Mean Queen’s Castle
Leona and Harry Helmsley were New York real estate moguls who owned the Empire State Building and the Park Lane Hotel. In 1981, Harry gave Leona the Helmsley Palace Hotel. Leona starred in TV ads for the hotel as the “Queen of her Palace.”
Staff nicknamed her “The Queen of Mean” due to her legendary rudeness and her habit of firing anyone who crossed her.
Builders went to the press after she refused to pay them. They claimed she had charged the cost of repairs at her private home to the hotel, thereby avoiding tax. Leona was tried for federal income tax evasion in 1989. At her trial, employees lined up to give evidence against her. A housekeeper claimed that Leona had said: “Only little people pay taxes.”
Leona was convicted of three counts of tax evasion and other related counts and served 19 months in prison. The Queen of Mean died at age 87 and left $4 billion to charity.
Cold Comfort
Photo credit: icehotel.com
In the Swedish village of Jukkasjarvi, 200 kilometers (124 mi) north of the Arctic Circle, stands the ICEHOTEL. It has 1-meter-thick (3 ft) walls constructed with ice from the Torne River. Every year, it melts away and is rebuilt in a different design. Around 40 artists are selected to carve spectacular ice sculptures.
If you choose a “cold” room, the temperature is -5 degrees Celsius (23 °F). Guests sleep on a bed made of compacted snow and ice, topped with reindeer skin. There is the option of a “warm” room where you can admire the frozen art minus the chill.
Diana’s Final Hours
Photo credit: Moonik
The Ritz Paris overlooks the Place Vendome. Since 1898, it has hosted guests such as Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, Cole Porter, and Coco Chanel. During World War II, the Nazis occupied Paris and took over the hotel. Staff promptly smuggled out fine wines and hid them in a secret cave on the Left Bank.
After the death of Charles Ritz in 1976, the hotel was sold to Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian businessman, in 1979. In 1997, Princess Diana began dating his son, Dodi. One night, the couple dined at the Ritz and was pursued by photographers. They made a last-minute decision to leave for Dodi’s apartment. Henri Paul, deputy head of security at the Ritz, personally drove them. Their Mercedes hit the 13th pillar of the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, killing all three.
At the inquest into her death in 2007, coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker released footage from the Ritz’s 43 security cameras. One of the last images of the couple shows them in the hotel’s gold-mirrored elevator with Diana smiling and relaxed.
The hotel was closed for four years in 2012 for a refurbishment costing 200 million euros.
Death In Vegas
Photo credit: Cyberdoomslayer
Stephen Paddock, 64, arrived in Las Vegas in late September 2017. He checked into Suite 135 (and later Suite 134 as well) on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. On October 1, from the 32nd floor, he carried out the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Fifty-eight people died, and 851 were injured as they gathered for a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.
At 10:05 PM, shots were heard and automatic gunfire was captured on video footage. Police stormed the room and found 23 weapons. Surveillance cameras had been set up outside his room. Paddock smashed through windows and fired 1,100 rifle rounds into the crowd below. Then he shot himself.
He was described as a millionaire property developer whose father had been on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Neighbors at his retirement community in Mesquite called him “weird.”
Hotel owner MGM Resorts filed lawsuits against more than 1,000 victims claiming that it could not be held liable for any deaths, injuries, or damages. Victims’ lawyers described it as “verging on unethical.” Litigation has now been suspended, and MGM Resorts is hoping to reach a settlement with the victims.
War And Peace
The Grand Brighton Hotel in Brighton (aka the Grand Hotel) was hosting British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party for their annual conference. It was 1984, and the IRA was at the height of its terror campaign to protest against British occupation of Northern Ireland. Plans were made to bomb the hotel with Thatcher as the target.
Patrick Magee and an unknown female checked into the Grand under false names. They requested Room 629, one floor above Thatcher’s suite and central to the hotel. A 9-kilogram (20 lb) gelignite bomb was planted behind the bath panel with a VCR timer. It was set to go off 24 days later.
The explosion ripped through the building at 2:53 AM on October 12, 1984, killing five and seriously injuring at least 30. Thatcher was unhurt and defiantly arrived at the conference to give a rousing speech. The IRA claimed responsibility, stating:
“Today, we were unlucky. But remember, we only have to be lucky once; you will have to be lucky always.
Police identified Magee’s fingerprints from his hotel registration card. He was found guilty and given eight life sentences. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace agreement, he was released in 1999.
Jo Berry is the daughter of Sir Anthony Berry, who died in the bombing. Today, Magee works with Jo’s charity Building Bridges for Peace to help resolve conflict around the world.
