The Grand Resorts II (DVD)

Visit three of the grandest resorts in the country. AMERICA'S CASTLES has gained exclusive access to the finest of these extraordinary estates. Hotel del Coronado is the largest beach resort on the North American Pacific Coast. The resort was built in 1888 with 692 rooms, a grand example of elegant Victorian architecture. Its guests have included no fewer than nine American presidents and has been called more historically significant than "perhaps any hotel in America." Mission Inn was built to resemble a baronial Spanish castle, complete with 700 bells, hidden courtyards and fountains. Its 235 rooms have Tiffany windows and guests swim in an Olympic-sized pool. The Chapel contains an altar carved of Mexican cedar covered with thick gold leaf. The Grand on Mackinak Island transports its guests back to a time of horse-drawn carriages, high tea, and croquet on an endless lawn. Accessible only by ferry or plane, horse-and-carriage and bicycles are the only vehicles allowed on the island.

• documentary