The Hotel Viking
History
The mansions of Newport, historically referred to as “summer cottages” by residents, contained many rooms for entertaining, but few bedrooms. In the early 1920s, the Hotel Viking was built to meet the need of a growing economy . Funded my community investments, the hotel opened on May 26, 1926. A contest held to name the new hotel turned out 772 suggestions; the Viking name was chosen as a tribute to the Norsemen who reportedly landed in Newport in 1000 A.D. and built the Old Stone Mill located in Touro park several blocks from the hotel. The choice of the cognoscenti; past guests include President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, the Astors and the Vanderbilts.
