As usual, there will be a gala party at the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst this New Year's Eve. There will be champagne, music, dining and dancing — all the festivities associated with the changing of the year. But this year's party will be bigger and better, because a milestone will be celebrated.

Say “happy birthday” to the hotel — the queen of the south — which turns 100 on Jan. 1. And like all grand dames, she doesn't show her age.

It was a festive, long-awaited party on the same day in 1901 when James Walker Tufts, who had purchased the land for Pinehurst in 1895, saw his dream come true with the opening of a luxury hotel that would be the centerpiece of his new resort.

The four-story hotel, then as now, was a showplace of elegance and dignity. It had 250 rooms and boasted state-of-the art facilities that included a telephone in every room, private baths, electric lights, steam heat, velvet carpets and an elevator. The main dining room could seat as many as 500 people.

One of the nation's richest men, John D. Rockefeller, checked in for a two-week stay and forked over $21 a week for a room and meals. The golf course charged 75 cents per round, $3 for a week or $15 for the season.

The hotel was an immediate success as Pinehurst, under the guidance of famed Scotsman Donald Ross, began to grow as a popular golf resort. But there was more than golf in this swanky new resort in North Carolina's Sandhills. Sharing the spotlight were tennis, archery, equestrian activities, lawn bowling and croquet. There was also a swimming pool and a putting green on the five-acre site in the middle of the quaint village that was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, creator of Central Park in New York City as well as the landscaping for the Biltmore House in Asheville.

By 1911, a 65-room addition had been built in a connecting wing as the hotel prospered and attracted notables from around the world. Today, guests can stroll down the spacious halls off the main lobby and see historic photographs of Annie Oakley, Will Rogers, Bing Crosby and numerous other celebrities, along with such golfing greats as Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Over the years, the Carolina weathered two world wars, numerous recessions and four owners. In the process, it had more facelifts than an aging movie star as it sought to maintain its beauty, charm and elegance.

There was even a name change that lasted about 25 years when Diamondhead Corp., which bought the resort from the Tufts family in the early 1970s, decided it should be called the Pinehurst Hotel. There was much furor at the time as many voiced their displeasure in the breaking of an honored tradition.

The new name, though not popularly received, stuck until last year when the present owners decided “to return to our roots,” says public relations director Stephen Boyd. That motion received a resounding second by those who have loved the hotel and its treasured past.

“I am glad they changed the name back to its original name,” says 89-year-old Ralph Gacoma, who has worked at the hotel as a bellman since 1939. “The old name is more meaningful to me and a lot of our guests.”

The hotel, rated Four Diamonds and Four Stars by two major associations that rank such, now has 210 rooms and 12 suites. “Over the years, we have enlarged rooms, added baths and modernized the facility,” says general manager Clyde Smith. The Carolina has 320 employees, three dining rooms and a 23,600-square-foot conference center for meetings. The hotel is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Rates have gone up a bit since the opening a hundred years ago, but there are numerous packages for golf and other recreational activities, including New Year's Eve when the last night of a guest's stay will revert to $2.50. The hotel will feature period antiques and dress during the centennial celebration.

Maybe you can't make it that night, but do yourself a favor and make it another night. The Carolina Hotel deserves the attention.

By the way, I want to correct an error in my October column, when I wrote about the Shelton Vineyards and Winery, just of Interstate 77 on Twin Oaks Road near Dobson. It boasts a 33,000-square-foot building, not 3,300, as reported.


Return to magazine index