The Biltmore Hotel: Where luxury and history intersect

When my friend Micole was looking for the right spot to celebrate her anniversary with her boyfriend, she saw the Biltmore Hotel as the ideal option. Its private, luxurious environment seemed perfect for a romantic dinner.

"The setting was unique and the service was excellent," says Micole. "It was something that I’ve never experienced before. It seemed that we were in our own little world."

Occupying 150 acres, the Coral Gables landmark at 1200 Anastasia Ave. has been the scene of many memorable occasions, from the global scale to the intensely personal, like Micole’s. Towering majestically over the Gables since 1926 – indeed the tallest building in Florida at the time – the 275-room Biltmore is a point of pride and frequently the choice for important meetings and events, as well as a subtropical setting for film shoots.

In 2009 alone, the Biltmore was the scene of the Americas Conference, at which former President Bill Clinton spoke in September, and part of the South Beach Food and Wine Festival in February. Featuring Chef Philippe Ruiz, its Palme d’Or restaurant was rated No. 1 Zagat’s Miami survey for food, décor and service.

Built during Florida’s land boom by Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick, the Biltmore was meant to be a center for sports and fashion. And so it was, attracting national and international elites through the 1930s, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Ginger Rogers among them. Its golf course became a playground for the rich and famous, with luminaries like Babe Ruth and Bobby Jones, among others, making the Biltmore their winter playground.

But during World War II, the War Department converted the hotel to the Army Air Forces Regional Hospital, and it later served as a Veterans Administration hospital. During its time as a hospital, the building was redesigned; many of the windows were sealed with concrete, the marble floors covered with linoleum.

"The pool played a major role,” said hotel representative Silvina Martinez. "The Biltmore had the biggest hotel pool in the United States, so it made the perfect recovery location for therapy for the wounded soldiers."

In 1973 the city of Coral Gables took over ownership of the Biltmore through the Historic Monuments Act and Legacy of Parks program. Although it wasn’t serving as a hospital anymore, the Biltmore remained closed for the nearly 10 years, mainly because of economic issues and because its future could not be decided, Ms. Martinez explained.

Committed to reopening the once-grand hotel, the city in 1983 embarked on a complete restoration totaling $55 million. With a black-tie crowd of some 600 guests, the Biltmore reopened on Dec. 31, 1987, as a first-class hotel and resort. In 1996, it was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

Ilana Mizrachi is from Panama and a junior studying public relations and Judaic studies at the University of Miami.