St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-08-20
Saratoga.

Saratoga.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LARGE HOTELS.
The great hotels are the wonders of
Saratoga. There are four-the United
States, the Grand Union, Congress Hall,
and the Windsor. The former is the
most aristOcratic. The "big bugs" stop
there-that is, the men who are sup
posed to have the biggest piles of
money. The Grand Union is the largest,
but its patrons are shade or two below
the patrons of "the States" The
estates" covers six acres of ground, has
9l7 rooms, is l, 400 feet in length, has
nearly half a mile of piazzas, and can
accommodate 200 guests. During
the great boat race in 1875 it had for
day or two 1,500 guest. 1t has %
cottages, 3 stories high, accommodating
6 to 30 people each. 1t was built in
1928, opened in 1874, and cost $780,
600. 1t was paid for by issuing bonds,
but before it was completed the COM
pany failed, and the bondhOlders rep
resenting S400,0O bought up the other
$500, 900 at so cents on the dollar, and
took possession of the property. The
hotel was rented in 1875 for $780, 900, in
1879 for $50, 600, and this year for $780,
600. Four men rent it, three of whom
reside in Saratoga and the fourth in
New York City. They divided $780,
600 among them in 1879, and this year
will divide as much more. The $780,,
900 rent, after paying taxes, insurance
and repairs, goes to the bondhOlders.
The hotel is built in elegant style, and
is furnished in the most elegant manner.
Nothing about it is of cheap character.
One can readily see that a hotel de-
signed to please the most wealthy and
fastidious of summer visitors must be
not only furnished in the best manner,
but must be conducted in a manner to
correspond. The season opens June 10
and closes Oct. l, and during these ITO
days nothing that money and ingenuity
can devise to make the guests comfort
able and contented is spared. The
charge is SIS day for each guest, but
the best rooms command a still higher
price. Some of them command $25 a
week extra. The cottages are occupied
by such money kings and celebrities as
VIM. H. Vanderbilt, August Belmont,
H. B. Claflin, VIM. o. Roberts and
Sheriff O'Brien, of New York City. The
establishment has $50 colored walters,
all of whom come from New York and
Philadelphia. There are also 300 white
help of all kinds. Fifty hands work in
the kitchen, and five do nothing but
keep the court yard in order. Every
stray piece of paper is Immediately
picked up and removed. The help get
from SIS to $3.50 month. The head
cook gets 5000 month. Fifty of the
white help come from New York City,
and the others are picked up in SaratO-
ga and the surrounding region. The
meats and fish used in this hotel all
come from New York City, also most of
the fruit and groceries. Counting each
visitor for every day spent in the hotel
in 1878, there were nearly $4,000 Wis
itors that year. Some idea of what it
costs to run this immense hotel may be
gathered from the following list of the
articles consumed during the season of
1873, when the number of guests was
about the same az in 1879 :-Consumed
2S2 barrels of -four, Al barrels of coffee,
1900 lbs. of tea, 100 barrels of sugar, of
which 81 were powdered, 35 cut loaf,
and IA A 1000 quarts of cream, all
from one farm ; 1900 quarts of milk,
all from another farm 20,906 dozen
eggs, 81 ,06I lbs. butter, %, 500 lbs. of
fish, including 5000 lbs. of Kennebec
salmon, $4,000 lbs. spring chickens, g.
376 lbs. turkeys and fowls, 81 900 lbs.
ham, bacon and tongue, 5000 lbs. veal,
16, ,450 lbs. lamb, %, 500 lbs. mutton o.
500 lbs. beef, vegetables to the value of
$4,000, canned goods to the value of
$4,000, lambs fry, calves liver, sweet
bread, calves heads, etc, to the value
of $I,700, fruits to the value of $4,000.
Total cost of food for the season, S73,-
863. The ice used in the hotel cost
81 $50, charcoal $3.50, hard coal 81 $50;
crOckery, glass ware, wooden ware,
soap, kitchen utensils, etc., $4,000
freight and express, $3,5O0. All these
expenses amounted to $63,694. Then
there was the cost Of the help, swelling
the expenses for the season to over
100000. The meats are the very
incest. None but loin and porter
house steaks are used. The crOckery,
furniture, and everything used is kept
in perfect order, and whenever piece
of crOckery is Clipped or an article in
jured it is at once cast aside. What is
true of this hotel in its general man
agement is also true of the Grand Union.
The latter charges ministers SO day,
and probably some reduction is made
to that class by other hotel managers,
as it is considered an object to secure
them. Why, do not know, except as
they may be supposed to draw the
members of their flOcks after them. The
Vermont House, hotel of the third or
fourth class, always has a considerable
number of ministers, and is always full
of guests.
But L haven't finished my story about
the big hotels. The ministers came
near throwing me off the track. Each
of the three larger hotels hires a full
band of music from July 4th to Sept.
Is, and there is also a band for the
park. The refuse food from these hotels
is very large, and in single season 200
hogs have been fatted from the waste
of the United States alone. The Grand
Union is the largest hotel here, and
probably the largest in the country. 1t
has 1000 rooms, and can easily accom-
MEDIATE l,500 guests. Congress Hall
accommodates about 800, and as its
price is only $3.50 day, it is filed for
a longer time than any of the others.