Imagine escaping the demands of life while lounging with your favorite beverage on a cliff-top overlooking the ocean’s horizon. Set your gaze upon the ebb and flow of the sea's current as you pause briefly from the pages of your leisure read. Feel a gentle breeze teasingly caress your skin and waltz through each strand of hair. Embrace the space of solitude and stillness as you take another sip, delighting your appetite for both flavor and your sense of discovery and exploration. Rather it is dusk or the break of day, the key to this oasis lies within your willingness to relinquish all need for control. The roar of the ocean in the distance beckons your heart to follow the summoning of your spirit, leaving behind the world's demand.
The Sylvia Beach Hotel sits high upon a cliff-top, overlooking the Nye Beach off the coast of Oregon. This literary jewel is a treasure chest of opportunity, inviting its guest to stroll within the pages of their favorite book. The Sylvia Beach Hotel Library encourages guests to submerge themselves within the essence of knowledge, wisdom, thought, opinion, perception and idea of great writers while snuggled up between the pages inspired by vision, motivated by passion and manifested with loving intent.
The hotel’s quaint, literary decor caters to book lovers with each guest room strategically designed to reflect the works of famous authors. Some rooms are adorned with cozy fireplaces, while others with garden or ocean views, each however, a magic carpet of time travel for its visiting guest.
In 1984, Goody Cable began the process of manifesting her dream to create a unique space for literary lovers from around the world to lounge, read, relax and congregate to the backdrop of roaring waves, a warm meal and a cozy fireplace. Upon receiving news that the old Gilmore Hotel in Newport was for sale, Goody and her childhood friend, Sally Ford, set their plan to action, spending several years recruiting family and friends to assist in funding, inspiring and revamping the historical architect to fit her vision. In February of 1987, the Sylvia Beach Hotel opened its doors and welcomed its first guest with Goody and Sally manning the desk.
Goody’s decision to name the hotel after Sylvia Beach, an American living in Paris in the early 1900's, came after Sylvia’s story presented itself to her on several occasions while researching another project. Sylvia Beach opened Shakespeare and Company in the early 1900’s on the Left Bank of Paris; a bookstore and gathering place for aspiring writers such as Ernest Hemingway. So on Sylvia Beach's 100th Birthday (March 14th), Goody Cable planned her grand opening to commemorate both the opening and namesake of her literary hotel.
The Sylvia Beach Hotel is not the first and only creative endeavor. Goody is also the owner of the Rimsky Korsakoffee House in Portland, one of the oldest and most beloved coffee houses of Portland. The Rimsky-Korsakoffee House was named for Russian Composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and welcomes its guest into the former living room of its haunted Craftsman-style home dating as far back as 1902. Known for its quirky decor and haunting tactics, each table of the Rimsky-Korsakoffee House is named after a famous composer. Rimsky-Korsakoffee was opened in 1980 by Goody and has a communal atmosphere, often featuring live classical music and board games.
Once again, Goody Cable has manifested her vision to create space for casual conversation, connection and community, while engaging in personal interaction. After all, who needs WiFi when your table vibrates, levitates and/or disappears? From what I hear, even going to the bathroom induces regular screams from guest.