ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Step inside one of the South's grand historic hotels with this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Travel with Terri" Podcast. On location in downtown Mobile, Alabama, travel journalist Terri Guthrie sits down in the lobby of the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel & Spa with General Manager Margo Gilbert, who has led the hotel since 2004.
Margo shares the hotel's remarkable story: built in 1852, lost to fire in 1905, rebuilt in 1908, shuttered in 1974, and brought back to life as a Historic Hotels of America member and AAA Four Diamond property. You'll hear about the two-story lobby and its hand-painted trompe l'oeil portraits, the whispering arch where there are "no secrets in the lobby," and the Crystal Ballroom, where Mobile locals still stop by to remember their proms.
Terri also explores the amenities: 238 rooms, restaurants and bars, a 10,000-square-foot European spa, a pool deck with pickleball and tennis, and a location right on the Mardi Gras parade route. Along the way, Margo shares the movie stars who have stayed here, and Terri explains why this one is now a favorite.
This episode is part of Terri's Mardi Gras Train series along Amtrak's route from New Orleans to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Mobile. Coming up next: what to see and do in Mobile.
LINKS & RESOURCES:
- Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel & Spa: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mobbr/
- Start the series with Knox Ross of the Southern Rail Commission: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/mardi-gras-train-gulf-coast-amtrak
- Last time, Bay St. Louis by Train: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/bay-st-louis-mississippi-mardi-gras-train
- Plan your ride on the Mardi Gras Train: https://www.amtrak.com/mardigras
TRAVEL WITH TERRI
- Travel with Terri on Big Blend Radio: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/travel-with-terri
- Travel with Terri: https://www.travelwithterri.com
- The Luxe Explorer Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.travelwithterri.com/magazine
