It has been known as the Holley House, Holley Inn, The Polo Tavern or just The Holley. Whatever it has been called, Hotel Aiken has a rich history that reaches back more than 100 years, when it was originally named the Commercial Hotel.
An Early History
Built by Henry Hahn in 1898, Commercial Hotel's original guests were Northern tourists and salesmen, according to Tally Johnson, the author of "Ghosts of the South Carolina Midlands." It also was frequented by the members of Aiken's elite Winter Colony, wealthy Northerners who would travel to Aiken during the cold seasons in search of snowless polo fields.
In the early 1900s, the hotel housed the office and drugstore of Dr. Charles C. Johnson, the second African-American doctor in Aiken. The offices were located where the outdoor rooms of Hotel Aiken stand today, according to Allen Riddick's book, "Memories of Growing Up and Living in Aiken, South Carolina." In 1915, Johnson moved his office and drugstore to what is now the dining area of the hotel.
Even the Aiken Standard has early ties to Hotel Aiken. The 100 Laurens portion of the building, now Cork & Bean, used to be the site of Aiken Standard's news department.
Hotel Aiken also has been the host to some monumental announcements of Aiken landmarks.
One in particular, according to former Aiken Standard Publisher Scott Hunter, was the announcement of a new housing development and golf course: Houndslake.
"I was told one day to wear a tie, that we would be going to the Commercial to eat steak, and there would be an announcement of a new housing development with a golf course," Hunter said.
"The significance was that the City of Aiken did not yet have a combined golf course/country club/housing development," he said.
The hotel also has played host to some famous names, two notables being Bing Crosby and George Bush, according to a March 2014 article in Bella Magazine.
Throughout its early history, Hotel Aiken went through several names and owners. In 1929, Commercial Hotel became the Holley House when the Holley family acquired the landmark hotel.
The Holley Family
The Holley Family has extensive ties to the City of Aiken. The Holley House was not the only piece of Aiken the family owned or operated.
In addition to the hotel, the family owns or has owned several farms in the area, Holley Motor Co. and Holley Heating and Air Conditioning, among others. The family also owned Holley Dairy Co., which was located where the Aiken Mall now stands, and Holley Hardware Co., which still stands on Laurens Street today.
Under the Holley family's management of the hotel in the 1970s, the Holley House expanded. Thirty economy courtyard rooms were added, and the business became popular with golf and polo fans.
Leonard Holley ran the hotel from 1929 to 1945, then passed the business to his son, Forrest Holley. Forrest was well known throughout the Southeast as a "Southern gentleman," said his daughter Sally Holley Radford, who took over the business after he died.
"My husband, Eric, and I continued to strive to provide outstanding customer service after my father's death in 2000," Radford said. "It was a tremendous pleasure to provide our guests with a rewarding Aiken experience."
The Holley family owned the hotel until 2001, when it was sold to Kishan Shah, who changed the name to Hotel Aiken and still owns the business today.
The hotel today
Sally Holley Radford called Hotel Aiken "one of the favorite watering holes" of the community in a 2005 Augusta Chronicle article. The same verbiage is used today on the hotel's website: The Polo Tavern, Hotel Aiken's main bar, is "one of downtown Aiken's most popular watering holes."
"Our family is proud to say we have been an integral part of the Aiken community providing outstanding guest services, dining and catering," Radford said.
Though not all Aikenites visit Hotel Aiken for the overnight hospitality, many residents enjoy the nightlife the business has to offer. The Polo Tavern is particularly popular for the over-21 crowd.
"The Holley has become a popular place to go in Aiken to hang out and socialize," said Julie Radford, an Aiken native and a senior at USC Aiken.
"Everyone knows 'The Holley.' It's a landmark of Aiken. I'm not sure I would want to go there if it [became] a Marriott."
Hotel Aiken is listed as a two-star hotel and has 65 available rooms.
The building is rumored to be haunted, particularly Room 225, where the TV supposedly turns on when no one is in the room. Legend also says Room 302 is haunted by the ghost of a guest who jumped to his death from the window. Hotel employees deny any ghost stories to be true, however.
Hotel Aiken also has the oldest working, manually operated elevator in South Carolina, according to its website.