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 National Trust Historic Hotels of America® Adds Six New Members
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Includes The Jumeirah Essex House and Tubac Golf Resort
Once Owned by Bing Crosby
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WASHINGTON, D.C., April 9, 2007 � National Trust Historic Hotels of America announces the addition of six new members. This selection brings the program�s total membership to 213 hotels, representing 39 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The new member hotels offer travelers a diversity of locales from major metropolitan cities to the deserts of the Southwest and represent a variety of architectural styles, including an Art Deco skyscraper, an Italianate resort in the Colorado Rockies and classic adobe casitas. 

�We continually seek historic hotels to add to our collection that offer travelers authentic experiences,� said Thierry Roch, executive director of Historic Hotels of America. �These six new members of Historic Hotels of America showcase the evolution and growth of America from a southwestern ranch dating back 200 years and luxury hotels built by executives reaping the rewards of the silver rush and the oil boom to a hotel with roots in the early days of the automobile industry.� 

Here�s a sampling of interesting facts highlighting the history of the hotels as well as personalities who have walked through the doors. 

The Tubac Golf Resort in Tubac, Ariz., was the setting for the golf-themed movie �Tin Cup� starring Kevin Costner. 

With the advent of the automobile came the Pickwick Stages, a touring car company that transported passengers or �tourists� between two locations. With most of its lines operating around San Diego, the Pickwick Company erected the Pickwick Hotel in 1926, now The Sofia Hotel in San Diego, Calif. 

President Theodore Roosevelt established a temporary White House at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, Colo., while on a three-week hunting expedition. After an unsuccessful day of hunting, a disheartened Teddy Roosevelt returned to the hotel where several maids pieced together a stuffed bear to cheer him, and according to legend, the �teddy bear� was born. 

The Jumeirah Essex House in New York was one of the first hotels in New York to offer �Sunday brunch� for walkers in Central Park back in the 1930s. 

As the builder of the Colcord Hotel in Oklahoma City, Okla., Charles Colcord was also pioneer, frontiersman, cattleman, oilman, entrepreneur and is known as Oklahoma�s first citizen. He built the Colcord Hotel on Oklahoma City�s Lot #1 in Block #1. 

Perle Mesta, daughter of the owner of The Skirvin Hilton, Oklahoma City, Okla., was the inspiration for the Broadway hit, �Call Me Madam.� While ambassador to Luxemburg, Mesta lived in the building that now houses the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. 

National Trust Historic Hotels of America - New Members April 2007

Tubac Golf Resort, Tubac, Ariz.� Tubac was the first Spanish land grant in what later became Arizona. The property was owned by the Otero family for 140 years. The family�s home, silos and stables still exist today and form the center of this resort. Located 30 minutes south of Tucson, accommodations are housed in a series of casitas, posadas and haciendas which are situated throughout the property. In 1959, the ranch was acquired by a group of area businessmen including entertainer Bing Crosby and began operating as a golf resort. The resort�s dining room is located in the Otero family ranch stables. Recreation includes golf, tennis, jeep tours, bike rentals, hiking, bird watching and swimming. Tubac provides a quiet, relaxing retreat for guests while preserving the historic integrity of the 200 year old property. (67 casitas, posadas and haciendas)

The Sofia Hotel, San Diego, Calif.� By the 1920s, Americans were on the move like never before. The evolution of touring cars or �stage travel� proved immensely popular, especially in San Diego. In time, the Pickwick Stages grew to become one of the three major stage lines in the country. With a large percentage of its cars based in San Diego, the company purchased land downtown for a hotel and terminal. Built in 1926, the Pickwick Hotel was distinguished by its Gothic Revival style, crenellated roof line and terra cotta embellishments. After a major renovation, the property has reopened as the Sofia Hotel, retaining its original character while offering a modern sensibility and serene style�featuring a yoga studio. Currant is the hotel�s full-service American bistro and bar with indoor and outdoor seating. The Sofia is located in downtown San Diego, just blocks from Horton Plaza, the Gaslamp Quarter and the San Diego Convention Center. (211 rooms and suites)

Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, Colo.� In 1893, silver magnate and banker Walter Devereux established the Hotel Colorado as a retreat in the Rocky Mountains. No expense was spared in creating this imposing replica of the 16th-century Villa de Medici. It featured a jet of water that projected 185-feet in the air and a stunning 25-foot waterfall and pool. For more than one hundred years, legends and luminaries, silver barons and gun slingers, have walked its halls. The hotel�s spacious guest rooms and suites are each individually themed and appointed with Victorian elements. Several suites are named in honor of famous visitors to the hotel, including �the unsinkable� Molly Brown and Teddy Roosevelt, who established a temporary White House at the hotel while on a three-week hunting expedition. The hotel offers a vast array of outdoor activities, including access to some of the country�s best skiing and fishing venues. Hotel Colorado is located on Colorado�s Western Slope, between Aspen and Vail in Glenwood Springs. (130 rooms and suites) 
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Tubac Golf Resort and Spa
1 Avenue de Otero
Tubac, Arizona 85646

Hotel Colorado
526 Pine Street
Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601 
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Jumeirah Essex House, New York� Since 1931, the Jumeirah Essex House has been one of New York�s most stylish addresses. A prominent Central Park address and close proximity to Broadway, Times Square and stylish Fifth Avenue shops have made the hotel a perennial favorite with dignitaries, world leaders and visitors. Its elegantly appointed interior features Art Deco embellishments and spectacular views of Central Park. The opulent Grand Salon has been one of the city�s premier meeting sites for generations. Offering � a room with a view,� two cameras positioned on the rooftop of the hotel enable live feeds from Broadway and Central Park that broadcast on two of the hotel�s internal TV channels. (515 rooms and suites)

Colcord Hotel, Oklahoma City, Okla.� As a witness to the destruction of the great San Francisco earthquake, pioneer, oilman and a founding father of Oklahoma City, Charles Frances Colcord was adamant that his new building be constructed of reinforced concrete. Completed in 1910, the building was Oklahoma City�s first skyscraper and boasted every convenience and luxury of its time such as marble columns and ornamental plaster. It served as an office building rather than a hotel due to a disagreement between Colcord and his co-developer. Nearly a century later, however, the property has been restored to its original art deco style and reborn as the city�s most luxurious boutique hotel featuring flat screen TVs, iPod docking stations and high-speed wireless access. Soleil is the hotel�s restaurant and oyster bar. XO Lounge serves drinks and dancing. The Colcord is located downtown within walking distance of the historic Bricktown restaurants and nightclubs, the Ford Center, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, and the canal shops and barge rides. (108 rooms and suites)

The Skirvin Hilton, Oklahoma City, Okla.� In 1910, oilman W.B. Skirvin set about building the finest hotel in the Southwest. The moment it opened in 1911, Oklahoma fell in love with the Skirvin. In a newborn state not three miles from the capitol, its sophistication disarmed and charmed a steady stream of presidents and world figures, oil barons and cattle kings, glamorous ladies and glittering stars. Downtown Oklahoma City reveled in it. So a larger-than-life legacy highlights the rebirth of this Oklahoma hotel. This beautifully restored and reinvented gem now beckons with an American-cuisine restaurant, bars, a pool, health club, Internet connectivity and flat panel TVs in the suites. The Skirvin is located in downtown Oklahoma City near the State Capitol and the Oklahoma University Medical Center. It is within walking distance of the historic Bricktown restaurants and nightclubs, the Ford Center, Cox Convention Center, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum and the canal shops and barge rides. (225 rooms and suites)

A program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Hotels of America is a membership-based marketing association. To qualify for membership, hotels must be at least 50 years old, listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or recognized locally as having historic significance. Established in 1989 with 32 original hotel members, Historic Hotels of America recognizes and promotes these hotels for their historic integrity, architectural quality and outstanding preservation efforts made by owners and managers. Historic Hotels of America is aligned with Historic Hotels of Europe, a federation of 16 European hotel associations in 16 countries, and with Historic Hotels of Mexico, an association of hotels and restaurants located in buildings of historical significance including haciendas, palaces, monasteries, convents, fortresses, country estates and more. 

Representing more than 34,000 rooms, Historic Hotels of America ranks as the 14th largest hotel consortia in the world, according to Hotels magazine (July 2006). 

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Contact:

Mary Billingsley 
Historic Hotels of America 
202-588-6061 
[email protected] 
www.historichotels.org 

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Also See: Developer Ron Allred, Previous Owner of Telluride Ski & Golf Co., Focusing On $40 million Renovation and Expansion of Tubac Golf Resort, Near Tuscon / October 2004
John Williams and Phillip King Are Two Hotel Operators On Almost Identical Missions, Overseeing the Details in Re-opening Downtown Oklahoma City's Two Historic Hotels, the Skirvin Hilton and the Colcord Hotel / April 2006
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