At the height of the Great Florida Land Boom, Coral Gables founder George Merrick had a vision. He saw a carefully planned city rising out of the woody wetlands of South Florida, one that borrowed the Old World spirit and class of Spain’s Mediterranean architecture to an American populace.
Merrick founded the City of Coral Gables in Dade County in 1925, but to help investors see his grand vision, he needed a vantage point where they could view it for themselves. And so, Merrick built the now historic Biltmore Hotel: a luxury destination and a symbol of South Florida’s 1920s heyday.
This year marks 100 years since the hotel first opened to the public, and the hotel’s management is looking to channel the glitz and glamour of the landmark’s history as they embark on its next chapter.
“We've established the Biltmore Hotel again as a luxury property. One that it ties to the past and the historic legacy that she had,” said Tom Prescott, president & CEO of Seaway Hotels Corp., which manages the Biltmore.
History
Construction of the Biltmore began in 1925. Its doors opened to the public in 1926. It's said that Merrick would take prospective investors to the top of the hotel’s tower so they could survey the surrounding land. He would convince them to move to Coral Gables and sell them plots after showing them the bird’s eye view.
Unfortunately for Merrick, the Great Miami Hurricane swept through the region in September 1926. The massive storm damaged parts of the facade and shattered many of its windows.
“ It did not have hurricane impact windows like we do now, so they suffered from that," Prescott said. "There was not air conditioning yet, so there was water penetration and humidity and moisture which built up mold. We don't have that anymore, but I'm sure they had to deal with that back in the day.”
READ MORE: Making the City Beautiful: How Bahamians built the iconic Venetian Pool — and Coral Gables
Nevertheless, the hotel remained standing and was repaired in short order. It would go on to host a number of balls, pageants and celebrations, counting among its guests celebrities and dignitaries from around the globe.
Former President Bill Clinton famously visited the hotel and announced the Summit of the Americas would be held there in 1994. Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan in films from 1932 to 1948, worked as a lifeguard at the Biltmore pool in the 1920s.
Even infamous mobster Al Capone is said to have stayed at the Biltmore, and the hotel kept an "Al Capone Suite" for guests in honor of his presence.
" While we have no actual record of him staying here, we have pictures of him going in and out of rooms, in and out of the car downstairs in the lower lobby, which used to be a car barn," Prescott told WLRN.
Would-be guests were enticed with amenities specifically chosen to make the Biltmore an iconic hotel the world over: one of the largest swimming pools in the continental U.S. with 600,000 gallons of water, and an 18-hole golf course designed by internationally recognized golf architect Donald Ross.
The Roaring Twenties were in full swing at the Biltmore, but those days would soon come to a somber end with the onset of worldwide conflict.
Post-1940
With the onset of World War II, many large hotels throughout South Florida were turned into military hospitals, the Biltmore included.
Speaking to the HistoryMiami museum, Coral Gables resident Loretta Barish Morris recalled the days when the Biltmore housed convalescing veterans while still providing entertainment.
“I was born in Atlanta in 1942, but my father was the band leader at the Biltmore Hotel,” Morris told HistoryMiami in 2020. “He also worked during the day at the Veterans Hospital as a physical therapist. Back then, the hospital was located in the Biltmore Hotel.”
During its time as a veterans hospital, the Biltmore also housed facilities for soldiers with "mental and nervous illnesses" after coming home from war, according to a 1957 newscast from WTVJ.
Prescott told WLRN the military had the foresight to preserve the hotel property with little harm while it was under their supervision, and the property was acquired by the City of Coral Gables in 1973.
The property was abandoned for around a decade before the city renovated it in the 1980s. Eventually, management was handed over to Seaway Corp around 1993 — then led by Tom Prescott's father, Gene. Seaway Corp. and the Prescott's have managed the Biltmore for more than 30 years.
Since then, the hotel has built itself back up as a luxury vacation destination. Guests from all over the world can be seen driving down the greens of the golf course to the sound of wild parakeets, or lounging by the historic pool.
“ The Parakeets came over from Parrot Jungle during Hurricane Irma [in 2017]. They fled the hurricane and made their home here. Who wouldn't wanna stay here, right?" Maureen Holden, The Biltmore's director of marketing, told WLRN.
Controversy
The past several years at the Biltmore haven’t been without friction.
In late 2024, hotel management renovated the lower lobby of the property and updated it with white marble flooring and white paint on walls and columns, covering decorations that had been there for several decades.
The changes met with quick rebuke from frequent guests and preservationists who called them “tacky.”
The City of Coral Gables code enforcement department stepped in and issued a violation notice to the hotel management company for performing the renovations without permits or authorization.
READ MORE: History We Call Home: How the Great Land Boom shaped South Florida 100 years ago
Prescott argues that the lower lobby was not part of the original Biltmore property that has historic designation, and did not warrant the same degree of preservation.
“ That lobby was originally the cart barn. It was not a historic portion of the hotel. It became more of a matter of personal taste," he said.
Prescott blames politics in Coral Gables City Hall for the large outcry against the renovations, claiming the controversy was overblown. He admits his company did not seek permits for the renovations because he did not think they were necessary, though Seaway is now working with the city on continued remodeling work.
Looking ahead to the next century of hospitality at the Biltmore, Prescott says the historic property needs to evolve with the times.
“We think that the Biltmore is timeless. It serves as a reminder of resiliency and community, but we want to continue to evolve in the same way George Merrick made very clear when he first established this property that it has to evolve in the times," he told WLRN.
That evolution, in Prescott's view, means maintaining the character of the century-old property while updating it with modern amenities including wall outlets, wireless internet and modern plumbing.
Throughout this year, the Biltmore will hold multiple centennial themed events and is collecting stories from guests over the years for a history archive.
