After first buying The Mobley hotel in Cisco, Texas, in 1919, Conrad Hilton began acquiring other properties around the state. Then, aiming to “operate the best hotel in Texas,” he introduced his brand to the world in 1925 with the opening of the 325-room Dallas Hilton. In 2005, another landmark Dallas hotel, the 27-story Anatole, assumed the Hilton flag—and keeping with Conrad Hilton’s ambition, remains a champion among Texas properties.
Opened in 1979 under the Loews flag, the hotel was developed by late Dallas real estate titan Trammell Crow. Named by Crow after a favorite Copenhagen restaurant, the Anatole (translated as “Where the sun rises”), still family-held, was Wyndham-managed for the decade prior to Hilton.
With 1,606 guest rooms, including 127 suites, the Anatole’s meetings muscles include 600,000-plus square feet of meeting space, including 11 ballrooms, 79 meeting rooms, and three executive floors. The hotel also comes with a spa, eight restaurants and bars, including the top-floor SER Steak + Spirits, and plentiful resort amenities.
Then there’s the art.
In the 1960s, Crow and his wife Margaret began amassing an unparalleled collection of artworks from across Asia. In 1998, the couple established the Crow Collection of Asian Art. Dubbed the “Jewel Box” of the Dallas Arts District, the museum is a must for tours and private events (limited bookings between June 2016 and October 2017, due to renovations).
Additionally, many Crow pieces went elsewhere—including the Hilton Anatole.
Displayed inside and in the seven-acre sculpture garden, its art and antiques make the Anatole more museum than hotel. From two 12-foot tall Berlin Wall segments to the 15-ton propeller from the RMS Lusitania (torpedoed in 1915), the scope of the collection is jaw-dropping. Group programs include a walking tour of the hotel’s 100 most iconic pieces, and the new Anatole Art Dine-Around, in which customers select one of 15 iconic pieces to pair with F&B items from its country of origin.
Planners will have yet more options this summer when the Anatole unveils its new upscale resort-style pool. Reserved for hotel guests, the outdoor complex will include a 4,000-square-foot leisure pool and 7,000-square-foot activity pool; a swim-up bar, private cabanas and daybeds; event lawns; a 120-seat bar and grill; and new art pieces.
“We look forward to unveiling this new offering to both our leisure and group visitors,” says Kavin Schieferdecker, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. “While the pool was originally conceptualized to attract transient guests, we’ve received an enthusiastic response from meeting planners who are excited by the idea of new event lawns and poolside reception space that we feel will rival options offered in cities like Scottsdale [Ariz.]”
