Biltmore Coral Gables History

The Biltmore Coral Gables History begins with the creator of Coral Gables, land developer George E. Merrick, who also founded the University of Miami and developed the suburbs with strict building codes to ensure beautiful surroundings. Coral Gables is a largely residential, affluent area graced with broad, planted boulevards, golf courses, and country clubs. Stately Mediterranean homes, Banyan trees, and tropical foliage line its quiet streets. The thriving business district is also home to over 150 multinational companies and multinational headquarters.

As Biltmore Coral Gables History continues, in 1925, young Merrick joined forces with Biltmore hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman 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, ten months and 10 million dollars later, The Biltmore debuted with a magnificent inaugural that brought people down from northern cities on trains marked “Miami Biltmore Specials.” The Giralda Tower was lit for the first time and the champagne corks popped as the guests fox-trotted to the sounds of jazz, all in celebration of the birth of The Biltmore.

According to Biltmore Coral Gables History, in its heyday, The Biltmore played host to royalty, both Europe’s and Hollywood’s. The hotel counted the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Al Capone, and assorted Roosevelts and Vanderbilts as frequent guests. Fashion shows, gala balls, aquatic shows by the grand pool, and weddings were de rigueur as were world-class golf tournaments. A product of the Jazz Age, big bands entertained wealthy, well-traveled visitors to this American Riviera resort. 

The Biltmore made it through the nation’s economic lulls in the late 1920s and early 1930s by hosting aquatic galas that kept the hotel in the spotlight and drew the crowds. As many as three thousand would come out on a Sunday afternoon to watch the synchronized swimmers, bathing beauties, alligator wrestling, and the young Jackie Ott, the boy wonder who would dive from an eighty-five-foot platform.

Johnny Weissmuller, before his tree-swinging days in Hollywood, broke the world record at the Biltmore pool, furthering the Biltmore Coral Gables History, and was a swimming instructor. Families would attend the shows and many would dress up and go tea dancing afterward on the hotel’s grand terrace to the sounds of swinging orchestras.

But with the onset of World War II, the War Department converted The Biltmore to a hospital. It served the wounded as the Army Air Forces Regional Hospital. Many of the windows were sealed with concrete, and the marble floors were covered with government-issued linoleum. Also the early site of The University of Miami’s School of Medicine, The Biltmore remained a VA hospital until 1968.

In 1973, through the Historic Monuments Act and Legacy of Parks program, the City of Coral Gables was granted ownership control of The Biltmore. Undecided as to the structure’s future, The Biltmore remained unoccupied for almost 10 years. Then in 1983, the City oversaw its full restoration to be opened as a grand hotel. Almost four years and $55 million later, The Biltmore opened on December 31, 1987, as a first-class hotel and resort, bringing back the Biltmore Coral Gables History. Over 600 guests turned out to honor the historic Biltmore at a black-tie affair.

In June of 1992, a multinational consortium led by Seaway Hotels Corporation, a Florida hotel management company, officially became the new owners and operators of The Biltmore and again made significant refurbishments to the property. Approximately $3 million has also been spent by the City of Coral Gables to restore the adjacent 18-hole championship golf course, designed by Donald Ross, who is considered “golf’s all-time greatest golf architect,” according to GOLF DIGEST MAGAZINE.

As the Biltmore Coral Gables History continues, Seaway invested in new lighting and telephone systems, computer systems throughout, repairs to the pool, furnishings, a complete guestroom renovation program, and also remodeled a space into a state-of-the-art health club and spa.

At the 1926 gala opening of the Miami Biltmore Country Club, Dr. Frank Crane predicted that “many people will come and go, but this structure will remain a thing of lasting beauty.” He was right and in 1996, the hotel celebrated yet another milestone in its illustrious history.

The 70th anniversary of this grand South Florida monument and an official designation by the Federal Government as a National Historic Landmark, an elite title offered to only 3% of all historic structures on the National Register of Historic Places adding to the Biltmore Coral Gables History.

Today, The Biltmore proudly boasts a four-star, four-diamond ranking and is the only resort in South Florida recognized as a National Historic Landmark. 2001 welcomes the 75th anniversary and the beginning of a new millennium, a future marked with opportunity for this local legend to share Biltmore Coral Gables History.

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