Texas' Only Historic Beachfront Hotel to Celebrate 100 Years in 2011

PR Log (Press Release) – Oct 06, 2009 – Hotel Galvez, A Wyndham Historic Hotel, today announced it will launch a year-long celebration commemorating its 100 years of operation with a New Year’s Eve Ball on Dec. 31, 2010.

Monthly events include unveiling a new Hall of History, a group wedding vow renewal event, a bathing beauty revue and a classic movie, featuring former hotel guest Frank Sinatra, shown on the hotel’s lawn. During the opening anniversary weekend in June, the hotel plans to host a day of concerts on the lawn followed by a fireworks display over the Gulf of Mexico. As the summer continues, the hotel will commemorate the birthday of the hotel’s namesake, Bernardo de Gálvez, on July 23, complete with a Spanish-themed wine dinner and Spanish entertainment. In the fall, the hotel plans to host a special dinner and casino night featuring popular big band music and celebrating the history of the legendary Balinese Room, a Spanish cultural evening in honor of Bernardo de Gálvez; a Ghosts of Galvez Halloween Ball; a holiday lighting celebration and a special event affiliated with Galveston Historical Foundation’s Dickens on The Strand holiday celebration.

In preparation for the hotel’s 100th anniversary in 2011, hotel owners Cynthia and George Mitchell and the Mitchell family plan to replace the Gulf facing windows with operable, divided light windows reminiscent of the hotel’s original design as well as to update the guest rooms with a new décor including new furniture, bedding, drapes and flat screen televisions.  

When Hotel Galvez opened in 1911, Galveston had just finished building its 17-foot Seawall to protect the Island and its grade raising project which raised the grade of land as well as hundreds of buildings from their original level to make them less susceptible to flooding in the event of future storms.  The Causeway had been completed, now connecting Galveston Island to the mainland. All of these accomplishments were part of the Island’s recovery following the Great Storm of 1900. William H. Taft was President of the United States and the cost of a postage stamp was two cents.

A group of businessmen pooled their resources and raised $1 million to build Hotel Galvez and the hotel opened on June 10, 1911 at 6 p.m. Hotel Galvez still stands as a symbol of Galveston Island’s resilience in the face of disaster. This elegant beachfront hotel was immediately proclaimed “Queen of the Gulf” and within a year of opening, it was deemed the “best arranged and most richly furnished seaside hotel in America” by Hotel Monthly.

The Hotel Galvez, A Wyndham® Historic Hotel and a National Trust Historic Hotel of America, remains the only historic beachfront hotel in Galveston. The Hotel Galvez is rated four diamonds by AAA and is part of Mitchell Historic Properties. For room reservations, call (800) WYNDHAM, or visit www.WyndhamHotelGalvez.com.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC, and its affiliates, subsidiaries of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), offer upscale hotel and resort accommodations throughout the United States, Europe, China, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. All hotels are either franchised or managed by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC or an affiliate. For more information, visit www.wyndham.com.

Images available in the Pressroom: www.mitchellhistoricproperties.com