Royal Palms Hotel and Casitas, Phoenix � Nestled between downtown Scottsdale and Camelback Mountain, the Royal Palms Hotel remains the luxurious retreat that its builders intended.  Delos Cooke, a New York industrialist and nephew of J.P. Morgan, and his wife Florence built their winter home on 65 acres in 1929.  The mansion, a mix of Spanish, Mediterranean and colonial design elements, is the centerpiece of the hotel, which opened as the Royal Palms Inn in 1948.  The name was derived from the 900 palms the Cookes imported from Egypt as part of the estate�s lush landscaping. All guest rooms come with a private patio or balcony and feature hand-stenciled wall designs and custom furnishings.  In addition to the main house, the hotel features a variety of small houses, or casitas, with mountain views and patios. (116 rooms and suites)

RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, Calif. � After 1,001 Atlantic crossings that included carrying royalty, world leaders, celebrities, military personnel and prisoners of war, the Queen Mary retired from cruising in 1967 and docked in Long Beach, where it quickly became a popular historic attraction.  This vestige from the great Age of Ocean Liners made its maiden voyage in 1936, two days after being visited by her namesake, Queen Mary, and the queen�s son, King Edward VIII.  In her long career, the ship set speed records for fastest crossings, and during World War II the luxury liner was outfitted for troop transport duty.  The Queen Mary�s ongoing restoration efforts include painting her three smokestacks the distinctive �Cunard Red� she once sported, repairing the teak deck, and returning the interior décor to its Art Deco splendor.  (365 rooms and suites)

Delta King Hotel, Sacramento, Calif. � Pre-fabricated in Scotland and assembled in Stockton, Calif., the Delta King was christened in 1927 along with its sister ship, the Delta Queen.  The 285-foot riverboat spent the next 13 years making a daily river voyage between San Francisco and Sacramento.  After sinking dockside in Richmond, Calif., in 1981, a heroic effort to save the historic paddlewheeler began in 1984, and five years later the carefully restored and renovated Delta King was once again in business.  Today the King remains in port, welcoming overnight guests and hosting meetings and parties. (44 staterooms)

Greyfield Inn, Fernandina Beach, Fla. � Pristine and relatively untouched, Cumberland Island offers the handful of visitors allowed each day tranquil beaches and trails from which to enjoy idyllic scenery and catch sight of exotic wildlife.  In 1972 Congress designated the island a National Seashore to help protect the area from development.  The Greyfield Inn was built in 1900 for Margaret Carnegie Ricketson.  The graceful colonial-style mansion opened as an inn in 1962 as a way of ensuring its preservation.  The inn is furnished with late Victorian antiques, Tiffany lamps and Chippendale furniture.   Extending the island�s peaceful atmosphere right into the guest rooms, there are no phones. 
(17 rooms and cottages) 

French Lick Springs Resort, French Lick, Ind. � French Lick, named for an early French outpost in the area and nearby salt lick, flourished in the mid-nineteenth century after Dr. William A. Bowles built the first French Lick Spring Hotel. Visitors came for the rich mineral springs and to try the hotel�s famed Pluto Waters, which Dr. Bowles bottled and sold around the country.  After the hotel burned down in 1897, the French Lick Springs Resort was built on the ruins in 1902.  The resort grew in size and reputation in the early decades of the 20th century under owner Thomas Taggart, mayor of Indianapolis.  The resort was frequented by celebrities and in 1931 Franklin Roosevelt locked up the Democratic nomination for president in the hotel�s Grand Colonnade Ballroom.  Surrounded by lush gardens and landscaping, the six-story hotel, with its sprawling sitting veranda, features traditional, elegant furnishings and guests can still sample the �magical waters� of mineral springs. (471 rooms)

The Camberley Brown Hotel, Louisville, Ky. � Fourth and Broadway, Louisville�s �magic corner,� has been home to The Brown since October 25, 1923.  On that day, the hotel, creation of Louisville entrepreneur J. Graham Brown, was overflowing with a congratulating public who for years made the hotel the city�s center of activity (its popular restaurant was birthplace of the legendary �Hot Brown� sandwich, an open-face turkey sandwich with bacon, pimentos and a delicate mornay sauce).  Thanks to a careful restoration, the hotel�s intricate plaster molding, detailed woodwork, stained glass, and original crystal chandeliers lend an elegance of yesteryear to contemporary comforts. (292 rooms and suites)

