We interview the creators of The Hotel Who, an immersive and interactive theater experience currently based in Los Angeles (but hopefully coming to more cities soon). They tell us about their current show (a 1930's murder mystery held in a castle in the Hollywood Hills), how they got started, and what's next for this unique art form.

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🎶 Music:

Masquerade by Beat Mekanik from the Free Music Archive licensed under CC BY.

Salem, MA, is a town steeped in history. It is forever embossed in pop culture as Witch City thanks to the witch trials in 1692 and its 20th century resurgence as a spiritual (and literal) home for many Wiccans. Salem's hotels are also entrenched in history. Built anywhere from the 1600's to 1925, they offer an escape wrapped up in local history, lore, and even a few ghosts.

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🎶 Music:

Nocturnal by Beat Mekanik from the Free Music Archive (License: CC BY)

If you fancy a midnight run-in with the famed Headless Horseman, or maybe just want to stroll down the road with the Lady in White, you should take a little trip to Sleepy Hollow. Yes, it's a real place made famous by Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In addition to its ghost stories, it boasts a plethora of historical places, including the Florence Inn and the Castle Hotel & Spa.

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🎶 Music:

Scary by Liborio Conti.

The Savoy Hotel redefined hospitality for London in the late 19th century, and it remains one of the top hotels in the world. In Part 2, we discuss the hotel under Rupert D'Oyly Carte from the Belle Epoque, through the Jazz Age, and into the Second World War with plenty of scandals, spies, and intrigue along the way.

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🎶 Music:

Bees Knees by The Virginians.

They Call it Dancing by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra.

Lady of the Evening by Herbert Berger's St. Louis Club Orchestra

The Savoy Hotel redefined hospitality for London in the late 19th century, and it remains one of the top hotels in the world. In Part 1, we discuss the man behind the vision, Richard D'Oyly Carte, his decades-long partnership with light opera composers Gilbert & Sullivan, and some of the early scandals that plagued the hotel, (including one of its most famous guests, Oscar Wilde).

☕️ You can support Hotel History (and our caffeine addiction) here or on Patreon.

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🎶 Music:

Theme6

Fall is finally here, so we're taking a little trip to Stars Hollow, CT, to talk about the inns that provide a backdrop, back story, and realized dream for Lorelai Gilmore; her daughter, Rory; and her best friend, Sookie St. James – the Independence and Dragonfly Inns. We'll also give a little history on the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT, which helped inspire the show’s creator. We may get sidetracked by the many psychological (and financial) issues facing the characters of this beloved show, so bear with us.

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🎶 Music:

Happy Days by Steven O'Brien via Chosic licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0

In part three of our interview with Jen Stewart, host of the Borscht Belt Tattler Podcast, we continue learning about famous hotels of the region and discuss the Borscht Belt in pop culture.

🎧 Listen and subscribe to Jen's podcast here and follow her on Instagram.

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🎶 Music:

Der Heyser Bulgar by Naftule Brandwein performed by the United States Air Force Band of the Rockies, Stellar Brass. Recording: United States Air Force, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In part two of our interview with Jen Stewart, host of the Borscht Belt Tattler Podcast, we talk about the impact the Borscht Belt had on sports, especially boxing and basketball, and talk about one of the most famous Borscht Belt hotel owners, Jennie Grossinger.

🎧 Listen and subscribe to Jen's podcast here and follow her on Instagram.

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🎶 Music:

Lachaim by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

We're going to the Catskills! It's summer vacation, and for thousands of 20th century families, that meant a trip out of the sweltering heat of New York City into the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where they patronized thousand-acre resorts, bungalow colonies, and B&B's. We welcome special guest Jen Stewart, host of the Borscht Belt Tattler Podcast, as she takes us through the rise and fall of the Borscht Belt.

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🎶 Music:

I Like Peanuts by Jason Shaw licensed under Creative Commons License.

Welcome back to the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, where scandals live side by side with art and culture. This episode starts with the tragedy of John Belushi's death in the 1980s and finishes in the present day with union strikes and sexual assault allegations against the hotel's owner with a fair amount of sex, partying, death, and even rioting in between.

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