Williamsburg, by the house concierge.
The hotel’s own guest guide to the Historic Triangle — preserved word for word.
“Williamsburg is unique,” the hotel’s area guide began. “It offers both the finer things in life and the more simple pleasures. Ride the longest, tallest inverted roller coaster in the United States at Busch Gardens… or play a round of golf where the masters have.” The guide filed the area under six headings — Historic Sites, Plantations, Shopping, Golf, Entertainment and Other Attractions — and its Historic Sites entries still read like a perfect first-timer’s brief:
Historic sites, in the hotel’s words (2006)
- Colonial Williamsburg — “This 173-acre Historic Area is an amazing living, working 18th-century city with more than 500 buildings… the gateway to Britain’s power in the New World.”
- Jamestown Settlement — “relive the adventure of the first permanent English colony in America”, from the recreated fort to the Powhatan village and the three ships.
- Jamestown Island — the live archaeological dig that had just rediscovered “the real James Fort”.
- Yorktown Victory Center — militia drills, cannon fire and the 1780s farm.
Twenty years on, every one of those anchors is still open — the concierge’s brief has aged remarkably well. For today’s trip-planning, start with the sites’ own pages; for the flavour of how Williamsburg sold itself in the 2000s, this is it.