The Oldest Hotel in the World
Hey, welcome to House of History. I have an absolute weakness for medieval taverns and
inns. It got me thinking - would there be some kind of record about the oldest documented
hotel in the world? And, well, yes. The oldest hotel in the world is the Nishiyama Onsen
Keiunkan. It is a Japanese hotel that opened its doors in 705, effectively making it the
oldest hotel in the world. It means the hotel has been operating for 1315 years. Its name
Keiunkan derives from the Keiun period, lasting from 704 to 708 - with the hotel opening during
its second year.
But it is even more special than that: throughout all that time it has remained within the same
family! This was possible through a form of ‘adult adoption’ that is common in Japan.
An employee that was competent enough to overtake the hotel after the owner became too old would
be adopted and become part of the owner’s family. Through this method, the hotel has
been passed from father to son for 52 generations.
The hotel lies at the foot of the Akaishi mountains in the south-east of Japan. It is
surrounded by hot water springs, which even back then were considered to have healing
qualities. That is probably the reason why the hotel was built there in the first place.
The hotel was established by Fujiwara Mahito, the son of an aide to the 38th Emperor of
Japan, Emperor Tenji. The hotel’s guest list has seen several impressive historical
figures. The famous 16th-century Samurai warlord Takeda Shingen, one of the most powerful men
during the Sengoku Jidai period, visited the inn. Another influential person in Japanese
history is Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan from
1600 until the Meji restoration in 1868.
On the wall in the hotel hangs the Guiness World Record for the oldest hotel in the world
and the location and building look very cosy. Especially during autumn with the surroundings
and red leaves, it seems like a proper idyllic Japanese setting. Unfortunately, I haven’t
been there, but I dug up some news articles and reviews to get an idea of what it looks
like inside. There are 37 rooms and a restaurant; the rooms are decorated with classic art and
the hotel staff wear nibu-Shiki kimonos, traditional Japanese clothing. Because of the hot springs
around the hotel, there is hot spring-water pumped into the hotel’s hot spring baths,
called onsen in Japanese.
Because of the COVID crisis, more recent articles about the hotel state that they are in rough
weather. Because of travel restrictions, they lost a good bunch of income, so let’s hope
they will pull through because such an old hotel with this amount of history and legacy
ought to be preserved.
Now there are multiple other hotels that have been in business for an insanely long time.
The second-oldest hotel in the world happens to be in Japan as well. It is called the Hoshi
Ryokan. It was established as a tavern in 718 in the Komatsu-area a bit in the west
of Japan. There are many warm water springs around, which are considered to have healing
qualities, and the hotel has been passed from father-to-son for the past 46 generations.
The third-oldest hotel is a bit closer to Europe. The Olde Bell Hotel is situated in
England and was established in Hurley in 1135. The hotel started as a tavern and coaching
inn, but throughout the centuries it has expanded and been renovated multiple times. It stands
at the crossroads between Edinburg and London, which made it popular for people travelling
in coaches between cities. Besides that the inn played a role during the Glorious Revolution
in the 17th century and during the second world war Dwight D. Eisenhower, the United
States General and Winston Churchill met there.
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