Venue Information

Long before the name Sonesta became synonymous with quality hotels, a prize-winning dairy farm in Holliston, Massachusetts proudly proclaimed that it was “Sonesta Farms”, named after its owners, Abraham (nicknamed “Sonny”) and Ester Sonnabend.

“Sonny” was an entrepreneur who purchased financially troubled companies for tax purposes, made them successful, and sold them at a profit. It was not until 1943, that Sonny (known as A.M. Sonnabend in business circles) at the age of 49 became involved with hotels as a real estate investment.

The first hotel acquisition for A.M. (and six other partners) was the Preston Beach Hotel on the north shore of Boston. Because of his business knowledge, A.M. was put in charge of managing the hotels, and they became known Sonnabend-operated Hotels. By the 1950s there were four Sonnabend-operated Hotels including the world-famous Plaza in New York.

A.M.’s sons Roger, Paul and Steven have mad ...