Thursday, January 30, 2020

A Room with A View at The Palace--in San Francisco





HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Where to start. This is the most fascinating thing ever, and I could give the fabulous Ann Parker (and her newest book
MORTAL MUSIC)  a big intro and tease you into reading this amazing view into history.

But I know you, darling Reds and readers. Let me just say a few  words: Sarah Bernhardt. Lily Langtry. Tigers.  Enrico Caruso. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake. 

Are you skipping ahead? Of course you are.

A Room at the Palace 
          By Ann Parker

When Inez Stannert, the protagonist of my Silver Rush historical mystery series, left the Rocky Mountain mining town of Leadville, Colorado, to settle in San Francisco, California, she needed a place to stay. Such initial thinking led me to exploring what hotels existed in 1881 in "the Paris of the West." 

One place in particular cropped up again and again: The Palace Hotel. The Palace, the brain-child of San Francisco banker and investor William C. Ralston, opened in October 1875 and was well established by the time Inez and her 12-year-old ward, Antonia Gizzi, would have made their way to the city.




  Engraved illustration of the original Palace Hotel in San Francisco (1887).


Luckily for me, information about the Palace Hotel liberally dots the research landscape. It was renowned in its time, and no wonder—it was not only magnificent, it was HUGE, seven stories tall and covering an entire city block downtown. Each of its 755 guest rooms had a bay window overlooking the street below and a private bathroom. (In 1875, private bathrooms were a big deal.)

Carriages and hacks brought passengers up a circular driveway into the "grand court," which featured a tropical garden, statuary, and fountains and an enormous glass skylight seven stories above. Hotel guests and residents could lean over the balustrades on the various levels and watch the rich and famous come and go below.



And oh, there were many rich and famous who paraded across its marble floors and ascended the redwood-paneled "rising rooms" (aka elevators). 

For instance, general and former U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant stopped there in 1879. (Later in that same trip, he visited Leadville, Colorado. His visit there plays a crucial role in two early Silver Rush books—Iron Ties and Leaden Skies, but I digress.) Civil War generals Philip Sheridan and William T. Sherman were also feted at the Palace. Visitors representing the literary arts included Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde, Julia Ward Howe, and newspaper-publisher and writer Miriam Leslie (who managed Leslie's Weekly after her husband's death).

What interested me most were the stories of various nineteenth and early twentieth century singers and actors and actresses who stayed within its walls. One of the better-known guests was the tenor Enrico Caruso, who was in the hotel when the famous 1906 earthquake struck. (One oft-told tale is that he came to the balcony and sang to calm the hysterical masses, however the story is apparently apocryphal. You can read an account of what really went down here on SF Gate.) 

Besides Caruso, luminaries included opera singers Adelina Patti and Emma Nevada and actresses Sarah Bernhardt and Lilly Langtry. 

In 1887, Bernhardt arrived at her eight-room Palace Hotel suite, surrounded by a mountain of baggage and her pet parrot and baby tiger. Langtry checked in with thirty-two trunks and twenty-eight leather hat-boxes and valises, while Patti bested those numbers with thirty-six trunks and countless other bits of luggage. As I pored over descriptions of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of these performers and others, Theia Carrington Drake—the fictional prima donna of Mortal Music—took form in my imagination.

 Lillie Langtry and Sarah Bernhardt were both guests at the Palace Hotel, although not at the same time, as far as I can tell.

As I researched the hotel's history, I also became intrigued by the story of the staff who, visible and invisible, kept the Palace running. Warren Leland, the original manager, hired nearly 200 African-American hotel employees—a very unusual move in 1870s San Francisco. 

They occupied highly coveted positions at what was described as "the largest, most exclusive hotel west of the Mississippi." Around 150 men were hired to be waiters, bellmen, porters, and cooks, while a goodly number of women took positions as chambermaids. The book Pioneer Urbanites: A Social and Cultural History of Black San Francisco by Douglas Henry Daniels, notes "... the salaries were good, and the patrons gave handsome tips." However, the situation did not last. 

