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Indiana’s French Lick roars back to its place in history
Gamble, golf or just gape at the elegant historic surroundings
For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, November 16, 2008
By Las Vegas standards, Indiana’s French Lick Resort casino is small at 51,000 square feet. Gamblers who care about nothing but whether the dice are hot just stick to the huge gaming rooms of The Strip.
But most of us who visit Vegas spend as much time gawking as gaming, taking in the architectural wonders of Chihuly glass sculptures across the ceiling of the Bellagio, the giant Egyptian statues and pyramid design of the Luxor, the faux Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
French Lick Resort
The vast atrium of the West Baden Springs Hotel at French Lick Resort was dubbed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ a century ago. French Lick fell on hard times during the Great Depression, but now it’s busier and better than ever.
French Lick Resort
If an awesome sight makes you feel lucky, visit the atrium of the West Baden Springs Hotel before heading to French Lick’s casino. French Lick is a marvelous blending of the historic and the new.
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The gawking is grand at French Lick for those who like elegant, historic surroundings that are perhaps even more beautiful than when the French Lick Springs and West Baden Springs hotels were “new” at the turn of the 20th century. The resort has undergone a $500 million renovation that restored the hotels to their splendor and added modern amenities, including the casino – but the gambling is not the main draw for guests.
“The thing that sets us apart from other casinos is that we are a resort which has a casino as one of our amenities,” public relations manager Dyan Welsh said. Guests are just as likely to come for golf on two courses (three when a Pete Dye course opens in spring), spa treatments, fine dining, tennis, horseback riding, hiking and other activities.
The resort comprises 3,000 acres, with the two hotels about a mile apart and connected by a continuous shuttle. It’s situated among the rolling pastureland of northwest Kentucky and southern Indiana and the Hoosier National Forest. The resort grew up around the exalted healing waters of Pluto Mineral Springs, and guests can still take a hot springs bath, among numerous spa treatments.
The hotels share the casino, a conference center, golf courses, a 60,000-square-foot Sports & Exhibits Complex, five indoor tennis courts, a 36-horse riding stable, a six-lane bowling alley and game arcade, retail shops and 15 restaurants ranging from casual and inexpensive to formal and pricey. They also share a legacy.
A short history
The West Baden hotel, named recently to the top 75 U.S. Mainland Resorts by Conde Nast Traveler readers, is a National Historic Landmark. A hotel has been on the site since 1832, but the magnificent building that’s there today opened in 1902, touted as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” for its domed atrium spanning 200 feet in diameter. The restored hotel has 246 rooms and suites, 40 of which have balconies that open to the atrium.
Visitors who walk into the atrium or the lavishly appointed, smaller-domed lobby are overwhelmed by the hotel’s ambitious design. Architects of the day considered the circular design, and particularly the dome, impossible. Even with the evidence before you, it’s hard not to agree with them.
The hotel flourished until 1929, when the stock market crash virtually emptied it overnight of its well-heeled guests. It subsequently served as Jesuit seminary and a private college before it fell into disrepair and was closed to the public in 1989 for safety reasons. But in 1996, the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana bought the hotel and began efforts to save it.
Meanwhile, the French Lick Springs Hotel was creating its own rich history. The first hotel opened in 1845 on the site, but it didn’t really take off until Indianapolis Mayor Tom Taggart and a group of investors bought the property in 1901.
Taggart enlarged the hotel, added a golf course and began to promote the springs with nationally distributed bottles of concentrated Pluto Water. He also became Democratic Party national chairman, a role that brought politicians and their wealthy supporters to the hotel.
Unlike the West Baden, the French Lick hotel continued to operate, in part because of guests who flocked to the area for illegal gambling at casinos throughout the area though not at the hotel itself. The last illegal casino closed in 1949.
Saving the hotels
Having already approved riverboat gambling in the late 1990s, the Indiana Legislature gave the green light to casino gambling at the French Lick Springs Hotel in 2003. It closed in November 2005 for renovations and reopened along with the new casino a year later. Amenities include nine restaurants, two pools, a 27,000-square-foot spa and an ornate Beaux Arts lobby.
New construction is under way at the casino to change its facade from a riverboat theme to one that blends in with the regal historic hotel.
At the West Baden hotel, restoration resumed in summer 2006. About $35 million in work had been completed between 1996-2004 to stabilize the hotel and restore its exterior and gardens. A natatorium was reconstructed, using historic photos, to house a fitness center, two pools and 28,000-square-foot spa. The property reopened as a hotel — for the first time since 1932 — in May 2007.
Both are destinations unto themselves. You might be tempted to just marvel at their lobbies, find a rocking chair on French Lick’s veranda or stroll West Baden’s atrium. But you should explore the rest of the resort and try your luck at the casino. And join other guests in placing a bet that the hotels will be around to mark the turn of the next century.
IF YOU GO
Getting there
French Lick is about 450 miles from downtown Atlanta, about a seven-hour drive. The closest airport is in Louisville, Ky., 68 miles away.
Where to stay
The French Lick Resort’s two hotels are about a mile apart, with continuous shuttle service so guests can take advantage of amenities at both hotels. 1-888-936-9360; www.frenchlick.com
French Lick Springs Hotel. 8670 W. State Road 56, French Lick, Ind. Rates start at $129 Sundays-Thursdays, $159 Fridays-Saturdays. Pet friendly (additional fee).
West Baden Springs Hotel. 5838 W. Baden Ave., West Baden Springs, Ind. Rates start at $159 Sundays-Thursdays and $199 Fridays-Saturdays. Pet friendly (additional fee).
About the casino
The casino is at the French Lick Springs Hotel. It has 41 table games (blackjack, craps, Caribbean stud, 3-card poker), 10-seat electronic Texas Hold’Em poker tables, 1,345 slot machines, a high-limit gaming area, two dining options and entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights. The gaming area includes 9,500 square feet for nonsmokers, with slot machines and table games.
Nearby attractions
Patoka Lake. 8,800 acres of water for fishing, boating and water sports, surrounded by areas for camping, hiking, disc golf, archery and swimming. 1-888-819-6916; www.patokalakemarina.com
Paoli Peaks Ski Slopes. Man-made snow in winter, with 65 acres of skiing. 812-723-4696; www.paolipeaks.com
Hoosier National Forest. 200,000 acres of recreation. 1-866-302-4173; www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier
Amanda Miller Allen is former travel editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; e-mail her at amandamillerallen@hotmail.com.
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