April 23, 2003 -- A lot of people spend a good amount of their time making sure their personal and national histories will be around for their children and other descendants to enjoy, forming organizations to ensure our past meets the future. One such group, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, works doggedly -- often through grassroots efforts -- to maintain historically important individual buildings, landscapes, heck, even entire neighborhoods. Preservation Week is just around the corner -- May 5-11, 2003 -- and you can take part by booking a room in an historic hotel from as low as $99 a night. There are scads of specials in a number of participating establishments during that week and beyond (some run all the way through October). Chances are, there's one near you.
The Historic Hotels of America (HHA), an affiliate of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTPH), is teaming up with the Travel Industry Association (TIA) to offer red-letter reductions on rooms in conjunction with TIA's Tourism Week, May 10-18, 2003. If that's too many acronyms and events for you, don't worry. We're here to tell you about what matters most -- the prices you pay and the places you stay. Here are a few samples:
Mid-Atlantic: Baltimore's Peabody Court Hotel has a May-long special, The Charmed Life, at $199 per couple, for a night here, including all meals, guided tour of the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood, and admission to selected homes and nearby museums, with a guide. Phone 410/727-7101.
Midwest: While staying in the fine old Saint Paul Hotel in Minnesota's capital, you can visit the Science Museum and enjoy the Viking Exhibit (through May 18, 2003), the most expansive such collection of artifacts and objects ever assembled, they say, on loan from the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. The deal includes one night's lodging and two tickets to the exhibit for $185, tax paid. Children under 18 stay free while sharing their parents' room. Phone 651/292-9292.
Northeast: At the Porches Inn in North Adams, Mass., you get two tickets to MASS MoCA, said to be the country's largest museum of contemporary art, when you book the hotel's Preservation Package, good May 1 through May 22, 2003. For $179 per double room weekdays ($239 on weekends), you get the room, dinner and breakfast for two, taxes and meal gratuities and the museum tickets. Phone 413/664-0400.
West: Stay at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, a genuine antique in its own right (but nicely refurbished inside), while attending the Titanic exhibit at the Los Angeles Science Center, from now through September 1, 2003. Room costs $169 for two persons, and you get one night there, continental breakfast for two, health club access and valet parking. Phone 213/624-1011.
The South: Visit Miami Beach and stay at an Art Deco hotel there, for $185 per room at The Hotel or $125 at the Park Central. Each has an Art Deco Dream package from May 1 through May 23, 2003, but there is a two-night minimum required. Rate includes lodging, breakfast for two, a guided walking tour with expert commentary from members of the Miami Design Preservation League, and a copy of a coffee table book, Deco Delights. Phone 305/531-2222 for The Hotel, 305/538-1611 for the Park Central.
Full details and additional packages are listed on the Trust's website at www.nationaltrust.org/historic_hotels/PRESS_ROOM/20030327_presweek.htm and some can be booked online or through HHA at 800/678-8946 (look for the key icon). Otherwise, phone or e-mail the hotel directly. All offers are subject to availability and must be booked in advance. Unless specified, tax and gratuity are not included. Certain restrictions and blackout dates apply.
Additional travel deals associated with TIA's Tourism Week can be found at www.seeamerica.org.
