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  #81  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2019, 1:48 AM
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Matthew Matthew is offline
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Winston-Salem: Graylyn Hotel & International Conference Center
This was originally someone's house, costing over $4 million when it was completed! That is roughly $75 million in today's dollars! It appeared in Fortune Magazine, shortly after construction, and ranked among the nation's largest houses until it was converted into a hotel & conference center, with 86 unique hotel rooms and 15 meeting rooms. This property is ranked as "one of the finest conference centers in America" and is a member of the Historic Hotels of America. A large number of celebrities have stayed here. Last time I posted on it, they said every president in office, during its time as a hotel, stayed here. I think it started with President Carter? You can also request Oprah Winfrey's favorite hotel room, if you're interested. The story about the property: Property acquisition was in 1925, with construction starting in 1927 or 1928 (different sources show different start dates). Nathalie Gray loved to travel around the world and she traveled with a set of blueprints for this house. She loved the Norman-style stone mansions along the French coast. During her travels, she would often find (and buy) interior and exterior architectural antiques and have them shipped to Winston-Salem to use in her dream house. Many of these pieces are hundreds of years old. When it was time to build the house, she asked the architect to modify the design of the home around them. The hotel is Norman Revival meets Art Deco and is concrete and steel framed with thick walls. Well-known landscape architect Thomas Sears created an English garden for the property, with a Lord & Burnham conservatory (conservatory was moved to another house in the city). It's easy to convert a house to a hotel when it was designed with a large number of guest rooms, each bedroom had its own Art Deco bathroom, with gold-plated fixtures, solid marble tubs, heated towel racks, built-in scales, and showers with 17 shower heads. Stone from several states was used in the construction. Due to the architectural antiques from other countries, you couldn't build something like this today.


DSC_6736 by scsmitty, on Flickr

Yes, it's the entire width of this photograph:

098 Graylyn by Michael Ray, on Flickr


Graylyn what what by Sean, on Flickr

This is how the hotel takes you from and to the airport or to visit area attractions:

Old London taxi on Graylyn estate by Russell Darling, on Flickr


DSC_6750 by scsmitty, on Flickr


DSC_6528 by scsmitty, on Flickr


DSC_6771 by scsmitty, on Flickr

15th century French carved doorway: (Notice the sculpture of the family's two dogs)

DSC_6744 by scsmitty, on Flickr


DSC_6905 by scsmitty, on Flickr


DSC_6916 by scsmitty, on Flickr

All of the glasswork at the property is by G. Owen Bonawit of New York City:

DSC_6849 by scsmitty, on Flickr

Chandelier and fountains by Arthur Grafflin of the J. G. Valiant Company: (This house was his largest career commission)

DSC_6732 by scsmitty, on Flickr


DSC_6885 by scsmitty, on Flickr

15th century colonettes from France:

The Graylyn Estate, Winston-Salem, NC by sonofgawddog, on Flickr

Art Deco indoor pool with ironwork from Joseph Barton Benson of Philadelphia: (This house was his largest career commission)

DSC_6878 by scsmitty, on Flickr

Art Deco ocean-themed mural around the pool (in this photograph the pool is covered for a wedding and has a dance floor):

DSC_6856 by scsmitty, on Flickr

The walls were carved in 1680 for the Hotel d’Estrades in Paris. The wall paneling is from the room King Edward VII of England used as his Parisian office:

The Graylyn Estate, Winston-Salem, NC by sonofgawddog, on Flickr

Quote:
Originally Posted by Graylyn
The French government attempted to stop the Gray family from removing the carved panels from the building, but having already paid for them, Mr. Gray took his case all the way to the French Supreme Court, and won!
You may want to ask about a bullet hole from a woman, who was an attendant to the young Marie Antoinette in the 18th century, attempting (and failing) to shoot the King. Many travel magazines, used for this research, spoke on it. Guests often want to search for the hole in the panels.

The walls and ceiling are from a 15th century mosque in Turkey and still face east:

DSC_6845 by scsmitty, on Flickr


DSC_6843 by scsmitty, on Flickr

The limestone fireplace is from 16th century France and the ornate wooden table is from 18th century England, with a portrait of King Augustus II of Poland and Saxony above it:

DSC_6919 by scsmitty, on Flickr

Notice the antique hand-carved marble fireplace imported from London:

Source

18th century English paneling from Gray's Court Inn in London:

DSC_6847 by scsmitty, on Flickr

A number of presidents and celebrities have stayed here. Here is Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Graylyn:

Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Visits by School of Law, on Flickr

I apologize for posting so many photographs. Just showing one photograph of the exterior wouldn't do for this hotel. It was difficult to narrow it down any more than this. I didn't post the amazing Art Deco tiles from award-winning Enfield Pottery & Tile Works and those awesome bathrooms or the Egyptian Tent Room or the fountains with sculptures, which are also very interesting. You can tour the property without staying there. You will need to contact them in advance for tours. I visited 15 years ago and couldn't take a tour of the property due to a major event.
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  #82  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2019, 1:07 AM
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All photos taken by geomorph in 2018.
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  #83  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2019, 12:09 AM
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  #84  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2019, 12:20 AM
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Hotel: Trump International Hotel Washington, DC (was Old Post Office Pavilion when photographed)
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  #85  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2019, 12:22 AM
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  #86  
Old Posted Jun 15, 2021, 7:48 AM
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The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. It opened on December 19, 1909.









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  #87  
Old Posted Jun 15, 2021, 8:40 AM
Phil McAvity Phil McAvity is offline
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For a city with a metro population of only ~400,000 people Victoria has a nice selection of fine hotels starting with yet another classic Fairmont Hotel, the Empress:




If you prefer something a little newer there's always the Grand Pacific Hotel:


There's also the Ocean Pointe Resort:

Last edited by Phil McAvity; Jun 18, 2021 at 8:37 PM.
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  #88  
Old Posted Sep 28, 2023, 3:39 AM
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