", the most prolific of golf architects in the 1920s, designed the two 36-hole courses at the Biltmore. In the 1940s, one of the courses was sold to a private group and became Riviera Golf and Country Club in Coral Gables."

"The Miami Biltmore Hotel was the crowning achievement of the ready-made city of . Today elegantly restored, it continues to beckon guests from the world over. When it opened in 1925 it was the tallest structure in Florida."

"The grand opening party was an extraordinary display of jewelry, furs and clothing by the 1500 guests. Famous band leader conducted one of three orchestras that entertained the guests. Although the prohibited the sale and manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor, it did not spoil the party since, it was said, champagne was flowing. ... The hotel's 300-foot-high belfry is visible from just about any spot in Coral Gables's low-zoned residential area. Lighted by day by the subtropical sun and at night by powerful spotlights, the orange Mediterranean-Moorish belltower, modeled after the in , rises between two seven-story wings. Guests enter into a large impressive space with marble under foot and more than two dozen 25 foot-tall s supporting a ceiling coffered in the center and groin vaulted at either end. The room, with a fireplace in one wall, is decorated with new and antique furnishings and carpets chosen to evoke the grandeur and elegance of an earlier era."

"Citizens' activism increased in 1971 after the Veterans Hospital, housed in the former Biltmore Hotel, closed and the government announced it would trade the property with a developer who would build condominiums on the site. In 1973, after a heated debate and bond referendum to purchase the property, the city of Coral Gables acquired the property."

"The Biltmore Hotel and Country Club was the centerpiece of developer 's dream to create a beautiful city. Incorporated as a city after only four years of existence, had homes but no landmark. The 400-room Biltmore Hotel instantly became so, not only as the tallest building in south Florida but also as the center for activities drawing the rich and famous to Coral Gables. ... Teaming up with Biltmore hotelier , Merrick hired architects (1877-1951) and (1879-1939), who had just finished the , to create a striking structure . ... The Biltmore has suffered but survived economic downturns, and today, operated by a private consortium but owned by the City of Coral Gables, its future seems secure."

"My favorite room in the hotel is 1508, also known as the Suite. One of our long time resident guests, Mr. Magnin, lived here for over 30 years. His family owned the . Cyril, the old man, was a bachelor (at least when he was here). He was alone with his little named Tippycanoe. He had his own butler and a driver who picked him up daily. He was an old-school gentleman, a bon vivant. When I started here, we had four or five resident guests that stayed 30 to 40 years. This Cyril Magnin suite has a beautiful living room, dining room along with an outdoor terrace overlooking the and the . The bedroom and bath are large and very luxurious. ... The Lounge was opened in 1939 and soon became a favorite for all the servicemen as their last drink in the city before shipping off overseas for World War II."

"stayed at the Ambassador Hotel during his 1928 , reveling in the tennis courts, golf course, and swimming pool."

"The 1967 film ' is one of the first to be filmed partly on a location in a hotel lobby, in this case the renowned Ambassador Hotel at 3400 , the main street between and downtown Los Angeles. ... The Ambassador Hotel was also used for scenes for the filming of ', released in 1990 ..."

"The vine-covered entrance to the hotel emphasized the hotel's garden ambiance. ... The Ambassador Hotel, built 1919–1921, is an expansive structure surrounded by cottages and sited far back from the street behind a vast expanse of lawn. Like the , it hosted early Academy Award banquets. The ballroom was famous throughout the United States for its Saturday night broadcasts of the popular jazz and bands performing at the hotel."

"The hotel was part of the Ambassador Hotels System, which at one time consisted of sixty-seven properties from coast to coast (the chain was dissolved in the 1930s). A city in itself, the hotel had a whopping 1,200 rooms and bungalows, plus golf courses, tennis courts, and Olympic-size pools. The arcade contained thirty-seven speciality shops, including dress shops, a post office, a hat shop, jewelry shops, a men's cigar shop, an art gallery, and a British and European import shop called the Continental. Many guests stayed at the property year-round. It was not uncommon for a celebrity to live at the Ambassador while filming or working. and lived there for a while. In 1927, and his wife, , moved into one of the bungalows on the property and reportedly trashed it. Rumor has it that they started fires in the bungalow and also burned their bill."

"The AMBASSADOR HOTEL, 3400 , a vast rambling structure whose spreading tile-roofed wings faintly suggest the buildings of northern Italy, sits far back from the street behind a huge expanse of lawn and is surrounded by its cottages. In the hotel are a bank, brokerage office, post office, library, 35 retail shops, and a motion-picture theatre; on the grounds are a swimming pool with artificial beaches of white sand and an 18-hole course."

