Preservation Connecticut has partnered with Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide to offer you, our members, discounts off best available rates at participating hotels using the promo code NHP. Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation® for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels. One hotel that Preservation Connecticut members will appreciate and want to plan a weekend getaway to visit is Water’s Edge Resort and Spa.
A member of Historic Hotels of America since 2017, the story of the Water’s Edge Resort and Spa dates to the 1920s. Adolf Knothe (a native New Yorker) was a prominent manufacturer of men’s clothing. Desiring to own a vacation retreat for his family to use, he and his wife, Jennie, purchased approximately 14 acres of undeveloped land in Westbrook. The couple built a magnificent beachside home just moments away from the water. They designed the house with Shingle-style architecture as a way of capturing the New England charm that they so dearly wanted to enjoy. The Knothes adored their cottage so much that they eventually turned it into their year-round residence. Unfortunately, the Great Depression severely compromised the financial stability of the Knothes’ clothing store. Due to the collapse of their business by the economic calamity, Adolf and Jennie were forced to find a buyer for their beloved home.
After years of searching for a suitable heir, the Knothes made a deal to sell their residence to a 29-year-old man named Bill Hanh in 1940. Hanh was a New York transplant who had moved to Westbrook to work for the Castlebrook Inn. Starting out as a waiter, Hanh had impressively worked his way up to serve as the inn’s manager. Nevertheless, Hanh desired to operate his own hotel one day. As such, he decided to transform the Knothe family estate into a brilliant seaside resort. Bill specifically hoped that his fantastic retreat would rival the great Grand Dames of the Catskills and the Poconos. Partnering with his sister, Ruth, the young man spent months transforming the structure into his dream resort. When the facility finally opened as “Bill Hanh’s” on Memorial Day in 1941, it became an overnight sensation. To accommodate the burst in popularity, the Hanhs soon added additional amenities like, a greenhouse, a movie theater, and several guest houses. Bill and Ruth endeared themselves with their guests, as their extravagant parties became the stuff of legend. Among the famous guests to attend the celebrations were Barbra Streisand, Katherine Hepburn, and Henny Youngman. Bill also used the occasion as an opportunity to raise money for the American Cancer Society, to which he gave a grand total of $1 million throughout his lifetime. He was later honored as the state’s largest fundraiser, giving just as much away as he earned.
Admired throughout the community, the eccentric Bill Hahn died on Easter Sunday in 1979. Committed to keeping her brother’s legacy alive, Ruth attempted to run the resort by herself. Yet, her efforts proved to be short-lived as she, too, died a few months later. With no one left to operate the resort, it shuttered its doors. Upon sitting dormant for long period of time, a corporation named “DGG Properties” bought the entire location for $1.6 million in 1982. The company was a partnership of three New York-based real estate investors consisting of Michael Dattilo, Fred Graziano, and Joseph Guarasci. Together, they immediately began restoring the entire structure with the intent on reopening it as the “Four Seasons Resort and Health Spa.” But nearly half-way through the renovations, the men decided to convert and make way for part of the location into a condominium community. Meanwhile, the remaining historic buildings were thoroughly refurbished. After nearly four years, the resort debuted as the “Water’s Edge Resort and Spa” Connecticut’s first ever time-share resort.
Since then, the Water’s Edge Resort and Spa has provided outstanding luxury service to the throngs of visitors. Today this exquisite Westbrook, Connecticut beach resort boasts nearly 100 guestrooms and suites in the main hotel, 68 seaside villas, and a four-bedroom and five-bedroom beachfront cottage all for any traveler to enjoy. The resort offers charming oceanfront views with perfectly landscaped gardens, acres of grounds overlooking the water, a private white sand beach, four restaurants, live entertainment, and a full-service spa.
Water’s Edge Resort and Spa is offering all Preservation Connecticut members a 10% off discount off their stay using the promo code NHP on historichotels.org.
