Elegance at The Biltmore

For South Florida fun and roaring twenties glamour, stay a night at this legendary hotel.

The Biltmore's glittering main entrance makes me feel as if I'm entering an elaborate Broadway show or Hollywood set. Inside the theatrical lobby, giant arches lumber beneath the cobalt blue ceiling. Travertine pilasters and walls cast a flattering glow on visitors. An enormous cast of bellhops, maids, valets, and desk clerks scurry with frenetic energy. Everyone is unfailingly polite and treats me like a star.

But then, they're used to seeing stars here. From prime ministers to Presidents, from movie stars to rock legends, The Biltmore has spoiled them all within its stuccoed walls.

Built during the Florida land boom in the 1920s, this hotel stands as one of the grandest and most elegant structures in the South. Its central tower, which closely resembles the Moorish Giralda Tower in Spain, rises over the posh community of Coral Gables like a cathedral spire. I've been to the Giralda, and though pretty, it has none of The Biltmore's luxuries.

Those luxuries abound in the rooms. A $90 million renovation since the 1980s brought back The Biltmore's swank twenties style and added modern touches. Each room comes with Ethernet hook-ups, feather beds, and Gilchrist & Soames toiletries.

Take time to enjoy the hotel's signature restaurant Palme d'Or, which allows you to gaze upon the palm-covered courtyard or the 23,000-square-foot pool. The Donald Ross-designed, 18-hole golf course has attracted duffers from around the world, including the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

It is hard to fathom that this glorious building almost met the wrecking ball (the old dame has bankrupted four different developers). But today she endures, as her builder George Merrick intended when he opened the hotel with the words, "The Biltmore hotel and Country Club will be two of the most stupendous edifices of their kind the world has ever seen." MORGAN MURPHY

The Biltmore hotel: 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33134; 1-800-727-1926 or www.biltmorehotel. com. Rates: begin at $259. You can get significantly lower rates through packages and promotions. Some packages start at $59 per night, per person, double occupancy.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Oct 2004
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