"... The hotel is in the abbreviated of the 1920s and is notable for its site plan, which incorporates a drive-in entrance court, and for the 1936 rooftop lounge designed by , the , long the most famous cocktail lounge in town and ancestor of many hoteltop restaurants."

"Wesley Dumm's , the first television station, came on the air from the Mark Hopkins Hotel on 1948, when there were just 3,500 television sets in California."

"In January 2017, before President Donald Trump's inauguration, I attended the annual conference in San Francisco. I stayed at the Mark Hopkins Hotel high up on —a walk away from the conference site at the Hilton in the business district near . My well-appointed vintage-style room was on an upper floor that overlooked the city, the and the . At night, a thick fog rolled in, blocking out the views—fog so dense that it was impossible to see beyond it. The fog gradually burned off in the morning. Nob Hill appeared first, then the city below, the tops of the bridges and, finally, and in the crystalline distance beyond and the bay."

"From these various excursions, and a good many others, (including one to ,) we gained a pretty lively idea of what was going on; but, after all, if compelled to pass a rainy day in the hall and parlors of Willard's Hotel, it proved about as profitably spent as if we had floundered through miles of Virginia mud, in quest of interesting matter. This hotel, in fact, may much more justly be called the centre of Washington and the Union than either the Capitol, the White House or the State Department. Everybody may be seen there. It is the meeting-place of the true representatives of the country,—not such as are chosen blindly and amiss by electors who take a folded ballot from the hand of a local politician, and thrust it into the ballot-box unread, but men who gravitate or are attracter hither by real business, or a native impulse to breathe the intensest atmosphere of the nation's life, or a genuine anxiety to see how this life-and-death struggle is going to deal with us."

"was a group of literary figures, mostly writers and press agents, who met regularly for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City during the 1920s. The members became a cultural institution, famous mostly for being famous, enjoying humorous conversation and games, and furthering each other’s careers and reputations. ... Besides , some of the other regular Algonquinites over the years were Woollcott’s assistant, ; of the ' and a playwright; Arthur Samuels, editor of '; , a staff writer at '; , editor of Vanity Fair, later a drama critic for ', and a sometime actor; and , short story writer, poet, and Vanity Fair drama critic. As the group grew in reputation and social connections, it drew in new members, such as the well-known actor , and the cost of annual membership was raised to $1,000, further strengthening the group’s exclusivity. ... by the early 1930s, the Algonquin Round Table had officially disbanded."

"The Algonquin Hotel, located on West 44th Street in New York City, is a turn-of-the-century structure. Both the exterior and the interior of the building reflect this era. The physical appearance of the large lobby, elegant dining rooms, and the intimate private rooms provided the stimulus for this study. ... Sensual reds, browns, and golds enhance the dimly lit lobby. Every aspect of the decor, from the sculpted ivory ceiling to the dark wooden wall panels and pillars is appealing. Lighting fixtures with brass designs adorn the pillars with similar chandeliers hanging throughout, and antique lamps with painted bases spot the tables in the lobby. Much of the furniture is upholstered in brocade and velvet with interesting patterns and weaves. The glass on the entry doors and the dividing panel are incised with design. Large brass ashtrays, fresh flowers, and bells on the tables all ornament the lobby appropriately. The private rooms, even with their visual signs of aging, retain the charm of the lobby. They do not seem to have changed drastically since the 1920's. Instead of plastic or cheap veneer, all of the appointments are brass, solid wood and leather. The drapes, wall coverings and bathrooms are all preserved quite well. Rather than cardboard reproductions in plastic frames, only original s and prints dating from 1920-1940 adorn the walls."

"It has felt like 5:30 P.M. in the lobby of the Algonquin Hotel for nearly 90 years now. While the city changes around it, the Algonquin just goes on and on in chronic, romantic twilight, haunted by some lost souls who ate es at a certain a long time ago. But even the Algonquin changes hands every 40 years or so. In 1987, the , a Tokyo-based hotel group that also owns , bought the Algonquin for $30 million. The sale prompted relatively little of the usual xenophobic hand-wringing. What little there was seemed to occur in the Algonquin lobby. ... Each room is stocked with recent issues of '."

"At this time a number of Confederate prisoners, who had been taken in the first day's fight when our army fell back from , were brought to Washington, and on passing Willard's Hotel were set upon by the crowd who usually congregated there, and pelted with stones and other missiles, which seriously wounded a number. In order to prevent the prisoners from being actually torn to pieces a company of U. S. regulars had to be called out to protect them to their quarters, the ; and during the march to that point the soldiers had repeatedly to threaten to fire upon the mob, who pressed upon them with shouts and obscene revilings."