Can you tell me about the neighborhood around Hotel du Pont?? (Wilmington: hair salon, hotels)

[Alicia64]

I've stayed in many hotels in my time. . . and we're new to the east coast so didn't know that when we booked a night at the Hotel du Pont that we were booking into a neighborhood that's kind of rough.

When we first arrived at the hotel there was a cop on a bike just hanging out who told my husband, "I don't know what you've read in the papers, but it's not so bad down here. Just don't go in that direction, that direction or" . . . etc. He named three directions. Then on the fourth direction he said, "Don't go too far in the direction!"

That didn't completely tip us off. (Duh.) After we left our suitcases in our room we took the car to go to the Children's Museums and turned down streets very near the hotel that were very rough appearing: poorly maintained etc.

Finally we left that area looking for pizza and hit another area just as bad crawling with cop cars. Even that didn't make us feel any better about the area.

We got back to the hotel and my sons started counting how many police cars went screaming by the Hotel du Pont. Eleven. But around 7 p.m. the cop car noises stopped entirely and I realized in the middle of the night that I bet the Hotel du Pont and the police have an agreement that they'll turn their sirens off at night.

It was such a weird juxtaposition, though, because inside the hotel was a gorgeous bride and her five bridesmaids all beautifully dressed in matching shocking pink dresses and high heels -- all followed by two wedding photographers who clearly knew what they were doing. And her guests were all beautifully decked out too.

I've stayed in several "grand dame" hotels built years and years ago -- four come immediately to mind -- not one is in an awful neighborhood. So that isn't it.

If you know the history. . . what keeps the Hotel du Pont open? Who are it's guests? Why do they come back? Any input is appreciated. We're totally confounded.

Alley

[rdlr]

Your caption question does not match your closing questions. Nonetheless, you have answered your caption question since you've been there, have explored the area, talked with the police, and have stayed at the DuPont Hotel at least one night.

Your closing questions:
"If you know the history. . . what keeps the Hotel du Pont open? Who are it's guests? Why do they come back? Any input is appreciated. We're totally confounded"


The Hotel DuPont is a famous Delaware landmark, one of which we are proud. The Hotel was named after Delaware's famous and wealthy DuPont family. Tradition has kept the hotel alive, despite it's surroundings and it is still the shining star of Wilmington. As a small child, I loved walking by the hotel in the, then, vibrant City of Wilmington. Still, we attend events there and each visit takes us back in time to the glory days of Wilmington.
http://www.historichotels.org/hotels.../hotel-du-pont

[LibraGirl123]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

If you know the history. . . what keeps the Hotel du Pont open? Who are it's guests? Why do they come back? Any input is appreciated. We're totally confounded.

I'm no expert as to exactly what keeps the Hotel DuPont open. I know that they have a lot of weddings there...it strikes me as a high class venue. I believe they also hold conferences there, and have a good number of business clientele.

My girlfriends and I have had theatre tickets to the DuPont Theatre (located in the hotel) for over 20 years, and we have always felt safe in the immediate neighborhood. Parking is about 1.5 blocks away, and on several occasions we had a pre-theatre dinner at Deep Blue, a restaurant located about a block away from the hotel.

The Official Website of the DuPont Theatre

[ron del]

The Hotel Dupont is located in what used to be the primary downtown area of the city. As the city has changed over the years, the main restaurant and tourist center has moved to the riverfront section at the south end of the city. It is unfortunate that there are not many places open and in a safe walking distance from the hotel. Many restaurants are open during weekdays and close at the end of the work day. People stay at the hotel because there are businesses still located in the downtown area. There is another section of the city to the west of the hotel with many restaurants and places of interest in the Union Street and Trolley Square area, not in walking distance.

[Road_Warrior]

Wilmington is an odd city in which the soul of the city is along Delaware Ave and Lincoln Streets. The nice side of Wilmington is as nice as the bad side (majority) of Wilmington is bad. Downtown is on the bad side.

Trolley Square is just okay alone -but once you link it with Little Italy, it's not a bad experience - within a mile you have over 20 bars, 5 of which with dance floors, several with outside decks, fountains, statues, a Gay bar/club, New Orleans, Italian, Irish, dives, Old fashioned Italian Restaurants, upscale Italian Restaurants, Beautiful parkways and parks (Bancroft/Kentmere; Brandywine Park.) and two beautiful old ethnic rowhome neighborhoods: Little Italy (Hilltop) and Little Ireland (Forty Acres(Trolley Square.)) Numerous convenience stores, pharmacies, hair salons, lighting stores, tax places, furniture stores, Libraries, public transportation, auto repair, 5 and dime, etc.

If we could take just the establishments on Delaware avenue, Lincoln and Union Streets, and the Riverfront, and put them downtown, you'd have an extremely cool downtown.

Growing up in Hilltop, our "downtown" Trolley Square, Union Street, and Prices Corner.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

. . . what keeps the Hotel du Pont open? Who are it's guests? Why do they come back? Any input is appreciated. We're totally confounded.

The hotel abuts the DuPont global headquarters in the adjacent blocks. Also within four blocks are the Hercules HQ, numerous business offices, the Grand Opera House, as well as state and county offices and courts. As if this wouldn't provide a steady source of customers, the hotel itself houses the DuPont Theatre where Broadway touring shows perform, among other offerings (The Official Website of the DuPont Theatre). It also draws tourists who want to visit the Brandywine Valley while staying in a plush historical property. From what I understand, it maintains a farily high occupancy rate.

Hope this solves the mystery.