End of a uniquely American attraction arrives just ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday. Just in time for America’s 250th birthday in 2026, Walt Disney World will shutter its Tom Sawyer Island and Liberty Square Riverboat on July 6, 2025. In their place: a Cars-themed attraction. The river, island, andMORE HERE
WASHINGTON – The Madison Hotel in Washington D.C. celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The hotel, known for hosting world leaders and celebrities, was the creation of developer and amateur historian Marshall Bentley Coyne. Coyne opened the hotel in 1963, the year President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. JFK andMORE HERE
LOS ANGELES — The Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles will celebrate her centennial in 2023 with restored ballroom frescoes and windows, and a year’s worth of special events. “I want to acknowledge everyone who loves this building,” said Los Angeles Conservancy President and CEO, Linda Dishman at a Dec. 2MORE HERE
The 1970s, an era of Arab oil boycotts, inflation and Carter austerity, were the heyday of the discount motel. At the time, mid-tier chains like Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn and Quality Inn offered pools and dining rooms. Many of them were “luxe” in a middle market sort of way. InMORE HERE
PARIS – The Accor brand hotel brand Pullman has announced a series of fitness pros at its properties, working with the Les Mills fitness company. The brand, known in the popular consciousness for sleeper railroad cars, has launched the Pullman Fitness Squad, a group of fitness ambassadors that help guestsMORE HERE
PARIS – The Accor luxury brand Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has debuted a brand campaign entitled “Experience the Grandest of” Seasons, Feelings, etc. The campaign “pays tribute to the tangible echoes of the luxury brand’s historic origins while also imparting a refreshed vision and stirring images of adventures yet to come.”MORE HERE
A tradition of the grand era of travel across the world is the railroad hotel. Railroads built these hotels in major cities or points of natural beauty, to encourage travel, and provide a place for travelers and railroad staff. Today, many of these railroad hotels are still around, though asMORE HERE
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – America has many versions of Perrier. One such brand, a brand also particularly connected to green bottles, is Mountain Valley Spring Water, continuously bottled since 1871 in Arkansas. This year, the brand celebrates its 150th Anniversary, with contests and travel awards. The founding date means thatMORE HERE
HONG KONG – Samsonite International S.A. (SEHK: 1910), the world’s best known luggage company, will establish its brand sourcing and development hub in Singapore. Samsonite will use the hub to manage sourcing for Asia and the Middle East, while also supporting sourcing for North America and Latin America. Samsonite’s Asia regionalMORE HERE
Periodically, we look at some of the new versions of old brands. A few revivals this summer: The Sahara Casino brand is back. It had become the SLS Las Vegas, only to return this month as Sahara Las Vegas. The hotel and casino complex would do well to completely embraceMORE HERE