When new management took over in the late 1880s, black cooks and waiters were immediately fired and instantly replaced with white employees. This 1889 article in the Daily Alta California provides some background.

But the story of the Palace Hotel is more than glitter and glamor and upstairs/downstairs. With more than a thousand souls living or working within its walls, the Palace was a city within a city. Bonanza Inn sums it up nicely:

"Whatever happened elsewhere in the way of human behavior was certain sooner or later to happen there. Within its walls men and women schemed and quarreled, gambled away fortunes and conducted profitable businesses, drank to excess and delivered lectures on temperance, lived in adultery and led exemplary lives—all according to their preferences and their opportunities... "

This nineteenth-century "city within a city" proved the perfect place for me to bring my fictional diva Theia Carrington Drake, her newspaper-publisher husband, and their entourage and for me to kickstart Mortal Music's tale of mystery, murder, and deception. 

And I suspect that, like many of the hotel's esteemed visitors from the past, I will return there again in the future.

HANK: Oh, I am swooning. Have you been to the Palace Hotel? ANY palace hotel? It reminds me of the line from that movie Grand Hotel--"people come and people go, but there is always the Grand Hotel." 

What's the most wonderful hotel you've ever visited?

And a copy of MORTAL MUSIC to one lucky commenter!

And Ann Says: PS: The Palace Hotel was destroyed in the fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was rebuilt, and remains a hotel today. You can visit, have brunch at the Garden Court restaurant with its vaulted glass dome above, and use your imagination to time-travel to nineteenth-century San Francisco. For more information, check out A Brief Illustrated History of the Palace Hotel by Bruce Cooper.


Ann Parker is a science writer by day and historical mystery writer at night. Her award-winning Silver Rush mystery series, published by Poisoned Pen Press (a Sourcebooks imprint), is set primarily in 1880s Colorado, and more recently in San Francisco, the "Paris of the West." The series was named a Booksellers Favorite by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. 

Mortal Music is the seventh and newest in the series. For more information about Ann and her books (and links to some really fun historical tidbits about Leadville and San Francisco), click here. 



MORTAL MUSIC (Silver Rush Book 7) 

"Richly nuanced period details and vivid characters enhance a plot that takes some surprising turns." —Publishers Weekly 

109 comments:

  1. Okay, you had me at “The 1906 San Francisco earthquake.” One of my all-time favorite movies, “San Francisco” takes place there in 1906 . . . .

    I’ve never been to the Palace Hotel, but its history is quite intriguing [and I think I’ll add it to the list of places I’d like to visit].
    Ann, your story sounds exciting and I’m really looking forward to reading “Mortal Music” . . . .

    When we went to Hawaii, we stayed in a hotel that was off the beaten track [we’re not beach people, so I didn’t need to stay in one of those hotels on the waterfront.] They had fairy lights in all the trees, lovely rooms, a large lobby where we’d have coffee every day. And if anyone came to your room, they rang the doorbell . . . .

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    1. Hi Joan!
      I should point out that Mortal Music takes place in 1881-82, before the big earthquake. But the research for this book took me hither and thither through time, and, who knows? I may set a future book during the big "shake-up." :-)
      I hope you get a chance to visit the Palace Hotel someday. It is quite the place and right downtown. The hotel you stayed at in Hawaii sounds wonderful! Fairy lights in the trees? Lovely! Do you recall the name?

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    2. Oh, that sounds so beautiful, ‘Joan! What is it about those fairy lights… So lovely!

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    3. Ann, I did realize that your story was set before the earthquake . . . .

      The hotel in Hawaii is the Kahala Hotel and Resort. A truly lovely place, and you can even “swim” with the dolphins . . . .

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    4. Hi again, Joan...
      Swim with the dolphins??? :-) Sounds like paradise!

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    5. Yes . . . the water's not deep enough to really swim, but the dolphins come right up to you and you can touch them. It's amazing!

