While military bases may have put Virginia Beach on modern maps, the city has since outgrown its reputation as a hot spot for sailors on leave. With its population of nearly a half million, several distinct neighborhoods, a vibrant culinary scene, 38 miles of shoreline, and year-round outdoor recreation, Virginia Beach is as close as you can get to an all-things-to-all-travelers destination.

The Marriott Resort Virginia Beach Oceanfront features Atlantic views from all 305 rooms and suites, on-site bike rentals, and an infinity pool that seems to float above the beach. For a cozy urban-apartment feel, book The Paradise Place apartment, near Mount Trashmore.

Looking to splurge? Stay at the Historic Cavalier Hotel & Beach Club. Nearly a century old, it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has hosted F. Scott Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Taylor, Jimmy Carter, and Muhammad Ali. In 2018, following a massive four-year renovation, the plush 85-room property reopened with color-drenched décor, an indoor pool, three restaurants, a distillery, and an enviable art collection.

The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club, a Virginia Beach icon, has earned the distinguished honor of being accepted to the National Register of Historic Places. National Register properties are chosen based on age, integrity and significance of the property to the history of their community, state or nation.

Constructed in 1927 by architect Clarence Neff, the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club is currently undergoing a 2-year renovation to be restored to its original grandeur by Gold Key | PHR Hotels & Resorts in conjunction with the architecture firm Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company and the general contractor W.M. Jordan Company.

The historic Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club will reopen in 2017 as a 5-star member of Marriott’s distinguished Autograph Collection. As part of the Autograph Collection by Marriott, the new Cavalier Grand Hotel will boast 90 guest rooms, an onsite bourbon distillery, a ballroom for lavish weddings and social events and a world class restaurant. The mixed-use plan for the overall site development also calls for an additional 85 homes, including estate homes, cottages and bungalows. These residences will be built on the expansive ocean-facing lawn of the Grand Hotel. For nearly a century, the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club has hosted beach goers and celebrities alike including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Will Rogers, and Bette Davis. The rich history of the hotel, including hosting seven U.S. Presidents, has helped the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club secure its place on The National Register of Historic Places.

“The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club is an iconic landmark. It’s no wonder it’s known as the hotel that ‘made Virginia Beach famous.’ We are honored to preserve the history while making the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club a luxury destination for decades to come,” said Bruce Thompson, the CEO of Gold Key | PHR Hotels & Resorts.

The rooms in the Cavalier will be completely gutted and rebuilt bigger. The main floor will be renovated but will feature trappings common in the early-20th century, including crystal glass pieces and phonographs. The poolside vistas and loggias, those enclosed porches that can open up to sea breezes, will also remain.

The Cavalier’s sister hotel on the oceanfront will be rebuilt and called the Oceanfront Marriott Hotel. The oceanfront hotel sits next to the Cavalier Beach Club, which opened in 1929 and will undergo a $4 million facelift. The historic Cavalier is expected to reopen in 2017; the Oceanfront Marriott is expected to open in 2018.

By Elizabeth Cooper

DEVELOPER BRUCE THOMPSON TAKES ON RENOVATION OF ONE OF HAMPTON ROADS’ MOST BELOVED HOTELS

After two decades of replacing outdated oceanfront hotels with upscale, contemporary buildings, developer Bruce L. Thompson is about to take on the biggest project of his life: a nearly $260 million plan that includes the renovation of one of Virginia Beach’s most iconic properties, The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club.

The founder and CEO of Gold Key/PHR Hotels & Resorts purchased the 86-year-old Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club earlier this summer. Sitting on a hill overlooking Atlantic Avenue with its name etched into a manicured lawn, the stately brick hotel had hosted an array of dignitaries before falling into disrepair.

By Jennifer V. Cole

Across the South, historic hotels are regaining their former grandeur. Modeled after Jefferson’s Monticello, this brick-and-stone tower opened in 1927 as a neoclassical playground for the rich and famous, catering to everyone from Bing Crosby to Elizabeth Taylor to Washington power players. Railways deposited guests just feet from the hotel, where amenities included tubs with an extra spigot to draw saltwater baths and a broker on-site with a live ticker tape from the New York Stock Exchange. Its heyday ended during World War II, when the navy took over the hotel for radar training. But this summer, the regal Cavalier is scheduled to ride again after a $75 million restoration, with special attention paid to preserving the original design elements (exterior pedestals and finials, portico columns, terrazzo floors, painted ceilings).

By Patrick Evans-Hylton

As the much anticipated reopening of The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club approaches, work is finalizing on many details, like, what’s there to eat.  Dining at the historic Oceanfront hotel, which opened 90 years ago in 1927 includes a number of properties. Overseeing them all will be Executive Chef Dan Elinan.

By Nancy Trejos

The hotel industry is thriving, with new properties popping up all over the USA. As a result, existing properties are renovating to keep up. This month, USA TODAY takes a look at notable hotel renovations.

The Cavalier in Virginia Beach

Ten U.S. Presidents and celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Muhammad Ali and Frank Sinatra have stayed at The Cavalier. (Photo: The Cavalier)

The Cavalier, a historic hotel in Virginia Beach, is set to complete a $75 million-plus restoration.

