20th century In 1925, land developer
George E. Merrick joined forces with Bowman-Biltmore Hotels president
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, after ten months of construction at a cost of $10 million, the hotel debuted with an inaugural that brought people down from northern cities on trains marked "Miami Biltmore Specials." Visitors included the
Duke and
Duchess of Windsor,
Ginger Rogers,
Judy Garland,
Bing Crosby,
Al Capone, and assorted
Roosevelts and
Vanderbilts as frequent guests.
Franklin D. Roosevelt had a temporary White House office set up at the Hotel when he vacationed in Miami. Just months after the hotel opened, on September 18, the
1926 Miami Hurricane struck. While the hotel was undamaged, providing shelter for over 2,000 survivors, the disaster signaled the end of the Florida land boom. Merrick's Coral Gables company declared bankruptcy on April 13, 1929, and Merrick's stake in the hotel was bought out by his partner, John McEntee Bowman in November 1929 for $2.1 million. With the onset of
World War II, the War Department took over the hotel, converting it to a 1,200-bed hospital in November 1942. The building was transferred to the Army in 1946 and renamed Pratt General Hospital. Many of the windows were sealed with concrete, and the marble floors covered with government-issue linoleum. The hospital was transferred from the Army to the
Veterans Administration (VA) in July 1947. In June 1992, a multinational consortium led by Seaway Hotels Corporation became the new operators of the hotel under a long term management lease with the City of Coral Gables, and again made extensive refurbishments to the property. New lighting and telephone systems, repairs to the pool, furnishings, a complete guestroom renovation program and spa were completed.
21st century In February 2009, the hotel opened the Biltmore Culinary Academy, a recreational hands-on cooking school with classes for adults and children taught by the hotel's chefs. On April 18, 2012, the
AIA's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of "Florida Architecture, 100 Years, 100 Places." ==In popular culture==