The Biltmore Hotel
Coral Gables, Florida
The Biltmore Hotel rises from the verdant flames of Coral Gables like
a mirage, a towering fortress standing firm against the hurrying
subtropical sky.
Just minutes from the bustle of downtown Miami and the glitter of
South Beach, the Biltmore is an opulent sanctuary, a relic of the past
made new again. With its heroic 315-foot central tower, vaulted lobby
with mahogany-and-brass bird cages, enchanting central courtyard,
massive swimming pool and Donald Ross-designed golf course, the
Biltmore has all the amenities of a world-class resort hotel.
It is also darned cigar friendly, and proud of it. This historic
hotel, the creation of Coral Gables founder George Merrick and hotel
magnate John Bowman, first opened in 1926 and was an immediate
smash. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor stayed there, as did the
Roosevelts and Vanderbilts, Bing Crosby and Babe Ruth. The legendary
gangster Al Capone took residence in the Everglades Suite, now known
to the knowing as the Capone Suite.
But Biltmore's glory years were short-lived. The Florida land boom of
the 1920s became the bust of the Depression-ridden '30s. By the 1940s,
the hotel had become a hospital for the Army Air Force and, later, the
Veterans Administration. The glamour of the Biltmore name was fouled
by the smell of antiseptic and the ravages of linoleum.
In 1971, Coral Gables gained control of the hotel, though it lay
vacant for another 10 years. The city and a hotel development group
resurrected the Biltmore in the mid-'80s and began its restoration,
but again, the timing wasn't right. The effort fell victim to the
recession and the hotel was closed in 1990.
Along came the Seaway Hotel Corp. and its president, Gene Prescott, a
hotel developer and devoted cigar smoker. Prescott led a group of
investors who purchased the hotel in June 1992, accelerated the
restoration process and reopened the Biltmore that August as an
affiliate of Westin Hotels and Resorts. Once again the central tower,
fashioned after the Cathedral of Seville's Giralda tower, became a
beacon of civility on the south Florida landscape.
Under Seaway, the rooms have been refurbished in bright, airy colors
and patterns. The golf course, owned by Coral Gables and administered
by the hotel, was also restored. It is an appropriately sporty resort
layout with a fine set of Donald Ross greens. The swimming pool, which
at 22,000 square feet is the largest hotel pool in the continental
United States, has been repaired, and recently its cabana section has
been enhanced with landscaping designed to ensure privacy, whether for
sunbathing in the buff or conducting business in the lounge
chairs. There are also new tennis courts and a new spa and fitness
center. The ongoing restoration is being supervised by architect Barry
Berg.
As a way to enhance the hotel's image, The Biltmore hosted the Summit
of the Americas in 1994, when 34 presidents from North, South and
Central America convened. Prior to this high-visibility gathering,
Prescott, resident manager Dennis Doucette and Prescott's cigar
smoking partner, Robert Kay, decided to install a walk-in
humidor. President Clinton was among the first to sample its wares.
Since then, cigars have become an integral part of the hotel's
life. There is a Cigar Salon adjacent to the Cellar Club Wine Bar on
the seventh floor. The Cellar Club is a different approach to the
standard concierge level of upper-class hotels. The club is available
not only to guests who upgrade to that level, but to Floridians who
wish to join for an annual membership fee. Fine wine and fine cigars
can be enjoyed at discounted prices.
"The cigar program here is an important amenity to this hotel," said
Prescott, "With Miami's increasing role as a business center for South
and Central America, our business clientele values our cigar
orientation."
The hotel now offers Friday night Cigars Under the Stars dinners in
the courtyard café, an alfresco dining and smoking
experience. On Sept. 12 the hotel inaugurated the first of what is
hoped to be regular black-tie cigar dinners in the Granada
Ballroom. And the humidor is being expanded to 10 feet by 20 feet,
with a cigar roller on the premises.
"We wanted to do cigars on the same grand scale as everything else in
the hotel," says Doucette.
The Biltmore, on the Register of National Historic Places, is a grand
place to escape from the mundane world to the ambiance of world class.
-- Jeff Williams is a freelance writer and a staff writer for
Newsday.
The Biltmore Hotel
1200 Anastasia Avenue
(800) 727-1926; or
Westin Hotels, (800) 228-3000
High season rates from $199 for
rooms, from $359 for suites
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