Built in 1927, the design of the hotel was inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It played host to 10 U.S. presidents and celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Muhammad Ali, and Frank Sinatra. It was also a venue for performances by Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller of the Big Band era.

Gold Key | PHR is looking to hire more people for the March 7, reopening of the The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club in Virginia Beach. Two career fairs will be held on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 at Gold Key’s Career Center at 313 Laskin Rd., Suite 103, in Virginia Beach.

Gold Key said it already has hired 125 people and still has nearly 100 associate positions available. The Virginia-Beach based hospitality management company said The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club is looking to hire experienced hospitality workers from managerial full-time employees to bar and wait staff, culinary professionals, banquet servers and housekeeping staff.

While some employees have started work, all 225 associates will begin employment at the hotel by Feb. 5, in time for its reopening the next month.

By Matt Meltzer

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: SURF PARK

Pharrell brings waves of energy to the Oceanfront Dome

For more than 20 years, the former site of the Oceanfront Dome music venue in Virginia Beach has sat as an oceanfront parking lot. The city views its development as the lynchpin in making VB a year-round tourist destination, and musician Pharrell Williams thinks he has the answer: a surf park. Last year, he and his partners entered into a deal with the city to develop a $20 million park as part of a $300 million retail development, where surfers can catch 6-foot artificial waves, 30 per hour.

Beyond the surf park, Virginia Beach has seen some other attractive new developments. The historic Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club reopened this year, and after a $75 million restoration also opened the first distillery completely set in a US hotel at Tarnished Truth. Plans for a new 880-foot concrete pier jutting out from 15th Street are also in the works, complete with a Ferris wheel. Look for Virginia Beach within a few years to be considered a primo American beach destination, a jewel on one of the country’s most underrated stretches of coast.

By Susan B. Barnes

Virginia

Reopening in March 2018 after three years and more than $80 million in renovations, The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club in Virginia Beach has hosted U.S. presidents including Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. In fact, Nixon was seen burning papers in the hotel’s oversized fireplace late at night in the middle of summer during Watergate. His daughters made some friends at the beach and invited them back to Washington, D.C. to tour the White House.

A storied seaside hotel returns to its Jazz Age glory

By Elizabeth Hutchinson

March 15, 2018

Muhammad Ali, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby all partied in the famed Crystal Ballroom at the circa-1927 Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club in Virginia Beach. Designated trains from Chicago and D.C. deposited glittering guests feet from the front door of the brick neoclassical tower perched on a grassy hill overlooking the Atlantic. Ten U.S. presidents soaked in the hotel’s claw-foot tubs outfitted with extra spigots to draw restorative salt water baths. A Prohibition-era speakeasy and casino reportedly operated out of the basement. Perhaps juiciest of all, Richard Nixon allegedly burnt the White House tapes’ missing eighteen-minutes in the fireplace of the hotel’s subterranean Hunt Room lounge. But by the early twenty-first century, the once-regal Cavalier was embroiled in a family feud and had deteriorated to the point that Stephen King’s Jack Torrance would have been right at home in its musty near-empty halls. Then in 2013, the folks at Gold Key PHR, a local hospitality and real estate management firm, purchased the aging grande dame.

Will Speros • March 16, 2018

The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club has returned to Virginia Beach following a four-year, $85 million renovation by Norfolk, Virginia-based Hanbury Architects.

The entrance has been restored with its original four-column portico and brick porte-cochère leading to the lobby, which channels the Jazz Age of the Roaring Twenties with historic elements, including soaring ceilings, sparkling fixtures, and ornate architectural moldings. Anchored by a central fireplace, the Raleigh Room merges modern style with classic Southern charm, serving as the main salon with seating, drink carts, and gaming. The indoor-outdoor eatery Becca features intimate garden seating as well as contemporary interiors, while the distillery and tasting room Tarnished Truth and the Prohibition-inspired tavern the Hunt Room serve as additional social and convivial lounges. The Hunt Room also boasts a fully rebuilt, oversized hearth that was a key fixture of its original design.

Jennifer Franklin, for Visit Virginia Beach

Virginia cities like Williamsburg and Richmond have a reputation for being historical gems, but Virginia Beach boasts a robust history all its own. Paired with a thriving arts scene and, of course, outdoor experiences on the beach itself, this coastal city is packed with history to engage every member of the family. Consider this your primer. Here are the top 10 historic sites to see on your next trip and help you start planning your own Virginia Beach itinerary, which will check all the must-have boxes on your next vacation.

March 29, 2018

by Paula C. Squires

Hospitality executive Bruce L. Thompson once told the Virginia Beach City Council that he didn’t want to be “the guy who tore the hotel down.”

These days, Thompson and his business partners are being praised as the group that saved the iconic Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club.  After nearly five years and $81 million in renovations, the historic Virginia Beach hotel officially reopened March 7.

“It could have had 3,200 units on it,” Thompson, CEO of Gold Key| PHR, a Virginia Beach-based hospitality company, told a large gathering that attended the property’s ribbon-cutting celebration.

