The Gran Hotel was once the city’s best downtown accommodation—U.S. President John F. Kennedy even stayed there—though it gradually lost its cachet. After a multiyear renovation and new management by Hilton, making it part of their Curio Collection, it has regained some of its 1930s-era glamour—piano bar and all. Rooms are cushy and almost Scandinavian in look, with mostly gray and white furnishings, tufted headboards on the beds, and lots of blond wood. Public areas are far more colorful. Suites just might be worth the extra cost, as they come with 24-hour butler service and access to an executive lounge with complimentary nightly hors d'oeuvres and spirits.