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  2. Thank you Hank, for hosting me... It's wonderful to be back visiting the Reds and Red readers!

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    1. Oh, we love having you here! What a terrific story…

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  3. I grew up an hour north of San Francisco, but I don't think I've ever been to the Palace Hotel. Now, I want to head up there to visit. But I'm sure just for a day trip. I doubt I could afford to spend the night there.

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    1. Hi Mark! It *is* a little pricey... but you can wander a bit and have tea or brunch in the Garden Court restaurant, which has a beautiful stained-glass skylight. When they rebuilt the Palace after the earthquake, they tried to stay close to the original. (The Garden Court is in the circular area where the carriages used to come to drop off the guests.)

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  4. This setting of the Palace Hotel sounds fascinating. I'm thinking I need to visit it when I come to Bouchercon this year in Sacramento and hopefully visit San Francisco. Ann, your series sounds wonderful, and I can't believe I haven't read it yet. I'll be checking it out for sure now. Congratulations on your new book.

    I'm trying to think of what would be the most wonderful hotel I've ever stayed at. We stayed at The Grand Floridian at Disney World when it first opened, and it was certainly wonderful. The Peabody in Orlando was great with the march of the ducks to the fountain and then up to the rooftop. The Ko Olina resort we stayed at in Hawaii had the most gorgeous scenery, on the beach. These days I like historic places, like the Daniel Boone Inn in Berea, KY, where we went for our anniversary last fall. I know I would love The Palace because of all of its history.

    Speaking of hotels, ones that aren't just run-of-the-mill. When I was growing up, we went to Lake Erie several summers (before it went through its pollution problems) and stayed at the grand old hotel there (can't think of name right now). I can remember as a child being enchanted by the walkways with twinkling lights and hearing the big band sounds of the real live big band playing in the building where it was playing. There were screened windows and the sounds drifted out into the night as we were walking. I remember the band was playing Stormy Weather, which my mother said was a favorite of hers. And the beach was right by the hotel. At that time, because I was just a child, the beach and the vastness of Lake Erie seemed just like the ocean to me. Oh, those grand old hotels were something.

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    1. Oh how beautiful! I agree with your mom about the stormy weather! And that is such an evocative scene.

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    2. Wow... what a wonderful memories, Kathy! And it sounds like you have stayed in some great hotels. I do love the old hotels, their walls seem to whisper of history! I hope you make it to San Francisco when you come to Bouchercon... Sacramento has its share of historical hotels as well. :-)

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  5. Welcome to jungle reds and congratulations on your new novel. We have been meaning to have brunch at the Palace Hotel. Perhaps one of these days...I have walked by the Palace Hotel so many times though I never went inside.

    Diana

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    1. You could always just pop in for a tiny peek…

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    2. Hank, yes, I would do that when I am dressed up in my Sunday best. I would love to win this beautiful book. Fingers crossed!

      Diana

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    3. And if you don't have your Sunday best, no problem. It's in a touristy area, and people wander in and out to take a peek at the Garden Court Restaurant and look at the historical displays along the walls of the lobby. Plus, there's a Ghirardelli's Chocolates store attached to the hotel, which is a bonus and a draw for those wandering by!

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    4. Wonderful. Every time I see beautiful places like the Palace Hotel, I want to look my best! And I love Ghiradelli's chcocolates too!

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    5. Every time I wander to that area of San Francisco, Ghiradelli's calls to me...
      Gotta keep up the strength for research, ya know. ;-)

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  6. What a wonderful setting and history! I've never been to San Francisco and now it, and The Palace, are on my bucket list.

    In another life I lived and worked in NYC and the company I worked for maintained a suite at the Plaza. This was before the grand renovation and the old girl was a bit run down at the heels but the magic was still there. It was intoxicating to walk in the footsteps of Eloise.

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    1. Ooooh, I never got to set a foot in the Plaza "back when," although I wanted to. That must have been a wonderful experience to stay there...

