SHELTON, CT—Four properties in New Castle Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio have joined Historic Hotels Worldwide (HHW) and Historic Hotels of America (HHA). The hotels include The Algonquin Resort, Digby Pines Resort & Spa, The Westin Portland Harborview and The Westin Nova Scotian.
The Algonquin Resort, an Autograph Collection Hotel, has welcomed guests since 1889. In 2012 the 233-room, Tudor-style “Castle-by-the-Sea” was purchased by New Castle Hotels & Resorts and Southwest Properties and reopened in March 2014 following a $50-million renovation.
Digby Pines Resort & Spa, an Ascend Collection Hotel, has its origins in a three-story hotel, The Pines, built by H.B. Churchill. Over the years it served as officers’ quarters during WWI and became part of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hotel collection. In 1929, the present-day lodge opened as The New Pines Hotel, and CPR hired Stanley Thompson to build an 18-hole golf course to with it. Today, Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa includes the main lodge, a Norman-style chateau and one-, two- and three-bedroom cottages.
Formerly the Eastland Park Hotel, the Westin Portland Harborview originally opened on June 15, 1927, and was the largest hotel in New England, hosting aviator Charles Lindbergh following his solo flight across the Atlantic and famously refusing to host former first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her canine companion. In 2012, the hotel closed for a $50-million renovation that retained the building’s original façade and other historic touches, while updating for comforts, systems and décor to meet contemporary standards. It re-opened as the Westin Portland Harborview in December 2013.
Overlooking Halifax Harbour, The Westin Nova Scotian is one of the original Canadian National Railways hotels which opened its doors on June 23, 1930, to connect Halifax with the rest of Canada. The hotel twice hosted HRH Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana’s only official royal dinner on an Eastern Canadian tour in the early 1980s. In April 1996, New Castle Hotels & Resorts purchased the shuttered hotel and re-opened it on August 8, 1996, as the Westin Nova Scotian.
The hotels join a collection of more than 150 hotels and resorts throughout the world that are recognized by Historic Hotels Worldwide for preserving authentic cultural treasures that demonstrate historic preservation and their inspired architecture, cultural traditions and authentic cuisine. There are 260 hotels that have been accepted into Historic Hotels of America.
To be selected for membership in Historic Hotels Worldwide, a hotel must be at least 75 years old; utilize historic accommodations; serve as the former home or be located on the grounds of the former home of famous persons or a significant location for an event in history; be located in, or within walking distance, to a historic district, historically significant landmark, place of historic event, or historic city center; be recognized by local preservation organization or national trust; and display historic memorabilia, artwork, photography, and other examples of its historic significance.