Sixty years in, the stories that define Little America Hotel Salt Lake City are rarely about a single stay. They are about the guests who return, year after year, decade after decade, and the small, familiar details that make coming back feel like coming home.

Wedding Nights, Then and Now

In May of 1971, Brenda Thurgood and her husband spent their wedding night at Little America before leaving for their honeymoon in Hawaii. Fifty-five years later, this June, Melissa Blanton and her husband chose the same hotel for the very same milestone. Two wedding nights, generations apart, both beginning the same way: at Little America.

A Tradition Passed Down

Some traditions start with one generation and simply keep going. June Hruska first stayed at Little America decades ago, visiting her soon-to-be in-laws. She later brought her own children, and says the hotel still feels like home every time. Joe Merritt has a similar story. He and his wife have returned every year for thirty years to celebrate their anniversary, a tradition her family started and one they have now passed on to their own children. As Joe put it, Little America has kept up with the times while never losing what makes it special.

A Cornerstone of Childhood

For Amanda Acton, who grew up twenty minutes south of downtown Salt Lake City, Little America was woven into family life long before she understood it as a tradition. Her grandmother insisted on at least one meal there during every visit. Her father bought a Lladro bell from the hotel's shops every year, an anniversary gift for her mother. Years after moving away from Utah, Amanda says Little America was still the only hotel that made sense to book when she came home to visit.

Full Circle

Paula Tooman's connection to Little America runs even deeper. Thirty-five years ago, she worked in the hotel's salon, back when Little America still had both a salon and a barber shop. She was working a shift in August 1990 while in labor with her daughter, Emily, who grew up to join the Little America team herself and is still part of it today. This spring, Paula returned as a guest to celebrate her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, calling the experience a moment that brought her life full circle. We cannot wait to share more of Emily's story soon.

Loyalty That Crosses an Ocean

Not every tradition starts close to home. David Lawson has traveled from England to stay at Little America every year for the past three years, with his first visit back in 2012. For him, no trip to the United States feels complete without ending it at Little America.

Sixty years of stories like these are what make this hotel more than a place to stay. It is a place people return to, again and again, because it feels like theirs.

Learn more about the ways we're celebrating this summer, and if you have a Little America story of your own, we would love to hear it .