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  7. What an amazing place, Ann. I'm afraid I'm a couple of books behind on your fabulous series. I didn't know Inez had moved to San Francisco. Time to remedy that!

    I stayed at the Palmer House hotel in Chicago last March. It has stunning rooms downstairs and up. the Columbia Club, where Magna Cum Murder is/was held, is pretty amazing. It still has the mail drop next to the elevators and beautiful old woodwork. It's right on Monument Circle in the middle of Indianapolis, and I imagined my grandfather and father walking around there when they were growing up.

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    1. My sister got married at the Columbia club, and we still photos have photos of all of us on the grand staircase. Gorgeous.

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    2. Edith, I stayed at the Palmer House in my senior year in high school, on a school trip. We also went to see Funny Girl in Chicago, the day after it premiered there.

      One of my classmates found out her parents' favorite singer was there, Jack Jones, and she dragged me along to get his autograph. I had no idea who he was, but he ripped off a small piece of paper to sign for me, and thrust it into my hands. Yes, I still have it!

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    3. The halls where the rooms are are lined with photographs of luminaries who have stayed there. I treated my Indiana sister to the weekend for her 70th birthday (I was there for Murder and Mayhem in Chicago and she's a huge mystery fan). We loved the place.

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    4. Hi Edith! Ah, another hotel that I (or Inez) should visit! Looks like the Palmer House was built in 1871, so yep, Inez could definitely visit... Now, to think up a reason she would travel East. Hmmmm.

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  8. Sorry to say I have never even been in any sort of sumptuous hotel, let alone stayed in one. San Francisco always seems to magical to me. Maybe someday I will get there and in the meantime I hope to read your book, Ann, very soon. The research you have done is fascinating - I don't know how you could stop.

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    1. Hi Judi, Thanks for stopping by! As for research... yes, knowing when to stop is difficult. There's always WAY more than I put into the books. I hate leaving out all the bits, but, well, I have to or you'd be facing a 600-page tome! Here's hoping you enjoy Mortal Music.

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  9. What an interesting post Ann, it makes me want to read Mortal Music, going to download it.
    I love to visit hotels while traveling.
    Many years ago , benefiting from a promotional offer, I had the chance to stay two days at Fairmont Le ChĆ¢teau Frontenac. It is situated in the old part of Quebec City with views on St Lawrence River. A very charming place frequented by VIPs from around the world.

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    1. Danielle, when my husband and I were still dating, he took me for a romantic weekend in Quebec and we stayed at ChĆ¢teau Frontenac. This was also many years ago, obviously! I remember being swept away by the beautiful architecture and the historic details. I do recall our room was small, compared to modern hotel rooms, but I'm not sure if that was standard for it's age, or because of Ross's budget at the time!

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    2. I was thinking of Chateau Frontenac! I've walked by it many times (my sister lived down the block for a while) but never went in or stayed there.

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    3. Yes, it still looks amazing--very tempting!

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    4. Ooooh, I'm going to add it to my ever-growing list of historic hotels. I figure my protagonist Inez is due for a spot of travel soon. ;-) Hope you enjoy Mortal Music and her oh-so-mortal characters!

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  10. Welcome, Ann! The Palace Hotel, and the book, sound fabulous.

    I think the fanciest hotel I've ever been in was the Westin William Penn, right here in Pittsburgh. I was there a few years ago for a Christmas High Tea. I didn't get past the first floor, but the decorations were lush and I could see that even the everyday furnishings were top of the line (I think the Westin is Pittsburgh's only five diamond hotel).

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    1. Thank you, Liz! It's wonderful to be here.
      I took a peek at the William Penn online. A grand historic hotel indeed! I bet the high tea was amazing. It seems that the beautiful old hotels really know how to "dress up" for the holidays. I ran into descriptions of the Palace Hotel that made me wish time-travel was real and not fiction...

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  11. I have been to the Palace Hotel, not to stay but to have lunch in the Garden Court. It is lovely. We went with my mother and my sisters and hubbies. My father was from San Francisco so my parents went every year to see his mother and his brothers. The Garden Court lunch was a sort of a pilgrimage for us.
    The most fascinating hotel I ever stayed in was in Glin Castle in Ireland when the Knight of Glin and his family were still running it as a hotel. We were on a garden tour of Ireland with a large group and we filled all of the rooms. The Knight and his wife were so welcoming. He was an expert on Irish Georgian furniture and also toured us through his garden. Our rooms were amazing, all different, like something from a novel. They all had a dressing room and a huge bath with a mahogany surround tub.

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    1. Wow! You stayed in a castle?? That sounds like the stuff of fairy tales! It sounds like an amazing experience...
      I recall the Palace from my youth as well, but not very clearly. My mother loved all things San Francisco, so it was one of the stops for family outings, along with the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. Congratulations on your new release! My parents had a SF courtship with drinks at Top of the Mark and their wedding night at the St. Francis. When we lived in CA, we toasted Mom and Dad at the Mark and walked through the St Francis lobby.

    My memorable hotel is the Prince Abbas Nile boat, which we boarded at Abu Simbel to make the two day Lake Nasser (dammed up Nile) crossing to Aswan. It's a 1930's reproduction boat, with outside decks just like Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. I spent most of our time on the roof deck under a canvas awning reading Christie's book and watching for the 43,000 man-eating crocodiles inhabiting the lake. The slamming cabin doors, the footsteps rushing by our cabin, the utterly pitch-black night sky. Before bed, we would climb up top to gaze at the stars. The sumptuous dining room buffet was below deck, and featured Egyptian and Nubian specialties plus European dishes (chicken and rice was always safe; the dessert sweets were wonderful, as was the Ethiopian coffee). We met the pilot, sitting cross-legged on his stool, navigating by twitches to the small nav device and (he tapped his nose), a lifetime spent on Lake Nasser.

    All we could see from the boat was sand, rock, water, and sky. It was surreal to be alone in such an isolated landscape, my imagination in high gear.

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    1. You were channeling Amelia Peabody, Margaret! How wonderful.

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    2. Hello Margaret - What a wonderful description! Sounds like a dream come true...

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  13. I've never stayed at any truly fancy hotels, except the Palmer House in Chicago, as I wrote above. We did pick up Thanksgiving dinner at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, though, when we visited my sister-in-law in Marin, about 18 years ago. Just crossing the lobby was heady stuff.

    However, I have stayed in luxury in Tanzania, where even the tent camps are exquisitely appointed. It's amazing that in that desert, dusty environment, the linens are brilliantly white and scrumptious.

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    1. Hank, we stayed here, which was fantastic. One night three lions killed a hyena just above our "tent" (one side is open, the other sides are permanent).
      https://www.nomad-tanzania.com/camps/northern-tanzania/serengeti-national-park/lamai-serengeti/accommodation

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    2. Hi Karen,
      I had to take a peek since you supplied the link. Oh my gosh... this is *my* kind of camping!!

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  14. Oh, Ann, MORTAL MUSIC sounds irresistible. There is something so dramatically compelling about hotels - think of all the novels and movies that take place within their confines. I suppose it's the element you mention here - all the world, compacted into one (relatively) small space.

    My most sumptuous hotel? The Grand Hotel in Mackinaw Island. Beautiful instead of flashy, with an attention to detail and the comfort of its guests I've never seen matched. And the view across Lake Michigan is unparalleled. The reason they have "the world's longest front porch" is because you want to spend so much time there, looking across the rolling lawn toward the lake.

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    1. Hi Julia,
      The minute I saw "long front porch" I *had* to check it out on the website. That is one gorgeous-looking hotel. That porch, oh my. With coffee in one hand and a book in the other, I think I could stay there for a looong time. Thank you for mentioning it here!