Thompson was referring to other developers who wanted to demolish the hotel and put up high-density residential projects after a judge ordered that the property be sold in 2012. The order was aimed at resolving a lawsuit over minority shareholder rights that had been filed by warring factions of the Disthene Group, the hotel’s owner at the time.

Consider yourself armed for your next big adventure

April 16, 2018

Hannah Huber

Planning a trip can be a daunting task. Curating the perfect itinerary for a short getaway while avoiding the ever-present fear of tourist traps and gaffes can ruin a trip before it even begins. Being aware of activities and sites to skip is just as important as making time for the secret can’t-miss spots. Below are 31 destinations, with insider tips to match, to take the pain out of planning.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

Experience the historical side of Virginia Beach in the newly renovated Cavalier. Playing host to ten presidents, as well as celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, and more, this waterfront icon was built in 1927 by architect Clarence Neff and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Treat yourself to a tour of the hotel’s private onsite distillery or a game of billiards in its historic Raleigh Room and be transported to a glamorous Art Deco fantasy.

GULF SHORES, Ala. (May 15, 2018) – After a review of our entire 16 state coverage area, our editorial team selected an elite group of ten hot spot cities for winter events. We then asked our readers to vote for the hottest meeting sites within these hot spots, determining the “Hottest of the Hot”. Please see winners below. The July 2018 Issue of ConventionSouth will showcase the below sites with an editorial spotlight:

VIRGINIA BEACH
The Founders Inn & Spa
The Cavalier
Oceanaire Resort Hotel

By Candy Sagon

The grand reopening this spring of Virginia Beach’s historical Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club, following a four-year, $85 million renovation of the 91-year-old oceanfront landmark, is a fitting symbol of the city’s booming tourism business and rapidly changing culinary scene. The latest state tourism data shows that the last five years have brought record numbers of visitors to enjoy the city’s pristine beaches and family-friendly atmosphere, but the biggest changes have come from a coterie of young, innovative chefs determined to shake up the city’s staid eateries. In the laid-back Vibe district, just blocks from the busy beachfront, one can find new craft coffee shops and farm-to-fork restaurants worthy of big-city neighbors. The Cavalier is also capitalizing on the national love for craft spirits with its own working distillery for making bourbon, rye whiskey and vodka — a throwback to the hotel’s Prohibition days.

Ninety-one years after its debut, The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club reclaimed its well-deserved reputation as a luxury destination in Virginia Beach when it reopened its doors earlier this year.

Built over the course of 13 months from 1926 into 1927 to a tune of $2 million, The Cavalier was so-named as a result of a local newspaper contest, and it quickly became the place to be upon opening. Its private train depot welcomed guests non-stop from Chicago, and limousines ushered guests from the rail station, as well as from arriving steamer ships.

MAXIM Online

Jonah Flicker

September is Bourbon Heritage Month, a designation passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2007 (back when the Senate was capable of doing such a thing). 

The point is to celebrate bourbon, the indigenous American spirit that continues to be wildly popular both here and around the world. 

Here are 15 bottles you should try to get your hands on and drink right now, from an almost 30-year-old release to an affordable, new blended bourbon.

TARNISHED TRUTH 3 YEAR HIGH RYE BOURBON

Tarnished Truth Distilling Company is a small distillery located in the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club in Virginia Beach. They’ve released two bourbons sourced from MGP, a nine-year-old single barrel release and a three-year-old high rye bourbon. The distillery, which opened this past March, claims to be the only one operating inside of a U.S. hotel. At the moment, the bourbon can be purchased onsite or at retail outlets through Virginia. $63

 
Baltimore’s central location offers residents many opportunities to take quick trips by train, plane, and car in just a few hours. But how do you decide where to go? And—most importantly—how do you decide to get there, where to stay, and what to do? We spoke with the experts of Visit Virginia Beach, who shared some advice on making the perfect itinerary for a fall weekend getaway in the coastal town of Virginia Beach.

 
As the original landing spot of those who would go on to settle Jamestown and, ultimately, the English colonies that would become the United States, you could say Virginia Beach has the oldest American history of any destination. But, while there’s plenty of historical heritage to uncover here and in the surrounding region, that’s hardly the only draw. Today, Virginia Beach feels anything but old and is, instead, a bustling hub of modern culture with a vibrant art scene, a star-studded musical festival launched by hometown hero Pharrell Williams and an inspirational culinary scene marked by a laser-like focus on local, fresh ingredients with innovative preparation. From nibbles on the go to full-scale feasts, taste your way through town with these top recommendations that will help you discover the city’s most invigorating neighborhoods along the way.

 
In 1607, the very first Europeans who arrived on the Eastern Seaboard did so at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The exact location is now aptly known as the First Landing.
 
Nearly twenty miles of trails and walkways in First Landing State Park are right in Virginia Beach… [+] city limits. Virginia Beach’s historic and newly renovated Cavalier Hotel lies just a few miles from that very spot. Back in the 1920s, the Cavalier (covered in this earlier post) was the bee’s knees and today makes for a great launching point for local history, as well as for soft adventure jaunts.