California has many historic hotels throughout the state, but what is the oldest hotel in the state that you can still stay in?
California is known for historic places to stay, including the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego and the Queen Mary in Long Beach.
The state has a rich history as both Spanish and Mexican territory before it became a state, and settlers traveled west during the California Gold Rush.
Missions, saloons, or places where people just hung up their hats are plenty, but few have held their original purpose and serve people to this day.
What is the oldest hotel in the state?
What is California's oldest hotel?
The National Exchange Hotel in Nevada City is touted as the oldest continuously running hotel, according to Sierra Nevada Geotourism.
The Victorian-style hotel
was built in stages between 1854 and 1857 and is a recognized historical landmark, the site says.
Its sister hotel, the Holbrooke in Grass Valley, started as a saloon in 1852 and later became a hotel, according to its website. It would be considered one of the oldest continuously running hotels, like the National Exchange Hotel, had it not been for a few fires that caused the hotel to be rebuilt.
The Groveland Hotel in Groveland dates back to 1849. It opened as The Garrote Hotel and was originally built out of adobe, according to its website. The original adobe walls still exist, but the Groveland has been rebuilt over the years.
Visit California, a tourism nonprofit for the state, has a list of some historic hotels in the state for people to visti and stay in.
Other historic hotels:
- Hotel del Coronado- Coronado Island, 1888
- The Inn at Death Valley- Death Valley, 1927
- Mission Inn Hotel and Spa- Riverside, 1876
- Queen Mary- 1934, retired in 1967, and moored in Long Beach
- Tallman Hotel- Lake County, 1874
- Chateau Marmont- Los Angeles, 1927
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: What is California's oldest hotel? What are the oldest places to stay?
