The Miami Biltmore Hotel (commonly called The Biltmore Hotel or The Biltmore) is a luxury

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

in Coral Gables,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The hotel was designed by

Schultze and Weaver Schultze & Weaver was an architecture firm established in New York City in 1921. The partners were Leonard Schultze and S. Fullerton Weaver. History Leonard B. Schultze was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1877. He was educated at the Cit ...

and was built in 1926 by

John McEntee Bowman John McEntee Bowman (1875 – October 28, 1931) was a Canadian-born businessman, American hotelier and horseman, and the founding president of Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corp.- - Biography Born in Toronto, Ontario, Bowman began his American worki ...

and George Merrick as part of the

Biltmore hotel Bowman-Biltmore Hotels was a hotel chain created by the hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman. The name evokes the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore Estate, whose buildings and the gardens within are privately owned historical landmarks and tourist attracti ...

chain. The tower is inspired by the

Giralda The Giralda ( es, La Giralda ) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, Moorish Spain, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style ...

, the medieval tower of the cathedral of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. When completed in 1926, the Biltmore became the tallest building in Florida at , holding the record as Florida's tallest building until 1928 when the

Dade County Courthouse The Miami-Dade County Courthouse, formerly known as the Dade County Courthouse, is a historic courthouse and skyscraper located at 73 West Flagler Street in Miami, Florida. Constructed over four years (1925–28), it was added to the United State ...

was built. At one time, the pool was the largest pool in the world and employed swimming instructor (and later Tarzan actor)

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

. It served as a hospital during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and as a

VA Hospital Veterans' health care in the United States is separated geographically into 19 regions (numbered 1, 2, 4-10, 12 and 15–23) In January 2002, the Veterans Health Administration announced the merger of VISNs 13 and 14 to create a new, combined netw ...

and campus of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

medical school until 1968. Abandoned for many years it became a hotel again in 1987. In 1986, Miami Biltmore Hotel was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

History

In 1925, land developer

George E. Merrick George Edgar Merrick (June 3, 1886 – March 26, 1942) was a real estate developer who is best known as the planner and builder of the city of Coral Gables, Florida in the 1920s, one of the first major planned communities in the United States. ...

joined forces with Bowman-Biltmore Hotels president

at the height of the Florida land boom to build "a great hotel...which would not only serve as a hostelry to the crowds which were thronging to Coral Gables but also would serve as a center of sports and fashion." In January 1926, after ten months of construction at a cost of $10 million, the hotel debuted with an inaugural that brought people down from northern cities on trains marked "Miami Biltmore Specials." Visitors included the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

, and assorted

Roosevelts The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady of the United States, First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, arti ...

and

Vanderbilts The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...

as frequent guests.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

had a temporary White House office set up at the Hotel when he vacationed in Miami. There were many gala balls and aquatic shows by the grand pool, with the grounds acting as a venue for weddings and golf tournaments. Just months after the hotel opened, on September 18, the

1926 Miami Hurricane The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...

struck. While the hotel was undamaged, providing shelter for over 2000 survivors, the disaster signaled the end of the Florida land boom. Merrick's Coral Gables company declared bankruptcy on April 13, 1929, and Merrick's stake in the hotel was bought out by his partner, John McEntee Bowman in November 1929 for $2.1 million. Bowman resold the hotel in September 1931 to millionaire

Henry Latham Doherty Henry Latham Doherty (May 15, 1870 – December 26, 1939) was an Irish-American financier and oilman, a native of Columbus, Ohio. In 1910, he created the Cities Service Company, a utility holding company that later became the Citgo Petroleum Corp ...

. A large part of the hotel's revenue in the 1930s came from aquatic galas. As many as 3,000 would come out on a Sunday afternoon to watch the synchronized swimmers, bathing beauties, and alligator wrestling.

, before he was known for his role in Tarzan, broke a world record at the pool. With the onset of

, the War Department took over the hotel, converting it to a 1200-bed hospital in November 1942. The building was transferred to the Army in 1946 and renamed Pratt General Hospital. Many of the windows were sealed with concrete, and the marble floors covered with government-issue linoleum. The hospital was transferred from the Army to the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

(VA) in July 1947. Also the early site of The University of Miami's School of Medicine, Pratt General Hospital remained a VA hospital, with 450 beds, until a newer facility opened nearby in May 1968 and the building was vacated. In 1973, through the Historic Monuments Act and Legacy of Parks program, the City of Coral Gables was granted ownership control. The building remained unoccupied for almost 10 years. Then in 1983, the City oversaw its full restoration to be opened as a grand hotel. It was reopened on December 31, 1987 as a luxury hotel and resort. In June 1992, a multinational consortium led by Seaway Hotels Corporation became the new operators of the hotel under a long term management lease with the City of Coral Gables, and again made extensive refurbishments to the property. New lighting and telephone systems, repairs to the pool, furnishings, a complete guestroom renovation program and spa were completed. In February 2009, the hotel opened a Culinary Academy. The Biltmore Culinary Academy is a recreational hands-on cooking school with classes for adults and children taught by the hotel's chefs. On April 18, 2012, the

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of

Florida Architecture, 100 Years, 100 Places Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to t ...

. The hotel is on a list of supposedly

haunted locations The list of reportedly haunted locations throughout the world, that are locations said to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore. ...

. Mobster Thomas Walsh was killed while staying at the hotel in 1929. The hotel has been used as a setting in various movies and television programs such as '' Bad Boys'', ''

The Specialist ''The Specialist'' is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by Luis Llosa and starring Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Eric Roberts, and Rod Steiger. It is loosely based on "The Specialist" series of novels by John Shirley. ...

'', ''

Shock Waves In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...

'', ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

'', ''

Popi ''Popi'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Hiller, and starring Alan Arkin (in the title role) and Rita Moreno. The screenplay was written by Tina Pine and Lester Pine. The film focuses on a Puerto Rican widower strugglin ...

'', and ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

''.

Golf

The hotel has an 18-hole, par 71, championship course designed by Donald Ross. Reopened in November 2007, following a $5 million investment, the course was restored and updated by Brian Silva. The original 1925 routing was retained, but all greens, tees, and bunkers were reconstructed and grassed to contemporary standards. The property again contracted Silva to provide additional improvements to the golf course in the summer of 2018. The course annually hosts the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship.

Spa

The hotel has a full service spa which is a member of the Leading Spas of the World.

Gallery

File:Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida.jpg, Front of hotel File:Coral Gables FL Biltmore04.jpg, Rear view File:Biltmorepool.jpg, Pool File:Miami - Biltmore hotel - 0395.jpg, Pool File:Miami Biltmore Hotel 2012 186.jpg, Golf course File:Miami - Biltmore hotel - 0346.jpg, Arcade and courtyard with fountain File:Biltmorehall.jpg, One of the reception halls File:BiltmoreHotelFountain.jpg, Fountain File:Biltmore Hotel at Coral Gables, Florida - 23936577 (cropped).jpg, Biltmore Hotel at Coral Gables from the air

References

External links

Biltmore Hotel websiteMiami-Biltmore Hotel & Country Club
a
National Historic Landmarks Program
{{National Register of Historic Places in Florida Hotels in Florida Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Buildings and structures in Coral Gables, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Miami-Dade County, Florida Tourist attractions in Miami-Dade County, Florida National Historic Landmarks in Florida Hotels established in 1926 Hotel buildings completed in 1926 Reportedly haunted locations in Florida 1926 establishments in Florida Hotels in Miami-Dade County, Florida