Maya Guesthouse in Nax Mont-Noble in the Swiss Alps, is the first hotel in Europe built entirely with straw bales. Due to

5313-462: The other motels which remain in operation joined national franchise chains, often rebranding themselves as hotels, inns or lodges. Some examples of chains with motels include EconoLodge , Motel 6 , Super 8 , and Travelodge . Motels in some parts of the world are more often regarded as places for romantic assignations where rooms are often rented by the hour. This is fairly common in parts of Latin America . Hotels may offer rooms for microstays ,

5390-482: The school as nurses. Captain John Stoves, a Yankee officer, was severely wounded and captured in town. Soldiers carried Capt. Stoves through the cave system under Abingdon and up a secret stairway to the third floor of the building. Capt. Stoves lay gravely wounded in what is now Room 403. For weeks, a young student named Beth nursed and cared for him. She found herself falling in love with the brave captain, and he returned her sentiments. Often, Beth would lovingly play

5467-426: The terrain. Some English towns had as many as ten such inns and rivalry between them became intense, not only for the income from the stagecoach operators but for the revenue from the food and drink supplied to the wealthy passengers. By the end of the century, coaching inns were being run more professionally, with a regular timetable being followed and fixed menus for food. Inns began to cater to richer clients in

5544-416: The theater is still used to run electrical cables. Actors who used the tunnel to walk between the inn and the theater in the 1930s and 1940s reported encountering a malevolent spirit . The specter was never seen but sensed as a strong evil presence. The spirit is believed to be either a man who was killed when the tunnel collapsed in 1890 or a Confederate soldier who used the tunnel to smuggle ammunition out of

5621-399: The theatre's overall success by working on scenery, collecting props, directing and working in the cafeteria at the Barter Inn, where members of the troupe boarded. Barter Theatre's first production was After Tomorrow by John Golden . An Associated Press news story reported that the production "was played to a capacity audience that came laden with cakes, fruit, vegetables, poultry" and

5698-572: The violin to ease his pain and suffering. But, their love was not to last for long. As he lay dying, he called, "Play something, Beth, I'm going." Unfortunately, Beth was too late to escort him out with a song, because he died suddenly. Beth tearfully played a sweet southern melody as a tribute to him. When a Confederate officer entered and explained that he was taking Captain Stoves as a prisoner, Beth faced him triumphantly and said, "He has been pardoned by an officer higher than General Lee. Captain Stoves

5775-440: The young Confederate soldier was shot in front of his sweetheart, and, when he fell, his blood stained the floor. The strange thing is that through the years, the bloodstain continues to appear. Carpets over the area often develop mysterious holes over the stains. Even after the floors have been refinished, the stain continues to reappear, a sad reminder of the tragedy of the Civil War. A phantom horse waits for his master outside

5852-564: Was also during this time period that the building attained the nickname, "The Martha." Among its post-war alumnae was the valedictorian of the Class of 1880, Nellie Nugent Somerville , who would go on to become the first woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature . The architectural integrity of the Martha has been preserved for over 150 years. The original living room of the Preston family

5929-409: Was hopelessly in love with a young woman at the college. Knowing the risks he was facing, the brave soldier felt he must say farewell to his lady love before leaving. The soldier traveled through the cave system underlying Abingdon and used a secret stairway to enter the college. As the soldier was saying goodbye to his love, two Union officers came up the stairs and found them. With no way to escape,

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