From interior design and technology to amenities and sheer scale, hotels around the world have changed dramatically over the last few decades. We've taken a trip down memory lane to see how the world's biggest chains first started out...
It was more than a century ago in 1919 that Conrad Hilton first entered the hotel business, snapping up the 40-room Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas when he was actually on his way to buy a bank. It was a pinnacle move that led him to build his own Hilton branded hotel, the Dallas Hilton (pictured), which opened in 1925. More than just a hotel, Hilton created a central court where guests could visit a barber, go shopping and send a telegram.
Pink-painted elephants and Richard Nixon were present at the opening of Hilton Beverly Hills in 1955, and the hotel has been graced with A-listers ever since. Elsewhere, Hilton was one of the first chains to offer televisions in every guest room, amenity kits with sewing materials and booklets with useful phone numbers.
When it was first built in 1927, the Hilton Chicago, or the Stevens Hotel as it was formerly known, was the largest hotel in the world with more than 3,000 rooms, a five-lane bowling alley and an 18-hole golf course. It even had an in-ground railroad that carried coal and ash. Hilton acquired it 20 years later and had a stream of VIP guests visit. In 1959, the hotel entered the Guinness Book of World Records for hosting the largest known dinner with 7,200 people.
The company acquired the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel in 1961, and it was where Elvis Presley stayed while filming Blue Hawaii. It's little surprise that it became one of the most prominent hotels on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. A few years later, the company opened a huge structure called the Rainbow Tower which required 16,000 mosaic tiles.
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The size of Hilton's Hawaiian Village today is almost incomparable. It has 20 restaurants and five pools, including Waikiki's largest swimming pool. Gone are the little thatched huts and in their place are sweet cabanas.
Although Pan American Airways founder Juan Trippe founded the InterContinental brand in 1946, it wasn't until three years later when the first hotel under the brand opened in Belem, Brazil. However, it was InterContinental Geneva, which opened in 1964, that stole the limelight at the time. Unlike many other chains, the hotel was not situated on Lake Geneva, and was known for being incredibly private – Sophia Loren spent seven months living there.
Given the InterContinental Geneva's close proximity to the United Nations HQ, the hotel has hosted many important guests such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Several peace conferences have also taken place here.
InterContinental paved the way for business travel. The chain focused on room amenities and facilities like fast laundry, telephone and wire services, and quickly available food. The InterContinental Stephen F Austin hotel (pictured) was originally built in 1924 and was a key business hotel in Texas, not to mention the tallest building in the city at the time.
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The InterContinental Amstel in Amsterdam is one of the chain's oldest hotels. Unusually for the time, this hotel developed a reputation for its spa and wellness facilities. There's a plaque in the pool room for Dr Johann Georg Mezger who worked with guests at the hotel prior to IHG owning it, from 1870 to 1886, practicing physiotherapy for joint injuries.
While the rest of InterContinental's brand was business-heavy, in Cannes, it was star power all the way. This hotel was built in 1911 to accommodate the increasing number of tourists coming to the French Riviera. Grace Kelly and Cary Grant (pictured) filmed Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief there, and its guest register has seven different versions of Elizabeth Taylor's signature to mark the seven different men she married.
After a refurbishment, InterContinental Carlton Cannes (as it's known) is more light and airy these days, with cream and beige interiors. You can stay in the two-bedroom Grace Kelly suite for a very hefty sum, but smaller rooms are a little bit more affordable.
John Willard, the eponymous 'JW' in JW Marriott, started off with a root beer stand in 1927, and after 30 years he had acquired enough money to buy his first hotel, Twin Bridges Marriott in Virginia, USA. He had one goal: to provide "good food and good service at a fair price". The motel had 365 rooms, each with two double beds and a black and white television set. Marriott later added a swimming pool that could be converted into an ice rink in winter.
When Grosvenor House in London opened its doors to the public in 1929, it aimed to set a new standard for hotels with "better food, wines, services and private accommodation". It was the first hotel in London to have private bathrooms with running water in every room. The Great Room (pictured when The Beatles played there) was originally intended as an ice rink but instead became one of the biggest ballrooms in London.
