Well-Known Guests of Duke Tower Hotel

Duke Tower Hotel has been and probably will continue to be the choice of stars and the well-heeled looking to Duke University Medical Center or the Duke Diet & Fitness Center (to both of which we run a 24-hour shuttle bus) to help them with their overall health or to bring their nutritional needs and fitness requirements into alignment.

James Earl Jones

Duke Tower’s guests over the past twenty-five years, many of whom come back more than once to Durham’s restful oasis in the heart of the city, have included many names from the arts and the business world.

From the acting and performance world world guests include playwright Wendy Wasserstein,  comedian Dom Deluise, award-winning actor James Earl Jones and comedienne Caroline Rhea.

As for musicians, we had had as guests opera diva Marilyn Horne and Bruce Springsteen E. Street Band’s saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

Hank Aaron

Over the years we  have had many names from the world of sports stay at Duke Tower, including home run champion Henry “Hank” Aaron, Green Bay Packers star Paul Hornung and Boston Celtics star Robert “The Chief” Parish.

From the business world we have had chairman emeritus of Reader’s Digest George Grune and Dunkin’ Donuts founder Bill Rosenberg.

Lauren Hutton

Other notables include former President George W. Bush’s sister Doro Koch and supermodel and “Nip/Tuck” star Lauren Hutton.

With the explosion of arts performances around Duke University, the nearby Carolina Theatre and with the new Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC), we have a number of well-known guests and their entourages stay with us, including Martha Clarke’s Dance Troupe, dog ventriloquist Todd Oliver, the Broadway-on-Tour casts of “Legally Blond”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Mamma Mia” and “Wicked. Shen Wei, choreographer of the dance portion of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, has stayed with us numerous times.

Ram Loevy

Recently we have had famed Israeli film director, Ram Loevy, as our guest while he was a visiting scholar at nearby Duke University.  Loevy is recipient of the Israel Prize, the major state award for overall achievements in art, science or the humanities and well as awards and festivals in his honor in Switzerland, Italy and France. Loevy is well-known for his numerous films, both documentary and fictional, many of which focus on Israeli-Palestinian issues.

We are very pleased to report that the cast and crew of The Phantom of the Opera stayed with us at Duke Tower during their nearly month-long run in Durham. They performed almost nightly at the nearby Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) and sometimes twice a day. They seemed to enjoy themselves in Duke Tower’s all-condo environment, making themselves at home, with many of them decorating their suites with holiday lights, trees and other decorations. Since they are on the road constantly, Duke Tower became their home for the holidays and they treated it as such. After evening performances, many of them would gather in our Historic Tower Cafe for late-night poker games. Given their hectic schedules, we were happy to leave the Cafe open for them at night for their enjoyment.

The Broadway Show "Mamma Mia!" On Tour

We have recently had the cast and crew of other Broadway on Tour groups stay with us.

Mamma Mia! was with us during their ten-day run at the DPAC in January, 2010. They also suffered through the heavy snowstorm that hit North Carolina in late January, but as they say, “The show must go on”, and only one show was canceled. In fact, most shows were sold out.

Another Broadway on Tour group that stayed with us at Duke Tower was the cast and crew of “Spring Awakening”, which won 8 Tony Awards during its run on Broadway. They stayed with us for about one week.

Once again, they said that they appreciated the fact that they had a full condo, not a hotel room, for their stay. They also had us take them to nearby grocery stores, in particular Whole Foods Market, so they could stock up and cook while in Durham. While the average person may not appreciate it, when you are on the road constantly, having access to a full kitchen, complete with pots, pans and utensils, becomes an unexpected luxury.

We greatly enjoyed meeting the cast and crew of “Spring Awakening” and hope they had an enjoyable and relaxed time at Duke Tower.

We are pleased that so many well-known people have found Duke Tower Hotel and Condominiums their home away from home. We hope that you too will consider staying with us when your travels call for a trip to Durham or Duke.

Rest assured that we treat all guests as stars, not just the ones with their names in the bright lights and marquees of Broadway.

We welcome all guests, new and returning, famous and not-so-famous, with the same warm hospitality and excellent service. We look forward to serving you soon.