For thousands of years, travel has been an integral component of human society. Since people have needed lodgings for as long as humans have been moving throughout the planet, the history of hotels can be a little difficult to track. Hotels aren’t just convenient locations to stay when visiting a new city; they may also serve as historical landmarks.
People needed a place to sleep with a roof over their heads because they were traveling so much, therefore inns, hotels, and motels arose. Many historic hotels are still open and operational today. Not only do they give excellent service, but several hotels have also become historical and cultural landmarks.
Here are 9 of the world’s oldest hotels
1. Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan (Yamanashi, Japan)
Picture: Twitter
Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan is the world’s oldest hotel, according to Guinness World Records. This ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn, has been in the same family for 52 generations. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Land of the Rising Sun, and Kouken, the 46th emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun, were among the noteworthy visitors since the city was founded in 705 AD.
2. Maids Head Hotel (Norwich, UK)
Picture: Trip.com
Maids Head Hotel is a contender for the title of the UK’s oldest hotel, with a history dating back 800 years. The first mention of an inn at this location dates from 1287, when “Robert the fowler stole goods from the said innkeeper at Cook Rowe,” according to Norwich court records. The exquisite wood-paneled Oak Room, where refined afternoon tea is served today, is one of the oldest elements of the existing building, dating back to the 15th century.
3. Jamaica Inn (Bolventor, UK)
Picture: Travel Channel
The Jamaica Inn, while not the oldest hotel on this list, has one of the most interesting histories. The inn, which first opened its doors in 1750 as a coaching inn—a form of lodging for tourists and their horses before the arrival of railways—became known as a haven for rough-and-tumble whiskey smugglers landing with their cargo on the Cornish and Devon shores. Some believe the inn’s name refers to the source of illegal rum that formerly passed through its doors.
4. The Omni Homestead Resort (Hot Springs, Va.)
Picture: Historic Hotels of America
The Omni Homestead Resort, America’s first resort, was initially an 18-room wooden hotel catering to guests of the local hot springs, which were renowned for their curative abilities. It was completed in 1766. The property was built up, restored, and then built up again throughout the years, housing celebrities such as presidents William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. It also has the United States’ oldest golf tee in continuous use.
5. Petit Palace Posada del Peine Hotel (Madrid, Spain)
Picture: Travel Channel
The Petit Palace Posada del Peine Hotel in Madrid claims to be Spain’s oldest hotel, having been built in 1610. Its name means “Haircomb’s Inn,” and it was so named because each room used to have a comb fastened to a piece of string to keep it from being stolen.
6. Gripsholms Värdshus (Mariefred, Sweden)
Picture: Dreamstime
Gripsholms Vardshus began its existence as a hospice in 1609, built on the site of a Carthusian monastery erected in 1493, making it Sweden’s oldest hotel. Guests can sleep in beds constructed from 500-year-old wood uncovered during renovations from beneath the inn.
7. Old Hall Hotel (Buxton, UK)
Picture: Tripadvisor
For over a thousand years, a hall has stood on the current location of the Old Hall Hotel in Buxton, United Kingdom. The earliest section of the existing structure dates from 1573 when it was part of a four-story tower that was used to confine Mary Queen of Scots on Queen Elizabeth I’s orders. It’s been a hotel since 1727, and it’s where Robinson Crusoe author Daniel Defoe stayed during a tour of the United Kingdom.
Sources: Travel Channel
