The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-08
THE DE SOTO'S LESSEES.
WATSON s. POWERS OF THE PU-
LAsKI GET THE NEW HOTEL

New Lessees Contract for Fifteen
Years-New Furnishings to be Put
In, and Many Additions to be Made
to the Handsome Property-rhe Pu-
laski to be Disposed OF.
The De Soto was leased yesterday
to Watson & Powers OF the Pulaski House
for a term of fifteen years. The contract
was closed at o'clock yesterday afternoon,
Watson s. Powers signing it as a firm and
individually as lessees, and II. N. Conner as
president, and C. A. Reitze, as secretary,
on the part Of the Savannah Hotel Com
pany.
The keys will be turned over to the
lessees at O'Clock this morning
They propose to open the hotel Monday,
Nov. 5, and it is their Intention to keep it
open all the year. They say that
Savannah has attained that growth
and commercial importance which
fully justifies keeping a flrst-class
hotel open the year round They pointed to
their register to show that on Sunday four
pages were filed, and they were compelled,
with great reluctance, to turn people OIL,
although the Pulaski was enlarged last win
ter.
THE LEssEEs' PLANS.
The new lessees were asked as 10 their
plans for the conduct of the De Soto, and
they replied that they propose to make 1t IN
cuisine and service second to none IN the
United States. They will sublet the Pu-
laski, so that all their attention may be
undoubtedly given to the new hotel sew
eral applications for the Pulaski have al
ready been received by them from hotel
men who had learned that they were bidding
for the De Soto.
"We expect to secure the most expert
enced hotel people in the country as en-
ployes," said Mr.. Powers. 1.-THE heads of
the departments will be from among the
best We know them all, and will have our
pick. A hotel like the De Soto should have
everything TO correspond, and we will ne
glect no detail to bring every department
of the house up to the high standard Of the
house itself. We shall especially look after
the cuisine and service, which are the main
things to be looked after. as the finest hotel
will not attract the travelling public il there
is any lack in that direction"
TO ADD NEW FURNISHINGS.
"Do you propose to make any additions
to the outfit or surrounding'sr They re-
piled that they would expend about $25, 900
In silverware, chinaware, glassware,
crockery and linen. "We shall give an
order within five days for imported deco
rated china for the table, which will have
The linen we shall also import TO order
with the De Soto woven in the fabric.
In addition to this we shall add about
81 800 worth Of rugs of American manu-
facture, to the house.
There are some improvements to be made
to the parade, among which we shall have
q fountain erected and will beautify and
ornament the grounds so that the exterior
surroundings will be in keeping with the
building itself
1--WE shall open an office in New York
city before the beginning of the tourist sea-
son, where plans of the house can be seen,
and we think that we can let forty to fifty
suites of rooms before we open. In fact, we
are already assured of having twenty fam
lilies from the north TO take suites of rooms by
Jan. 10 for the winter, as the parties have
expressed themselves enraptured with the
climate of Savannah, its beautiful drives
and general advantages, and they say the
DE Soto has made 1t possible for them to
winter south where they can have all the
conveniences of a metropolitan city without
the discomforts of a rigorous winter"
TO TAKE IN THE RESORTS.
Mr.. Powers will leave for the summer
resorts of the north in a few days to thor
oughly advertise the De Soto for the winter.
de will make the round o.. the resorts from
Atlantic City to the higlanGS of the Hud-
son, visiting Saratoga, Lake George, the
Thousand Islands, the White mountains,
Newport, and in fact all of the prin-
cipal mountain resorts and watering places
of the coast, the lake region and the St.
Lawrence. While on his advertising tour
be Will also have an eye to engaging the best
hotel people for the heads of the different
departments of the De Soto. The hotel will
be opened on Monday, Nov. 3, by hop.
There were quite number Of applicants
for the lease of the new hotel, but the sue
of Watson N PnVyarg nc hQfpl m va
them the advantage, and the directors of
the hotel company congratulate them
selves that the De Soto is to come under
the management of such experienced land
lords.
THE HOTEL FIRM.
W. j. Watson, senior partner Of the firm,
will superintend the cuisine, and as he has
been caterer all his life that all-important
department will be in experienced hands.
AS matter of fact, MIR. Watson was born
and reared in hotel. He was steward and
manager Of the Hotel Kawterskill, in the
Catskill mountains, for two years, for two
years steward and manager of the Prospect
Park hotel in the Catskills, and for thirteen
years caterer and manager of the Charleston
hotel in Charleston. He is the senior part
ner in the conduct of the Pulaski, of which
he is now and has been since May, 1887, the
caterer.
R. W. Powers. the junior member OF the
nrm, Will have charge or the office of the
De Soto, and will superintend the front of
the hotel. He has been in the hotel business
for quarter Of century and has had a
wide experience in the leading hotels in
New York, Philadelphia and on the
Jersey coast He was connected
with the old Park hotel in New York
in 1870, and from there he went to
the Astor house. In 1876 he opened the
Continental hotel in New York He was
also connected with the Lafayette hotel In
Philadelphia, and was for seven summers
at the Monmouth hotel at Spring Lake
beach, the leading hotel on the Jersey coast
He was for seven years chief clerk of the
Charleston hotel at Charleston, s. c., which
position he resigned, and came to Savannah
with Mr.. Watson, when they leased the
Pulaski.
IN EXPERIENCED HANDS
Their ten years. connection with the
hotels at Charleston and Savannah. and
their long experience in the hotels at the
summer resorts of the north have made
them acquainted with both the northern
and southern tourist travel and with the
commercial travel, 30 that they will be at
home in the De Soto, and the travelling
public will be at home with them.
Last night there was a continual drop
ping-in at the Pulaski Of merchants on the
Bay to congratulate the new lessees Of the
De Soto.