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Crystal Lake, Reigh’s Resort (Wisconsin, USA)
This real-photo card was first mailed in 1912 — postmark is there but stamp is not. The message could have been written yesterday! Resort is long-gone, though. Heavy handling, but authentic. Grade: 4
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Elkhorn, Hotel Sterlingworth (Wisconsin, USA)
Online, someone had a different card of this hotel along with the description we are borrowing: “Sterlingworth hotel on Lauderdale Lakes … The hotel burned sometime in the late 60’s … A new one was built, and I remember going out to eat in their dining room in the early 70’s. Sometime after that, it was converted to condos, and became closed to the general public.” Honestly the picture makes it look more like a sanitarium but the card itself is good, mailed in 191_ (can’t make that out) with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Little Cedar Lake, Hotel Wolfrum Landing (Wisconsin, USA)
In 1912, Aunty Virginia kindly wrote the date she mailed this real-photo card to her nephew. The card survives, with stamp and postmark, as a nice reminder of “wish you were here” thoughts. Grade: 1
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Little Cedar Lake, Wolfrum’s Resort (Wisconsin, USA)
Somewhat formally mailed in 1912, with stamp and clear postmark, and some not-disfiguring creasing. Grade: 3
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Platteville, Dodge House Motor Inn (Wisconsin, USA)
All we know from our Google search is that the Inn is no longer there, in that form at least. But the card is here, unused, and Grade: 1
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Spring Green, Rest Haven Motel (Wisconsin, USA)
Guess what? It’s still there! Just not as “Rest Haven”, which had opened in 1952 (or 1948?) with a name better associated with nursing homes or memorial parks, but as The Usonian Inn LLC, whose own website describes it as “Intentionally designed for mature audience! This is your place to have moments of relaxation, enjoy a glass of our special wine inventory on the patio and later at night you can do star gazing in the backyard! Our lodging property it’s about comfort and history. The Usonian Inn it’s a testimony of time.” Compelling! Compelling but for recent unpleasant reviews. Anyway … unused postcard. Grade: 1
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Twin Lake (sic), Waldeck (Wisconsin)
Or, more probably, Twin LakeS, on a card mailed in 1910 with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Wisconsin Dells, Larks Hotel (USA)
The Wisconsin Historical Society dates this postcard at about 1910 and that would seem right except that the one we have was mailed in 1909, with stamp and postmark and long, hard-to-understand message. Other sources go back even a few years earlier, and as it is an undivided back (divided by the writer with a line!), we think the correct date of publication could be 1906 or 1907. Anyway, the hotel is long gone. Grade: 1
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Guayaquil, Hotel del Parque (Ecuador)
An unused ad card whose message area is filled with the story of the hotel. Grade: 1
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Nagano, T Hotel Nagano Ryuoo (set of 4) (Japan)
These four unused cards from T Hotel Nagano Ryuoo come in a set, and all four appear in our scan. Golf, clouds, snow monkeys, ski … but nothing of the hotel itself. In any case, twin QR Codes on the reverses will no doubt fill you in. Grade: 1
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Hog Kong Disneyland Hotel
Cards from the hotels near this park can be surprisingly hard to find, including anything from the park itself. This has not always been the case, but selfies and smartphones have taken over, making postcards like these even more desirable. Unused, 5″ x 6-3/4″. Grade: 1
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Disney Hollywood Hotel, Donald Duck (Hong Kong)
Even Donald would admit this is a modest card, but it has its own story: it was only available in one place — the Disney gift shop at that hotel — and priced far higher than other cards had been before, because as the sales person said, it’s a “special promotional item”. We normally associate Special Promotional Items with lower prices, not higher ones; but this unused card is still in its original cello-wrap, with price and proof of sale stickers, so you can see for yourself. Grade: 1
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Hollywood Hotel (Hong Kong)
Please look ahead by one card, to item 30901012, and see our comments for that. Same applies to this card of a hotel adjoining Hong Kong Disneyland. Unused. Grade: 1
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Disney Explorers Lodge (Hong Kong)
We attest that we sourced this from the hotel itself, adjoining Hong Kong Disneyland. As with so many other mysteries of postcard styles, whoever designed this one did not mention Disneyland or Hong Kong either. The only way someone will know exactly where the card came from is because the brief bilingual caption on the reverse is in English and traditional Chinese — which would not be the case if the card had come from the Shanghai park, where they would have use simplified characters. So there! Unused, and we have three of them. Grade: 1
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Disney Explorers Lodge (Hong Kong) – map