This is what the Great Room looks like today – vastly different from when The Beatles played there in the 1960s. There's even more space for a start. It's also used as a boxing venue and to put on weddings.
Originally built as a palace for Khedive Isma'il Pasha in 1869, this Cairo hotel was modelled on Versailles. It became the Gezirah Palace Hotel in 1879 and passed through a few hands before Marriott International took it over in the 1970s, adding more than 1,000 guest rooms. It's now one of the tallest buildings in Cairo and one of the largest hotels in the Egyptian capital.
Located by the Nile, the hotel has been refurbished in recent years with the original features undergoing restoration and an upgrade. The lobby houses the world’s first clock with Arabic numerals.
San Sebastian in Spain had been attracting royalty since the 19th century, but the arrival of the Maria Cristina Hotel was the jewel in the crown. Designed by Charles Mewes, architect of the Ritz in Paris, it boasted flowing Champagne and private bathrooms for 250 of its 300 rooms.
The hotel underwent a huge refurbishment in 2012 for its 100th anniversary and colours have been kept clean, light and airy with a splash of gilt and plush furnishings. Stay in the Bette Davis room (pictured) which is reportedly the room the actor stayed in on the night of her last public appearance.
The brainchild of Paul Dubrule and Gerard Pelisson, the first Novotel opened in Lille Lesquin, France in 1967. As you can tell from the picture, it paid homage to 1960s and 1970s decor.
Based on the American model for business travellers in France, the hotel chain aimed to create a new business model for hotels in Europe. Its first Novotel abroad was at Neuchatel in Switzerland in 1972.
In comparison to today's hotels, rooms were very basic but functional. They contained a TV and small touches like flowers to make guests feel welcome.
Lounges and bars were fashionably decorated to accommodate business travellers who might want to relax with colleagues after meetings. There was nothing like it in Lille at the time.
Now part of the Accor Group, Novotel has more than 500 hotels in 60 countries. Highlighting a strong "family spirit", the brand offers interactive games rooms in its hotels, welcome gifts for children, child-friendly menus and fitness and spa facilities for adults. It's a far cry from the basic offerings in the 1960s.
Built in 1904 – long before it was a Sheraton hotel – the Diana Majestic was the only purpose-built hotel in Milan, Italy. However, it really took off in the 1970s when the Italian city came into its own as a fashion capital. The interiors were effortlessly cool and everyone wanted to be there, particularly to take aperitivo in the spacious gardens.
Just like in Milan's Diana Majestic, elegance is at the forefront of Sheraton's 400-plus hotels and resorts worldwide. This Art Deco beauty in London's prestigious Park Lane area has been owned by Sheraton since the 1990s, but wasn't officially branded until 2016 after a huge refurbishment. The Silver Gallery, the grand entrance to the hotel's Grade II-listed ballroom, was restored by expert Italian craftsmen and continues to wow its guests. Pictured here is the hotel's Art Deco Palm Court, where afternoon tea is served.
When it opened in Edinburgh in 1903, The Princes Street Station Hotel, re-christened The Caledonian Station Hotel, was part of a new era of luxury hotels in Scotland. Bought by Waldorf Astoria's parent company Hilton in 2000 (before a multimillion-pound restoration put it within the luxury flagship Waldorf Astoria brand in 2011), ‘The Caley’ as it's known to locals, was a breathtaking landmark with a distinctive red sandstone exterior. There was a marble hall, gold ceiling and gilt-topped marble columns. Gene Kelly once did a few dance steps down the famous Grand Staircase.
Today, the old station concourse and ticket office have been transformed into the famous Peacock Alley, where guests enjoy afternoon tea and fine dining. The hotel overlooks Edinburgh Castle and retains its yesteryear charm with hand-painted walls and a nod to the people who served there. One of the suites is named after Billy Garioch, a concierge who worked there for 50 years.