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  15. I’ve been to the current Palace Hotel. The first one burned down in the Earthquake and Fire. And the real Caruso story? He sent someone to hire and vehicle they could and he galloped for the docks, boarding a ferry for Oakland. He appears is my Time if Fog and Fire!

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    1. I KNEW I'd read about Caruso in SF, Rhys, and was trying to remember which historical mystery it was in. ;^)

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    2. Hi Rhys!
      It's quite a story, isn't it! So different from the "myth." (I wonder how it got started... did Caruso just have a great PR department or....?) I love your series (all of them!) and how you make history come alive!

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  16. Jonathan and I once stayed in the Hotel St. Peres in Paris, in a room so beautiful we tried to stay up all night just looking at it so we wouldn't miss a minute of it. The ceiling was a gorgeous fresco, all cherubs and clouds, and the walls were pale blue velvet.

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    1. Hi Hank,
      I just took a look at it online. Wow, it's gorgeous! sounds like a wonderful experience...

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    2. Did you look at room 100, La Chambre a la Fresque? WHoa.

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    3. I just looked now! Whoa indeed! Now that's a place to linger a while...

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  17. Congratulations! Mortal Music sounds captivating and intriguing. The era and the story are a real treasure. A trip to Italy many years ago was unforgettable and the hotel on Lake Como was historic, beautiful and extraordinary. The views from the deck, the spacious and luxurious lobby made this hotel so comfortable and special. Grand Hotel Cadenabbia is a real experience.

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    1. Grand Hotel Cadenabbia looks amazing! Thank goodness for the internet, so I can at least do a little virtual traveling here...
      And thank you for your kind words re: Mortal Music...

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  18. This sounds like a fabulous fun book, Ann. Must go order it ASAP. And yes, I did stay at the Palace in SF, at a professional conference courtesy of my then employer. Was glass courtyard restaurant memorable? You bet. I've also stayed at the Frontenac in Quebec City, a similarly old fashioned very grand hotel. Added a special experience to a great trip (US dollar was very strong in Canada for several years and we had some wonderful vacations there)

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    1. Ah, the memories, right Triss? :-) And now, I *just* remembered... I actually attended a conference at the Palace once as well, doing tag-along administrative support. Strange that I didn't recall that until now. Mostly I remember it from my childhood.
      The Frontenac hotel looks dazzling!
      Hope you enjoy Mortal Music! :-)

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  19. Ann! Fabulous post, fabulous book. Congratulations. I am partial to the Brown Palace in Denver and the Grove Park in Ashville, but James and I are lucky enough to get to walk through LA's Biltmore everytime we go downtown, so it has to be my favorite.

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    1. Hi Wendall!
      Wow, the Biltmore looks amazing!
      And... The Brown Palace! That's another hotel that's on my list to visit. Sadly enough, with all the time I've spent in Colorado doing research for the part of the series that's set there and visiting family, etc., I have never stayed at the Brown. In fact, I don't think I've even set foot in it! A situation I shall have to remedy...
      Thanks for dropping by!

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  20. Terrific post, Ann! I happen to love old hotels, especially those drenched in history. Congrats!

    Dennis

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    1. Hi Dennis!
      Thank you! I love old hotels as well... I've stayed in several in Colorado while doing research, including the Clarendon in Leadville, and the Cliff House in Manitou Springs. There's something about these old places that calls to me....
      That's probably one reason why I write historical mysteries and not contemporary ones! :-)
      Thanks for dropping by!

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    2. Hey, Dennis! SO great to see you! xxxx

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  21. The Silver Rush series is fascinating and impressive. I took a road trip to Leadville and the setting was unique and the history interested me greatly. On Lido Island where we stayed there is a hotel Ausonia Hungaria. What a old, and memorable place to stay.

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    1. Thank you for the kind words about my series! And Leadville... such an amazing place with a fascinating history. From the website, Hotel Ausonia Hungaria looks incredible.

