in Florida’s historic hotels
Staying at a historic hotel is a unique experience filled with old-world charm that transports you to another era. You can enjoy that experience at one of the fourteen Florida hotels that are part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America.
A hotel must be at least 50 years old and utilize historic accommodations to be included in the prestigious program. The hotel must also be designated as a historic landmark or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Classic Florida style from the 19th and early 20th centuries pervades in hotels like the jazz-age Colony Club Hotel in Delray Beach. Opened in 1926, its gracious lobby still contains original iron chandeliers, terrazzo floors, and even a manually operated elevator. There, you can lounge in one of 50 pieces of 1920s wicker furniture or head out to the huge veranda to enjoy coastal breezes. Classic cocktails await at the Colony Porch Bar or you shop several boutiques inside. When the waves call, the Club has 250 feet of private beach with complimentary cabanas and chaises for guests.
Across the state, in St. Petersburg, the Don CeSar, affectionately known as the “Pink Palace,” is a Mediterranean-style building opened in 1928. It’s hosted such notables as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Al Capone, and Franklin Roosevelt. During much of the 20th century, the Don CeSar was conscripted into military service as an Air Force convalescent center and eventually a Veteran’s Administration office. It was saved from an uncertain fate and returned to its former grandeur as a hotel in the 1970s after a $7.5 million restoration.
St. Augustine’s landmark Casa Monica Hotel opened in 1888 and was purchased by railroad magnate Henry Flagler soon after its opening. The five-story Moorish-revival hotel boasts 100-foot towers capped with red tile and an arched carriage entrance showing 19th-century roots. Inside, take time to admire the gold-leafed archways and hand-painted Italian tile. Its 138 guest rooms have Spanish-style furniture, including wrought-iron four-poster beds and mahogany tables. The Casa Monica Hotel was reopened as a historic hotel in 1999 and soon after hosted the King and Queen of Spain. Today, it’s considered one of the finest boutique hotels in the country and St. Augustine’s only AAA Four-Diamond property.
Near the center of Miami Beach’s Art Deco Historic District sits the 14-story National Hotel. When it opened in 1939, the National Hotel was considered one of the grandest hotels on Miami Beach; today, the authentically restored Art Deco property stands as a testament to Miami’s golden era. Inside are treasures like hand-picked Deco-era furnishings, terrazzo floors, and a massive original oak bar, the centerpiece of the hotels’ Blues Bar. You can also enjoy jazz and other live entertainment or take a dip in the 250-foot palm-lined infinity pool. For more information on these or any of the other Historic Hotels of America, visit HistoricHotels.org.