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Downtown Chattanooga saw a rebirth at the end of the 20th century that continues to this day. Despite that, it would be a while before the Read House shared in the fortunes of growth. However, it was not until Avocet Hospitality of Charleston, South Carolina, bought the building in 2016 that the long-time jewel of Chattanooga saw its fortunes rise again. In 2018, Avocet began a $28 million facelift of the hotel’s interior by redesigning all the guest rooms and restoring the lobby to its roaring 1920s heyday. Logue said the company consulted with local historians, architects, and residents to make the completed renovations as authentic as possible.
Premier King Corner Room
Unfortunately, the inn caught fire and was razed to the ground in 1867. And so it was time for the property to be passed into new hands... The Civil War was on the brink of exploding when Davis stepped down from his position the US Senate.
'47 - Crutchfield House is Built
Other guests have claimed to have experienced similar supernatural activity, as well as seeing ghostly soldiers roaming the halls of the hotel’s fourth floor. We can only assume that these shadowy spirits are none other than the residual energy of the soldiers who may have spent their last moments at the Read House when it operated as a Civil War hospital. The most significant expansion came in 1926, when the original 1872 building was replaced with a 10-story Georgian-style, 400-room facility designed after the Palmer House in Chicago. “Some of the rooms were interior rooms with no ventilation,” Logue said.
Guest Rooms
He’s a captivating speaker who commands the attention and trust of many workers at a time when Biden is struggling to connect with voters because of higher prices and Israel’s destructive war in Gaza. If you’re looking for a journey into haunted Chattanooga, there is no better place to start than at the Read House Hotel, formerly the Old Crutchfield House. It has been temporary home to famous guests like Oprah Winfrey, Winston Churchill, Charles Laughton, Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper and numerous of other celebrity figures. Another Chattanooga urban legend is also attached to Room 311, one that include the famous gangster Al Capone as staying in this haunted room during his federal trial. As the story goes, Capone never mentioned having a run-in with the Read House’s resident spirit, but that security bars were placed on the window of Room 311 to ensure that Capone could not escape the feds. Uncomfortable sensations of being watched are the most commonly reported activity in Room 311, in addition to the loud noises that wake guests at all hours of the night.
A busy historic hotel with a beautiful lobby and ballroom
The Read House attracted famous guests throughout its storied history thanks to its quality service, beautiful architecture, and central location. Presidential guests include Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a not-so-nice experience in 1932 while touring the United States on a speaking engagement. With that, the Read House moved beyond attracting the business and wealthy classes that had primarily made up the target audience of the hotel’s early years.
Does The Read House, Downtown City Center have a restaurant on site?
Prime location, old-world elegance, comfortable rooms at a great price, and loaded with on-site amenities and extras? I stayed as a solo traveler but would have been comfortable at this hotel with my husband and children. Although the convenient downtown location of the Read House will make you want to get out and explore, there are dining options inside the hotel, too. The hotel offers valet parking for $24 per day, which doesn’t include tipping the valet. There’s no dedicated free self-parking, although there are parking lots and garages all throughout downtown.
Nroute: The Read House Travel nfocusmagazine.com - NFocus Magazine
Nroute: The Read House Travel nfocusmagazine.com.
Posted: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Raccoon Mountains Caverns is 5.6 mi from the accommodations, while Creative Discovery Museum is a 9-minute walk from the property. The property is 2.5 mi from Ruby Falls and 5 mi from Tennessee Riverpark and 0.7 mi from Hunter Museum of American Art. The nearest airport is Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, 6.2 mi from the property. “Ironically, Al Capone stayed in the same room where a murder occurred a few years earlier,” guest service ambassador John Kirby said, and some say the murder victim haunts it. Fans of the supernatural can stay in Room 311 during October for Halloween, while guests can tour the room at certain times of the day year round.
A Battle of the Brothers (and Jefferson Davis, too)
Suites have separate bedrooms and sitting areas, and some of the larger ones have wet bars. Standard amenities include coffeemakers, flat-screen TVs, and free Wi-Fi. Set in Chattanooga, The Read House offers air-conditioned rooms with free WiFi. The property is less than 0.6 mi from Tennessee Aquarium and a 5-minute drive from the University of Tennessee. A flat-screen TV with cable is featured in every room of this Chattanooga hotel as well as free WiFi. Read House Chattanooga can conveniently provide information at the reception to help guests to get around the area.
It also serves breakfast (for a fee) during the week and lunch daily. Other perks include concierge services with valet dry cleaning and laundry and reasonably priced valet parking that includes 24/7 in-and-out privileges. Of all the historic hotels in Chattanooga, Tennessee, no other place to stay offers quite the same level of tragedy and hope than the famous Read House Hotel. In the modern day and age, the hotel has slipped into quiet elegance. It’s become a place for the wealthy and the elite to mingle with the everyday American or international visitor. Read persuaded several prominent businesspeople to sell him a three-story office building that had been built on the site of the Crutchfield House, on the corner of Broad and Ninth Street, for a hotel.
There’s an electric shuttle that stops right across the street from the hotel (go out the side entrance where the restaurants are), and you’ll see the shuttle stop. The shuttles are clean and convenient if you’re flexible on time, but overall, I found the wait time longer than what was posted. In 2016 the hotel underwent a final renovation; Avocet Hospitality Group bought the property and worked with locals, historians, and architects to create a modern adaptation of the1926 iteration of the design. The Hotel continued to host famous and influential guests throughout the twentieth century. Winston Churchill and his daughter found respite at the Read House during his 1932 lecture tour. However, the visit took a rather public turn when Churchill made headlines by emphatically slamming the door of his suite on an inquisitive reporter.
The Read House has 241 guest rooms and suites divided between the Historic Tower and the Manor House. The Manor House is the newer part of the hotel, and while you can tell what’s newer while viewing the building from the exterior, the interior transitions are seamless. The Read House is the longest continuously operating hotel in the southeast and holds a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel has gone through several renovations throughout the years; it retains all of the old-world glamor (the lobby and bar area have a 1920s glam theme) with none of the “really old hotel” vibes. No matter if you’re craving filet mignon and a martini, gin fizzes and light bites, or need a cup of Joe, our dining options hit the spot.
According to Jim Bambrey, Read House Hotel General Manager, the October reservations sell out within five minutes after being open to the public. Bambrey estimates roughly half the October guests don’t last the night. I divided my three-and-a-half days in Chattanooga with downtown activities and more active pursuits around the Lookout Mountain area, which is about six miles from downtown Chattanooga. I loved being able to walk or take the free shuttle around downtown Chattanooga. The city is easy to navigate on foot, and if you’re up for walking a mile or so, you can get to a lot of cool places in the city. It makes a terrific home base for a Chattanooga girls trip or romantic couples getaway.
