RED BOILING SPRINGS, Tenn. (WTVF) — The ownership group of the historic Donoho Hotel in Red Boiling Springs has decided to sell the property after a fire destroyed the century-old landmark in November 2025.
Despite the loss, co-owner John Cook said he hopes the site will someday again host the weddings and family reunions the hotel was known for.
Cook was one of three people inside the hotel when the fire broke out. He said the alarms woke him up.
"It was arcing really bad and starting to smoke," Cook said.
By the time anyone could respond, it was already too late.
"It was way too late to save the building, that 1914 tongue-in-groove lumber dry and the walls were insulated with sawdust and it was just nothing you could do and so we just had to painfully watch it burn," Cook said.
Cook said he was staying in room number two when the fire started. There is now no trace of that room.
"I was actually in room number two," Cook said.
The property has since been cleared.
"People can still come by and get the black sulfer water but the hotel is gone now, it's all been cleaned up and instead there's grass," Cook said.
Cook said rebuilding to historic guidelines would have been too costly. Still, he said the Donoho held a special place for those who visited.
"The Donoho Hotel was very, very iconic. Had a lot of old character to it. It was very magical," Cook said.
Cook said he hopes whoever buys the property will carry on what the Donoho represented.
"I would hope that they would build some type of hotel back because I firmly believe the guests will come back," Cook said.
As the site moves toward new ownership, Cook said the spirit of the Donoho is not entirely gone.
"We took the famous black and white Donoho Hotel sign down, it was very sad, it was very painful, but we have plans for it in the future to work it into something else," Cook said.
The Donoho Hotel opened to guests in 1916.
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