Don’t forget the wedding hotel accommodations for your guests. Block room discounts are quite helpful! If you’ve chosen an historic venue for the ceremony and/or reception, that doesn’t mean you would necessarily want an historic venue for your hotel accommodations. There are definite pros and cons.
Historic Hotel Accommodations
The Stanley Hotel
The main pro for using an historic hotel for your wedding guests’ hotel accommodations is the opportunity to become immersed in the beauty of the hotel’s history. Although I had stayed at the Stanley years before and had an interesting, if not sleep deprived stay (our sleep was regularly interrupted by guests who considered themselves “ghost busters”), the only consideration which prompted me to find an alternate hotel for our guests was the cost. I chose a more contemporary hotel as an alternate hotel very close to the Stanley — The Best Western Plus. Fortunately, it was one of the best decisions I made.
If an historic hotel is top on your list for hotel accommodations, I recommend you use the following checklist — you may want to provide an alternate or choose a contemporary hotel:
Historic Hotel Checklist
___ How soundproof are the rooms? Can you hear your neighbor’s regular speaking voices? If you can, it might not be the best place for the wedding party. Often the bridal party consists of friends and family who haven’t seen each other in a while and they want to catch up on each other’s lives. If the walls are like paper, you’ll have your neighbors complaining.
___ Check out the rooms carefully. The American with Disabilities Act was not around when the hotel was built. Although accommodations are supposed to meet ADA guidelines, only so much can be done with an historic hotel.
___ If your guests are tall, does the top floor of the hotel have dormers where your guest can crack his or her head?
Room 217 Bear-Clawed Tub
___ Does the bathroom have a shower your guest can easily climb in and out of or is it a bear-clawed tub with a shower wand which may be fine for a younger guest, but could prove very dangerous for an older one?
___ Is there a closet or somewhere safe to hang the bridal gown or bridesmaids dresses?
___ If the shower was remodeled, was it properly finished with a
- safety bar
- soap tray
- ledge for shampoo
- non-slip floor?
___ Will the wedding be held in the winter where it may snow? If it is
- How safe is the ingress and egress to the hotel?
- Are stairs the most likely option?
- In a snowy/icy environment, shoveling may not be adequate and there may not be enough staff to keep the walkways and parking lot safe.
__ Are tours provided? (See last week’s article for other concerns where there are tours.)
__ Will the tours interfere with a restful night sleep for your guests?
This article focused on issues that could arise with with providing accommodations at an historic hotel. The next article will provide additional considerations is selecting just the right hotel regardless of whether it is historic or contemporary. Of course I’ll provide another checklist — I love them!
What were your experiences with an historic hotel?
(C) 2018, Karen Van Den Heuvel
