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Caroline Rose Hunt, an international luxury hotel magnate and Dallas philanthropist, died Tuesday at the age of 95.<\/p>\n
The Dallas hotelier and philanthropist left an indelible mark on the city, bringing international sophistication to Dallas, while simultaneously sharing Texas\u2019 charm with the rest of the world, as the original owner of The Rosewood\u2019s Mansion on Turtle Creek and The Crescent. She was the founder of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, which debuted its first hotel in 1980. It grew to encompass 22 hotels and resorts in seven countries, and was sold in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a bold and visionary leader who built one of the most iconic buildings in Dallas,\u201d says John Zogg, president of The Crescent. \u201cKnown for her extraordinary graciousness, she led the hospitality and real estate industries in establishing world-class service in every project she touched.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll always remember what a great host she was,\u201d Zogg says. \u201cShe took such care of her guests. She made you feel as if you were part of her family. That\u2019s just the lady she always was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the hotel business, she wanted guests to feel as if they were entering her home,\u201d says Bill Flaherty, CEO of Rosewood Property Co. \u201cMrs. Hunt provided guiding principles that we follow to this day with each of our real estate assets.\u201d<\/p>\n Dean Fearing, who was a sous chef at The Mansion at Turtle Creek in 1981 when it served only fine French cuisine, says it was Caroline Rose Hunt who helped inspire more regional Southwestern fare, including what would become a signature menu item.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Hunt came into the kitchen one afternoon and gave the chef and I this little piece of paper that was scribbled all over,\u201d Fearing says. \u201cShe said, \u2018I think we need to do a regional soup now that we are an international hotel, and we need to have something on the menu that represents Texas.\u2019\u2026 The chef handed me the note and said, \u2018I can\u2019t believe she\u2019s going to make us do a peasant soup.\u2019 I took that little tattered piece of paper as a guide and formulated our own recipe, which became the famous Mansion tortilla soup. It was so crazy because it was a year later that I got the great idea that we should do some more regional food. But at that time, it didn\u2019t even register.\u201d<\/p>\n Hunt also influenced Dallas\u2019 retail scene. She purchased the rights to the Stanley Korshak name and opened a luxury store in the courtyard of the shops at the Crescent Hotel in 1986. A year later, she hired Crawford Brock to manage the store, and they worked closely together for the next three decades.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember when I was first hired away from Neiman Marcus, I was 33 years old,\u201d Brock recalls. \u201cShe invited me to be her date to a function at Trammell Crow\u2019s house. As a young guy, as you can imagine, I was incredibly intimidated. That night she took me under her wing, introduced me to all of her friends, and made me feel so comfortable at the party. That began my working relationship with her, and for the next 15 years we met every month. She never missed a month.\u201d<\/p>\n At the height of her wealth in the 1980s, Caroline Rose Hunt was considered America\u2019s wealthiest woman with a total net worth of about $1 billion\u2014or about $2 billion in today\u2019s dollars\u2014according to the\u00a0Dallas Morning News<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n A Texas Business Hall of Fame and Dallas Business Hall of Fame inductee, among many other accolades, Caroline Rose Hunt wasn\u2019t one for titles. At Rosewood, the company that she founded, she was known simply as \u201cthe guiding light.\u201d And when Caroline Rose Hunt was\u00a0inducted into North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors\u2019 Hall of Fame in 2013<\/a>, she insisted they include the entire family in the awards.<\/p>\n Dallas\u2019 Original Uptown Girl<\/strong><\/p>\n Oil and gas icon T. Boone Pickens knew Hunt for the better part of five decades. \u201cShe was one of the most dynamic business women of the 20th century, who will have a lasting impact on Dallas because of her philanthropy and business acumen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Dallas\u2019 original Uptown girl, Caroline Rose Hunt purchased 13 acres of land in the early 1980s for what would become The Mansion on Turtle Creek. Her original vision for the area is what makes Uptown the place it is today, says Noelle LeVeaux, president of Uptown Dallas Inc.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout Mrs. Hunt\u2019s support, approval, and innovative spirit, Uptown Dallas Inc. and the Uptown Public Improvement District would not exist today,\u201d she says. \u201cAs we celebrate our 25th\u00a0anniversary this year, we recognize her incredible sacrifice to ensure the Uptown area would grow and develop into the unsurpassed walkable, viable, and profitable neighborhood it is today. Uptown will miss her pioneering spirit, energy, and commitment to our district.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.dmagstatic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Haven-Heinrichs-Caroline-Rose-Hunt-and-Jennifer-Sampson-330x220.jpg\")
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