OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Mark Twain Stayed Here
Two gold rush era hotels return to glitz , glamour and grandeur
STORY AND PHOTOS BY Steve Martarano
Amber Woosley maintains the bar at the historic Golden Gate Saloon at the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley .
Mark Twain was a frequent guest at both hotels , as was world-famous entertainer Lola Montez and several U . S . presidents . Gamblers , bootleggers and other personalities of the booming California gold rush roamed their rumored-to-be-haunted hallways .
The 169-year-old Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley and the 165-year-old National Exchange Hotel in Nevada City , located about 4 miles apart on Highway 20 in Nevada County , have survived fires and floods , ownership changes and structural decline in their long , storied histories . Today , both are fully restored and experiencing a rebirth .
The renovation projects , taken on by Santa Barbara-based Acme Hospitality , provided a unique opportunity to simultaneously restore two landmark properties , significantly changing the downtowns of both historic foothill cities .
24 comstocksmag . com | June 2021