See our comments for 30901012, as they also apply here. Unused. Grade: 1
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Tulcea, multiple views (Romania)
Mailed in 2023, with stamp, two large postmarks, and bilingual Prioritar label. One view is of The Egreta Hotel, which Google says is still there but emphasises how “basic” it is. Grade: 1
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Caracas, Teleferico and Hotel Humboldt (Venezuela)
The Teleférico de Caracas is a gondola lift that ascends El Ávila Mountain within El Ávila National Park. As for the hotel, at least it seems the building is still there but Google is not going to help you much about its current status. The word that comes to mind is “confusing”. Unused card with rounded corners. Grade: 1
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Beachcomber Island (Fiji)
Beachcomber (also known as Tai) is a small, private island within the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. It is (or was, we don’t know now) also called barefoot island, as it was common on the island not to wear shoes. The original name Tai was changed to Beachcomber Island in the 1960s, mainly to make the island more attractive to tourists. The postcard — mailed in 1991 with stamp and postmark — makes this island look really, really small. But recent online reviews are, to put it bluntly, awful — so maybe just stick with the postcard. Grade: 1
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John o’ Groats, hotel (Scotland)
This card mailed in 1967 (with 3d stamp and partial postmark) does not identify the building as a hotel, but from previous entries, we know that’s what it is. Unless you tell us otherwise. Grade: 1
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Chateau Tongariro (New Zealand)
In this case it helps to know, first, that the card was mailed in 1974, with two stamps and clear postmark. Then — and again with thanks to Wikipedia — we can tell you this about the hotel: “The Grand Chateau, also known as Chateau Tongariro, (was) a hotel and resort complex on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, within the boundaries of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand’s oldest national park. The building was completed in 1929 and, despite extensive refurbishment, still retains much of the style of the pre-Depression era and is listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 historic place. Chateau Tongariro Hotel closed permanently on 5 February 2023, largely because the building has significant seismic risks.” It’s worth seeing that Wikipedia entry in full. Grade: 1
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Mamanuca Islands, Beachcomber Island Resort (Fiji)
A favourite topic for Fijian postcards, on this unused, high-quality 4″ x 8-1/4″ card. The Mamanuca Islands are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by the Pacific Ocean at high tide. Grade: 1
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Denarau Island, Sheraton Fiji Resort & Sheraton Denarau Villas (Fiji)
The Denarau Island website says: “The beating heart of Fiji tourism, Denarau Island has everything you’ve dreamed of and more. Nestled among the palm trees and sandy beaches, you’ll discover world-class resorts, restaurants and entertainment. This little island is larger than life. Within only 15 minutes to Nadi International Airport, and hosting the gateway to the outer islands, Denarau knows how to make the most of your Fiji holiday.” That’s marketing at its finest. This 4″ x 8-1/4″ unused postcard shows you some of all that. As for the resort itself, online reviews can best be described as “polarizing”. Grade: 1
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Coral Coast, Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa, multiple views (Fiji)
Unused 4″ x 8-1/4″ card, multiple views of the property on Yanuca Island. Apparently this is an older place and online reviews are, to put it politely, “polarizing” as is the case with several other Fijian resorts too. But all we have to go by is the postcard, which is: Grade: 1
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Coral Coast, Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa, single view (Fiji)
Unused 4″ x 8-1/4″ card. Grade: 1
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Denarau Island, The Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa (Fiji)
Online reviews for this all-inclusive resort seem surprisingly old, so we wonder why that is, but will stick to describing the postcard: 4″ x 8-1/4″, unused, Grade: 1
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Alhambra Hotel Leospo, Nice (France)
As a reminder, this is not a postcard. We are shamelessly “borrowing” the description from the identical item that had been sold by someone else, because it fits ours too: “This is an old, vintage Advertising Booklet from NICE, FRANCE. It is for the ALHAMBRA HOTEL LEOSPO. The HOTEL located on a hill in CIMIEZ / NICE. The booklet has 10 pages with great photos. It measures 5-1/2 inches / 14mm by 4 inches / 10.3mm. The booklet has no rips or tears. Minor wear on the cover. If you collect TRAVEL / HOTEL Advertising Booklets, ALHAMBRA HOTEL LEOSPO related items, CIMIEZ related items, items from NICE or from FRANCE then you might like this vintage 1930’s advertising item.” (We can see how that seller was also appealing to search engines.) In general, we call ours Grade: 3.
