Biltmore Hotel

Lonely Planet review

In the most opulent neighborhood of one of the showiest cities in the world, the Biltmore peers down her nose and says, 'Hrmph.' It's one of the greatest of the grand hotels of the American Jazz Age, if this joint was a fictional character from a novel, it'd be, without question, Jay Gatsby. The history of this landmark reads like an Agatha Christie novel on speed. Al Capone had a speakeasy here, and the Capone Suite is still haunted by the spirit of Fats Walsh, murdered here.

Back in the day, imported gondolas transported celebrity guests like Judy Garland and the Vanderbilts. Because, of course, the Biltmore had its own canal system out the back.

That's all gone, but the largest hotel pool in the continental USA, which resembles a Sultan's water garden from One Thousand & One Nights , is still here. The lobby is the real kicker: grand, gorgeous, yet surprisingly un-gaudy, it's like a child's fantasy of an Arab castle crossed with a Medici villa. Outside, the palatial grounds are popular spots for quincenera shoots, when 15-year old Latino girls get to play princess for a day.