The Belleview Biltmore Resort holds a colorful history. - Official Travel Site for the St. Petersburg & Clearwater Area America’s Top Rated Beaches


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The Historical Angle
The Belleview Biltmore Resort holds a colorful history.

There’s just something about those amber-tinged black and white photographs from the early 1900s that capture my imagination. The women playing tennis in their long white dresses and the men in dinner jackets standing in front of the band exude a relaxed sophistication rarely seen today. But tucked in a quiet cove just south of Clearwater I found a place that has preserved that turn-of-the-century elegance: The Belleview Biltmore Resort.

Since 1897, the Belleview Biltmore Resort has welcomed guests to its 21 acres of manicured grounds set at the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway. As I round the curve from the gated entry, the sheer size of The White Queen of the Gulf, as the hotel is known, is overwhelming. The steep, green roof atop the white walls of the five stories hold more than six miles of carpet inside and two miles of hallways. (The staff jokingly recommends skipping the resort's gym and instead walking the four flights of stairs and hallways a few times.)

Every day at 11 a.m. the resort, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, offers a heritage tour. The tour, open to the public as well as guests, begins in the newer main lobby and then quickly moves to the historic structure. On the veranda at the end of the promenade, the story of the resort’s Victorian roots and its founder unfold. Like so many resorts built in Florida at the turn of the

20th century, the Belleview Biltmore was established by an industrial tycoon. Namely, Henry B. Plant, who ran 20,000 plus miles of track for the Plant System of Railways and the Plant Steamship Line. Today the Belleview Biltmore is the only one of Plant's eight Florida hotels and resorts that still accommodates overnight guests.

On January 15, 1897, Plant opened the doors to the resort after 18 months of construction. The resort’s 145 rooms were filled by Plant's friends and business partners who were called the ’idle rich,’ and who would reside on the property for four months, or the winter season as it’s called. After Easter the resort would close until the next year's season began.

Today the Belleview Biltmore is open year ’round, yet the resort remains a gathering place for politicians, movie stars and professional athletes. The Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team has replaced athletic guests like Babe Ruth and golfer Gene Sarazen, and former British Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher takes the place of powerful men such as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

Henry Plant died within two years of the resort’s opening and his son Morton took over the business. When Morton's own son was injured in a car crash he brought nurses and doctors to the otherwise undeveloped area and soon established a hospital in Clearwater, which still bears the Plant name.

Under Morton’s leadership, the resort’s wealth

also brought a fire engine and fire company to the town of Belleair and Florida's first grass golf course. Beforehand, Florida courses were made of dirt and shells because no one was able to grow the grass properly. Today the original course outside the hotel is privately owned, but the second, Donald Ross-designed course just a short ride away is open to guests.

By 1924 the resort had added two wings, growing the Belleview Biltmore to 425 rooms, 246 of which are now used for guests. The resort closed its doors during the Great Depression, and then was used by the military during World War II. Amazingly, the military painted all of the resort’s 1,700 windows black for security reasons during its occupation, but upon inspection today, the original glass is crystal clear.

New amenities like the spa and fitness center and 200,000-gallon outdoor swimming pool have been added to the Belleview Biltmore over the years thanks to several multi-million dollar restorations. There is also an ice cream parlor, Maisie’s, on the main floor named after Morton’s second wife and guests can often find the hotel’s dessert chef creating chocolate seashells and wedding cakes from the window of the bakery.

As when the resort first opened, exemplary service and guests’ comfort are still highly prized. Most notably, the resort's staff still uses the tunnels beneath the Georgia pine and native virgin Florida pine wood floors and hidden staircases and trapdoors to move throughout the resort undetected by guests.

With Plant’s stern portrait looking down from the faded photographs that line the resort’s walls, I can only guess this is how he would want things to have continued.