JetBlue’s 25 for 25 challenge was exactly what it sounds like: fly JetBlue into 25 different airports before the end of 2025 to celebrate JetBlue’s 25th anniversary. The flights were the point. Richmond happened to be a city I needed, and the routing that got me there was built around maximizing city collection rather than comfort. I left Dallas/Fort Worth on a Friday evening positioning flight on Spirit Airlines to Fort Lauderdale, overnighted at a La Quinta near the airport, then hopped on JetBlue the next morning to Charleston. From Charleston, a Delta connection took me to Boston. From Boston, JetBlue to Richmond. I touched down at RIC at 9:11 PM on Saturday, October 25th.
The Jefferson Hotel opened on October 31, 1895, and is Virginia’s answer to the grand American hotel. In my last post, subtitled “We stayed at the craziest hotel, and can’t wait to go back!” I mentioned that 12 U.S. presidents had stayed at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California. Well, thirteen U.S. presidents have stayed here: Harrison, McKinley, Wilson, Coolidge, Taft, both Roosevelts, Truman, Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton, and Obama. The longer guest list includes Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Charles Lindbergh, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The building, much like the Mission Inn, nearly didn’t survive. When it closed, around 1980, director Louis Malle filmed My Dinner With Andre in the Grand Ballroom. The Federal government then moved to purchase the property at auction with plans to demolish it to make way for a Federal Reserve Bank. A local developer outbid them, and a $34 million (about $117 million today) restoration followed with The Jefferson reopening in 1986.
The Beaux-Arts lobby literally stops you cold when you walk in. There’s a grand staircase, The Palm Court, and marble everywhere. But first, you meet the alligators.
The alligators. In the early 1900s, travelers returning from Florida brought baby alligators home as pets. When they outgrew the bathtub, guests left them at the hotel’s marble ponds. The last one, Old Pompey, lived here until his death in 1948. His bronze statue still stands outside near the valet stand.
The staircase feels like you’ve seen it before. The hotel’s white marble 36-step grand staircase is widely believed to be the architectural blueprint for the iconic staircase in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind. Stand at the bottom and look up. You will see it immediately.
The statue of Thomas Jefferson was saved on a mattress. A wire fire in 1901 destroyed 60 percent of the building. Staff managed to rescue the life-sized hand-carved marble statue of Thomas Jefferson by shoving it onto a mattress and dragging it to safety. The statue’s head snapped off in the chaos. It was reattached. The statue still stands in the Palm Court today.
The Tiffany windows that were hidden during World War II. The Palm Court features nine original stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. When mandatory city blackout regulations went into effect during the war, the windows were removed and hidden away to protect them.
The ghosts. Guests on the fourth floor have reported lights turning on by themselves. Contractors working on renovation projects have reported an unexplained run of bad luck on the job site. Believe what you want, I have noted the fourth floor.
I booked through American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts and stacked my I Prefer Titanium status on to extend my benefits. Here is what that combination produced for a one-night stay:
The upgrade landed me in Room 504. On the fifth floor, with elevated views over downtown Richmond, a marble bath, plush robe, Molton Brown toiletries, Nespresso machine, and evening turndown service. After Spirit Airlines, a La Quinta airport hotel, and four flights in two days, walking into that room required a moment to take it in. I was tired and forgot to take photos of the room.
Sunday morning, I had breakfast at TJ’s Restaurant and Lounge, not Lemaire. A practical detail for challenge travelers: TJ’s and Lemaire share the same breakfast menu. TJ’s is the casual option, but still white-tablecloth and full of church-goers. If you packed for two days in a carry-on and don’t bring anything resembling business casual, TJ’s is where you want to be. No jacket required.
I ordered the Rotunda Breakfast: two eggs scrambled hard, sourdough toast with butter, and a Mixed Berry-Banana Smoothie, along with a coffee with cream and sugar. The menu has a range. The blue crab egg white omelet, the Cinnamon Brioche French Toast with mixed berry compote and creme chantilly, Eggs Benedict with Virginia country ham. There is a Bloody Mary on the menu made with Texas Beach mix and Bowman’s Virginia vodka if the occasion calls for it.
The complimentary breakfast for two is part of the Amex FHR benefit. Combined with the $100 F&B credit applied to room service lunch before my 4 PM checkout, the food and beverage perks alone covered a substantial portion of a day’s dining at a five-star property.
Between my room service lunch and checkout, I had the hotel’s car service drop me off in Carytown. This is Richmond’s main independent shopping and dining corridor, which runs along West Cary Street, about a mile and a half from The Jefferson. It’s filled with independent boutiques, restaurants, and murals.
One of the most interesting stops in Carytown is Babe’s of Carytown, which opened in 1978 and is the oldest lesbian bar on the East Coast and the second-oldest in the country.
Richmond has layers I didn’t expect.
The gift shop downstairs near the rotunda. Staff there know the full alligator story and can walk you through it. Complimentary coffee and tea are also available there every morning, not in the main lobby. You have to ask.
TJ’s Bar closes at 11 PM. I arrived after 9 PM, after four flights. The bar was open. Barely. If your routing runs late, factor that in.
My four flights that weekend were for the challenge. Richmond was a city I needed, but the stay was booked knowing I would arrive late and tired, and wanting something that met the moment.
It delivered. Stacking Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts with I Prefer Titanium at a property like The Jefferson Hotel produced great value for one night: a room upgrade to the fifth floor, complimentary breakfast, a $100 food and beverage credit that covered room service lunch, and a guaranteed 4 PM checkout that converted a rushed overnight into a full Sunday in Richmond. I enjoyed breakfast at TJ’s, a walk through Carytown, and room service lunch with views over downtown. Nineteen hours in Richmond left me feeling great and wanting more.
For budget travelers who want to splurge, The Jefferson Hotel can even be booked with Choice Privileges points through their partnership with I Prefer, with rates starting at 56,000 points/night. Choice Privileges points can be transferred from a number of bank ecosystems:
With a transfer from Wells Fargo or a Citi premium card, the nightly rate starts at just 28,000 points – for a 5-star hotel.
A final note: The hotel has two sister properties that will be familiar to the well-traveled: Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, SC, and The Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, SC.
The Jefferson Hotel | 101 West Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23220 | Front Desk: 804-649-4750. Reservations: 888-918-1895 | jeffersonhotel.com
Learn + Earn + Burn + Churn
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Amex Fine Hotels Resorts I Prefer Titanium JetBlue 25 For 25 Richmond Virginia The Jefferson Hotel Virginia
You must be logged in to post a comment.