Best Hotels

For the first time in 30 years, the historic Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa opened to guests. However, its soft opening saw only 65 guests, who booked the rooms exclusively through booking agents.

Closed since 1981, the hotel building has been boarded up for decades. In 2001, the Snyder family bought the hotel for $250,000 and has been gradually renovating it at a cost of $40 million.

Now, this Tulsa luxury hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, features 102 modernized guest suites with flat-screen televisions, full kitchens, and wood floors. It also boasts nine event and meeting spaces, which can accommodate 10 to 300 guests. Consider an intimate dinner at the Penthouse, which offers stained glass windows, dark woodwork, breathtaking views of the city skyline and room for 50 to 80 guests. Or, host your Tulsa wedding reception or a black-tie gala in the Crystal Ballroom.

Hotel officials say the Mayo Hotel will be open for reservations from the general public "soon."