POINT CLEAR, Ala. — The Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa has again been recognized in an annual national readers’ choice travel awards program, this time landing in the top three of two separate lists.
It marks the fourth consecutive year the Grand has appeared on the list of best waterfront hotels in the country and the eighth straight year on the list of best historic hotels. The resort has finished in the top five each time, but this year’s No. 2 ranking is the highest it has ever achieved.
Modern amenities, preserved character
The Grand has undergone modernization aimed at making the property more practical and comfortable for contemporary guests, but the hotel’s sense of history remains evident throughout — carried through the themes in guest rooms and common areas rather than confined to a display case in a lobby.
That balance is the harder trick in historic hospitality. Properties that modernize too aggressively lose the character that brought guests in the first place; those that do not modernize enough lose the guests. Eight consecutive years on a historic hotels list suggests the Grand has found a workable equilibrium.
What the resort offers
As described in the awards program: “A bastion of Southern tradition and military heritage, Grand Hotel spreads 550 acres near the mouth of Mobile Bay. Rich in amenities, it offers guests two 18-hole golf courses, a full-service spa, a multitude of dining and drinking venues, croquet, tennis, pickleball, and a 36-slip marina.”
What it means for the Eastern Shore
Recognition of this kind carries weight well beyond the property line. The Grand functions as an anchor for tourism across the Eastern Shore, drawing visitors who then spend time and money in Fairhope, Daphne and the surrounding communities. National awards driven by reader voting are also a reasonably durable form of marketing, since they reflect guest sentiment rather than an advertising buy.
The Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa is located in Point Clear on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay.