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| The Knoxville News-Sentinel,
Tenn.McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
Jun. 26, 2009--ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Wort Hotel in Jackson, Wyo., which is owned by Knoxville businessman Bill Baxter and his family, has been named by U.S. auto club AAA as one the 10 most historic hotels in the country. The Baxters, who own and operate Knoxville-based Holston Gases, acquired The Wort in 2004. The landmark hotel officially opened in 1941, with original construction costs estimated at $90,000. The famous Silver Dollar Bar was added to the hotel in 1950. Other hotels named to AAA's Top 10 list are the Boston Omni Parker House Hotel; Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in Denver; Casa Marina Resort of the Waldorf Astoria Collection in Key West, Fla.; Marriott's Dearborn Inn in Dearborn, Mich.; the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Mich.; The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville; The Settlers Inn at Bingham Park in Hawley, Pa.; Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco; and the West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden Springs, Ind. The Baxters recently completed a full restoration and remodeling of the hotel's 59 rooms and five suites, upper and lower lobbies, meeting rooms, fitness facility, the restaurant and the Silver Dollar Bar. AAA awarded The Wort its coveted four diamond rating in November and Expedia last year named The Wort one of its Top 10 Hotels in America based on travelers' surveys. "We are honored and humbled to receive such a prestigious award from this most discerning group. Our staff and entire team at The Wort are to be commended for their commitment to the guest experience and the legacy of the hotel," Baxter said. "To be included with such iconic historic hotels throughout the country is a great honor. We have worked long and hard for this level of achievement, and we are very proud." ----- To see more of The Knoxville News-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.knoxnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. NYSE:MAR, NASDAQ-NMS:EXPE, |
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