Biltmore Hotel

The Biltmore Hotel at 1200 Anastasia Ave in Coral Gables is a Mediterranean Revival resort that opened in January 1926 and is a landmark of the city that George Merrick planned. Designed by the architects Schultze & Weaver, the hotel is dominated by a 315-foot tower modeled on the Giralda tower of the Seville Cathedral in Spain, which for years was among the tallest structures in Florida. The building was meant to be the centerpiece of Coral Gables, with a golf course, a large lobby with painted ceilings, frescoed walls and Spanish tile, and one of the largest hotel swimming pools in the continental United States. In its early years it attracted wealthy guests and entertained celebrities, and local legend ties gangster Al Capone to a suite on the top floors. After the 1926 hurricane and the Great Depression, business slowed. During World War II the US Army converted the hotel into a military hospital, and after the war it served as a Veterans Administration hospital until 1968. The building was then closed for years and fell into disrepair. The City of Coral Gables carried out a major restoration, and it reopened as a hotel in 1992. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996. Visitors can walk through the lobby, see the pool and gardens, and join a history tour offered on Sundays at set times; confirm current availability with the hotel. Preservation work is ongoing, including attention to the tower, the decorated ceilings and the exterior stucco. The hotel sits next to the Biltmore Golf Course, and it is a short drive from the Miracle Mile and the Venetian Pool. Together with Merrick House it gives a clear picture of how the planned city of Coral Gables was imagined and then rescued from decline. Visitors are advised to confirm current opening hours, admission prices and any guided-tour schedules directly with the venue before traveling, since these details change seasonally and with special events in Miami, Florida.