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  22. Wonderful post, Ann, and the book sounds fascinating! A couple of grand hotels that I've visited (though not actually stayed in) come to mind. One is the Adolphus in Dallas, built just after the turn of the century by Adolphus Busch, the brewer. It was modeled on a German castle. Afternoon tea there is a treat, but I haven't visited since the hotel's recent extensive renovation. https://www.adolphus.com/

    And in London, the Kimpton Fitzroy on Russell Square is amazing. Designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll, who also designed the dining room on the Titanic, it was miraculously undamaged during the Blitz. Renovated in 2018, then sold to Kimpton just last year, it is amazing!! https://www.ihg.com/kimptonhotels/hotels/us/en/fitzroy-london-hotel-uk/lonlp/hoteldetail

    I'm going to save my pennies for just one night there, one of these days!

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    1. Hello Deborah! Thanks for the links to the two hotels... I just did a little "virtual vacation" viewing all the photos. :-)

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    2. My sister and I had what was billed as "Royal High Tea" at the Savoy last year, the same week Meghan and Harry got married not too far away. A charming employee responded to my sister's request for a tour by taking her to a private royal apartment (unoccupied at that time) by a secret elevator!

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    3. Ooooh Susan! That sounds incredible!

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  23. Ann, your new book sounds most enticing, I shall add to my list. Now hotels. At first I couldn't think of any that stood out, but realize over a long life I've stayed in the Plaza, Chateau Frontenac, and most memorable were the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow and the Grand Hotel, in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. This was the hotel my family stayed in when they came to take me out on visiting weekends from my boarding school. Here I 'met' Gregory Peck who was in Ceylon filming Bhowani Junction. He was a dinner, but the. Head waiter took me over with my autograph book. I don't remember any conversation though I am sure I thanked him! I was about ten I think. I also remember watching the housekeeper make our beds and still use his technique to set the cover correctly so that it looks great.

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    1. Oh, Celia, I am swooning over Gregory Peck, but ,sadly, just as interested in the bedmaking technique...

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    2. You've been some interesting places, Celia! And... Gregory Peck?? <~~sigh~~> I am swooning along with Hank.
      Bedmaking technique? Now you have us all very curious... :-)

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  24. Here's a better link for the Fitzroy: https://www.kimptonfitzroylondon.com/us/en/

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    1. Wow! That "interactive journey" link is impressive... quite the hotel tour!

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  25. I stayed at the Palace for a university journalism conference in 1965. The female yearbook editor got sick at the last minute and a female fill-in was required for the lodging reservations. I was the extremely lucky fill-in for whom that trip was an exciting series of firsts -- first champagne and in a jet over the Grand Canyon, first trip to California and San Francisco, etc. A reservation mix-up sent my companion and me to a questionable hotel, but the mix-up was resolved and we moved to a suite (lots of gilt and antique furnishings) at the Palace! My recollections of the conference are foggy -- other than Charles Schulz being the keynote speaker and his scribbles on a flip chart being mobbed following his talk. More vivid are the memories of an incredible city for a 20-year old Texas girl -- cable cars, Chinatown, Fishermen's Wharf, and passing on the opportunity to see the Lovin' Spoonful at the Hungry I because of the $5 cover charge!
    Reader Kay

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    1. Now THAT sounds like quite the adventure you had there, Kay! And the Lovin' Spoonful is definitely a blast from the past (Summer in the City...). San Francisco has quite the rockin' history....

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  26. I love the atmosphere of old hotels, even the slightly rundown ones. I used to duck into some of them in New Orleans years ago: The Royal Orleans, the Royal Sonesta, the Monteleone. I never spent the night in any of them though. The Hotel Galvez in Galveston is still a beautiful, historic, and haunted lady. I have stayed there a couple of times. The same goes for the Menger Hotel in San Antonio; right across from the Alamo on one side. It is also haunted. Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders at the bar off the lobby. The hotel serves a fabulous mango ice cream outside in the courtyard. The historic Bullock Hotel in Deadwood, SD is also a neat place. And haunted. There seems to be a theme here! When I was on a tour in India we stayed in some beautiful places. One hotel redecorated our room each day. No kidding. They would change out the bedspreads, pillows, everything and introduce an entirely different color scheme.
    Ann, Mortal Music sounds wonderful. Many secrets and intrigues! I can't wait to read it!

