'Lap of Luxury'

“How about tea at the Biltmore Hotel?” my boyfriend asked.

The grandiose Biltmore Hotel, with its 93-foot Giralda tower, stood out in my memory while driving past the upper-crust Coral Gables section of Miami as a teenager with my father and cousin.

After a three-year hiatus, I would be returning to Miami to spend a few days in South Beach and to visit my Cuban family and friends. But being that a stop to the coastal city would be a first for my boyfriend, I wanted both of us to experience all new sights and sounds in my little Cuba.

I considered my boyfriend’s request.

The only resort in South Florida recognized as a National Historic Landmark, the Biltmore Hotel boasts the largest 23,000-square foot hotel swimming pool in all the continental United States.

The Biltmore Hotel tops the history books with its legendary cast of characters: Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Al Capone and President Franklin D. Roosevelt were all frequent guests. Hollywood’s original ‘Tarzan,’ Johnny Weissmuller, broke a few world records at the pool during his days as a swimming instructor there.

The Biltmore Hotel was built in the 1920’s during the peak of the Florida land boom by the same great architects that designed New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, Leonard Schultze and S. Fullerton Weaver. Their designs drew inspiration from Mediterranean architecture – a fusion of Italian, Moorish and Spanish tastes.

During galas hosted at the hotel, guests would dance on the polished terrazzo floor underneath vaulted ceilings with hand-painted frescos. Guests could sit it out on their own balcony or room – one of 400 rooms in the hotel. The many aquatic shows allowed guests to watch synchronized swimmers, bathing beauties and divers leap from an 85-foot high platform.

The hotel was considered an American Riviera resort of sorts, the jewel of Coral Gables, a ‘center of sports and fashion.’ More than 75 years later, guests can still sit on the lap of luxury in the historic Biltmore hotel.

The arched driveway and 93-foot Giralda tower, modeled after the one in Seville, Spain, greets visitors before entering the rich mahogany-furnished lobby. The travertine floors and hand-painted ceilings remain. The immaculate courtyard and fountain are not far from the 18-hole golf course, also restored to its former glory.

I thought of the Vanderbilts, the Roosevelts and my favorite Hollywood heroines like Judy Garland. I imagined how I might channel some of that old 30’s Hollywood glamour while delicately dipping a Madeleine into my tea, listening to a string quartet play lightly out on the terrazzo.

“Yes,” I told my boyfriend. “The Biltmore sounds perfect.”

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of Biltmore Hotel