Cranwell Resort and Golf Club, Lenox, Mass. � The Gilded Age brought some of the nation's wealthiest industrialists to the Berkshires during the summer season, one of them being John Sloane, an upholstery and carpet manufacturer. Sloane razed Reverend Henry Ward Beecher's old farmhouse and in 1894 built a Tudor-style country manor house, which is surrounded by an 18-hole championship golf course created in 1926. A later owner, Edward Cranwell, donated the house to the Jesuits for use as a school for boys, and in 1993 it was converted into the luxury resort and country club that it is today. The mansion boasts elegant interiors including the richly decorated Great Hall, with its dark wood paneling and French tapestries, and guestrooms are furnished in the nineteenth-century Arts and Crafts style. Renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the grounds of the 380-acre estate, which offer picturesque views of the Southern Berkshires from its hilltop setting. (107 rooms and suites)

The Algonquin, A Camberley Hotel, New York � A true New York landmark, today�s Algonquin Hotel continues a tradition of elegance that has distinguished it since its opening in 1902.  Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the hotel has long been known as a gathering place for New York�s literary set and was host to the famous Round Table of the 1920s, whose members included Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Alexander Woolcott. Central to the city�s business and cultural attractions, the hotel offers polished sophistication steeped in historic charm and congeniality. (165 rooms and suites)

The American Hotel, Sag Harbor, N.Y. � Since the early 18th century, when Sag Harbor, located near the eastern end of Long Island, emerged as an important port town, the small village has witnessed a colorful history, from colonial smuggling to Revolutionary War activity to a thriving whaling industry. The American Hotel sits on the site of the James Howell Inn, where British soldiers were stationed during the war. In 1824 cabinetmaker Nathan Tinker built a three-story brick structure, expanded in 1846, where he sold goods for the whaling trade and ran a boarding house. Thirty years later Captain Freeman purchased the building and opened the American Hotel. Restoration work on the hotel began in 1972, and today its large guestrooms and multiple dining areas boast a formal décor with Empire and early Victorian antiques and furnishings. (8 rooms)

The Waldorf-Astoria, New York � Two years after William Waldorf Astor�s original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was demolished to make way for the Empire State Building, the new Waldorf-Astoria, occupying a full city block and then the largest hotel in the world, opened in 1931 on Park Avenue at 50th Street.  Rising 47 stories, this Art Deco landmark has welcomed every U.S. president since Herbert Hoover checked in as a permanent resident in The Waldorf Towers.  The hotel�s richly decorated lobby, with its famous massive bronze and mahogany clock from the 1893 Chicago World�s Fair, is one of the most well-known meeting places in the city.  Restoration work in 1981 returned much of the hotel to its early 1930s appearance, including the Park Avenue Lobby, site of Louis Rigal�s long-covered 148,000-piece �Wheel of Life� mosaic and a series of murals. (1380 rooms)

The Grove Park Inn Resort, Asheville, N.C. � When noted orator and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Grove Park Inn in 1913, he was only the first of many prominent figures to spend time at the luxury resort nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Other guests have included Thomas Edison, Will Rogers, Henry Ford, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as several U.S. presidents.  With distinctive granite boulder construction and undulating red clay tile roof, the inn captured the essence of the Arts and Crafts movement, its interiors filled with Roycroft furnishings and fixtures. Restored and expanded during the 1980s, the Grove Park Inn is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (510 rooms and suites)

Hotel Ambassador, Tulsa, Okla. � During Oklahoma�s oil boom years, a number of Tulsa�s wealthy citizens made the Ambassador Hotel their temporary home while building mansions and estates in the nearby Maple Ridge neighborhood.  Built in 1929, the grand ten-story Mediterranean hotel reopened in 1999 following a multi-million dollar restoration and renovation.  The refurbished, European-style interiors are richly furnished in blue, burgundy and gold, and a Palladian motif runs throughout the hotel.  A Tulsa landmark, the Ambassador was originally developed by General Patrick Jay Hurley, who went on to become Secretary of War under President Hoover and later served as ambassador to China and Iran. (55 rooms and suites)

Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, Philadelphia, Pa. � In 1902 George Boldt decided to build a hotel �of true opulence and splendor� in downtown Philadelphia, and thus began the construction of the Bellevue Stratford.  Designed in the French Renaissance style, the building contained ballrooms considered the most magnificent in the United States, lighting fixtures custom designed by Thomas Edison, and the most celebrated staircases in the city.  This elegant building combines prestigous retail boutiques, restaurants, an award-winning spa, a 93,000 square-foot five level Sporting Club, office space, and is crowned by the top seven floors of the magnificent Park Hyatt. (170 rooms and suites)
 
Skytop Lodge, Skytop, Pa. � From the careful siting of the lodge at the base of the West Mountains in the Poconos Mountains, to the 30 miles of trails that traverse its 5,500-acre site, Skytop has always been inextricably linked to its natural surroundings. Even the golf course, where deer will quietly graze, was designed to take advantage of the natural topography. The lodge�s 1928 Dutch colonial-style stone manor overlooks Skytop Lake and guests are treated to splendid views in every direction. A full-service resort, Skytop offers visitors an endless array of recreational activities year-round, from kayaking in summer to skiing in winter. Experts are on hand to provide instruction in golf, fly fishing, and shooting, and the lodge�s own naturalist leads walkers and hikers through pristine wilderness areas. (185 rooms and suites)

The Nittany Lion Inn, State College, Pa. � The Dutch colonial-style Nittany Lion Inn, built in 1931, sits at the edge of Penn State University in the historic district, offering guests a convenient base from which to take advantage of the many cultural and recreational activities on campus.  The inn is within walking distance of downtown State College and a short drive from the scenic landscape of Pennsylvania�s Centre Country region.  Its proximity to one of the nation�s leading universities has drawn many distinguished visitors to the inn over the years, and guests include Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Hayes, and Louis Armstrong.  Decorated with antiques, the inn features warm, traditionally furnished guest rooms in a colonial country atmosphere, with rich cherry wood furniture and bright floral fabrics. (250 rooms and suites)

Stockyards Hotel, Ft. Worth, Texas � While hiding out from the law in 1933, an infamous pair of bank robbers took cover in what is now Room 305.  Today guests staying in the Bonnie and Clyde suite enjoy all the amenities of an upscale hotel as well as some unusual decorative touches, including a pistol owned by Bonnie Parker.  The three-story Stockyards Hotel was built in 1906-07 by Col. Thomas Marion Thannisch (1853-1935), one of North Fort Worth�s early developers. Native American, cowboy, mountain man, and Victorian motifs and décor set the tone for the authentically furnished and restored guest rooms, and the first floor Celebrity Suite, with its own patio and jacuzzi, has been a popular place for country-western stars to hang their hats when in town.  The hotel is the cornerstone of the Stockyards Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (52 rooms and suites)

Camberley�s Martha Washington Inn, Abingdon, Va. � Tucked away in the southern highlands of Virginia, the award-winning Camberley�s Martha Washington Inn was constructed in 1832 as a residence for the large family of General Francis Preston and his wife Sarah.  The building has served as a women�s college as well as a Civil War hospital.  In 1935, �The Martha� opened as one of Virginia�s finest hotels.  The four historic building comprising the inn were painstakingly restored to their original Victorian elegance in 1985 at the cost of more than $8 million.  Offering every amenity � including ghost stories � the hotel�s staff is dedicated to fine service and personal attention. (61 rooms and suites)

Williamsburg Colonial Houses, Williamsburg, Va. � Billed as the largest living history museum in the world, colonial Williamsburg offers visitors a taste of 18th-century life through its architecture, costumed interpreters, and re-enactments of historical events. The colonial houses are furnished with period reproductions, and guest rooms overlook courtyards, gardens, and the duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg�s main thoroughfare.  Among the houses available for lodging are the Market Square Tavern and Kitchen, frequented by Patrick Henry and home to Thomas Jefferson as a law student; the Quarter, a dwelling typical of those that housed indentured servants or slaves and used by Cary Grant while filming The Howards of Virginia; and the Nicholas-Tyler Office and Laundry, once owned by tenth U.S. President John Tyler. (77 rooms in 27 houses and three taverns)

Hotel Metro, Milwaukee, Wis. � When this handsome six-story Art Deco was built in 1936, it was years away from becoming the luxury hotel with European touches that it is today. The building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, originally housed commercial offices and shops. The Hotel Metro is located downtown, in the city�s entertainment, cultural and financial district. Hand-woven carpets from Tibet, hand made silk shades, bamboo wood flooring and wood paneling from sustainable forests all contribute to the hotel�s stylish and warm atmosphere. (64 suites)