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    1. Oh, I just stayed at the Monteleone! It' gorgeous, but my favorite part was the little tent card on the desk. It said: "If there is anything you want, call 111." Well, yeah. Now that is pretty cool

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    2. I'm having such fun reading about everyone's hotel suggestions/experiences. I'd imagine Texas would have quite a few 19th- and early-20th century hotels. I'm going to add these to my "virtual visiting" list. Thank you, Pat!
      And I hope you enjoy Mortal Music! :-)

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  27. What an amazing hotel!
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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    1. It is indeed! And, of course, there's a lot more to say about it, but I had to draw the line somewhere. :-}

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  28. Shalom Reds and readers. I’ve never, as far as I can remember even stepped inside a 5-star hotel. I’ve stayed at plethora of 4-star hotels; most of the time, someone stepped up to pay my tab. My favorite hotel, however, is one in a movie. Der Letzte Mann, a 1924 silent film, directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Emil Jannings, is mostly set in and around a luxury hotel. I checked today and you can see it on YouTube in its entirety. There is only one title card in the whole film, as Murnau wanted the “moving pictures” to tell the story. I don’t speak any German, but apparently the translation would be The Last Man, meaning “the man who was here before you.” In English however, the movie is titled The Last Laugh, and it is a bucket-list watch, particularly if you are a storyteller.

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    1. Hello David,
      I found it! https://youtu.be/W7yiZM-SlwI
      I watched the beginning and wow, I'm definitely going to watch the rest later. Very atmospheric. Thanks for the suggestion!

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    2. Oh, I have not heard of this! Thank you! And checking it out..

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  29. Fascinating story, Ann. It reminded me of the hotel in A Gentleman From Moscow.

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    1. OH, yes, did you see the whole CBS Morning News story about that?

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    2. Hello David!
      Ah! Yes, I can see the similarities, now that you mention it. Hmmm. I'll have to find the CBS story you mentioned, Hank.

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  30. Some of my favorite hotels were in Germany. They are so homey.
    kozo8989@hotmail.com

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    1. Would love to know the names of some of the hotels, Alicia. I'll add them to the virtual list. :-)

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  31. I know it's too late in the day for this to be read, but I had to mention the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. My dad, a real estate appraiser, was hired to appraise the Coronado, and we stayed as a family for a short time. Somewhere I believe I still have a set of plans for the hotel. Lovely, historic place.

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    1. Oh, how cool--that would be so fabulous for a book!

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    2. Wow! Right on the edge of the ocean. Lovely! I just read that when it opened in 1888, it was the single largest resort hotel in the world. Wouldn't THAT be a great place for a mystery convention... :-)

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    3. Y'all come! The Coronado already has at least one resident ghost, longing for the company of mystery writers.

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  32. Until I read Mortal Music, as well as all the other books in this masterly written series, I'd read few historical mysteries. These books have all the elements of intrigue: setting, murder, and the most interesting characters. I've walked past the Palace Hotel, now it's time I went inside. Many years ago I spent one night at an elegant hotel on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. On a raised platform was a grand piano.

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    1. Hi Carole!
      You *must* go inside the next time you are in San Francisco... You can walk right in and look around and even have tea in the Garden Court. (Well, I think you need reservations for that, but still.) Staying by Niagara Falls must have been a wonderful experience...
      And thank you for your kind words about my series. :-)

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    2. I love the detail in your stories! You really put me in the time and place. I'm looking forward to further adventures with Inez.

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    3. Thank you, Penny! Going to roll up my sleeves and get busy on the next... :-)

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