A photo from the Heritage Village archives and library shows the old Hotel Belleview.
BELLEAIR - The aging White Queen of the Gulf is saying her final farewells in the coming days as she prepares for an elaborate makeover that will restore her to the magnificence of her glory days.
On Monday, June 1, at 1 p.m. guests at the Belleview Biltmore Hotel will be escorted to the door for their last checkout, serenaded by musical recordings reminiscent of bittersweet parting with the promise of reuniting.
"It will be a fun day," said Martin Smith, Belleview Biltmore vice president and managing director.
Special events are planned over the weekend, including a poolside Victorian Garden Party Saturday, May 30, 4 to 8 p.m., a Back to the Future fundraising party to benefit UPARC Sunday, May 31, 5 to 9 p.m., and what is being called The Final Final Tournament, a golf tournament symbolic of a long tradition involving golf club members from the Biltmore and Foxborough Country Club near Boston. It will be the golfing rivals' last chance to stay at the hotel, though the Biltmore Golf Club on Indian Rocks Road will remain open throughout restoration of the hotel.
The golf club will, in fact, see some improvements of its own, including the addition of a members-only lounge, an enhanced restaurant menu, prime rib buffet on Fridays and continuation of a Sunday brunch, though on a smaller scale than the hotel has presented.
As for the Biltmore itself, the plan is to reopen sometime in 2012, in part pending resolution of an ongoing legal challenge of plans for the hotel's proposed new spa.
"We are sticking to the timeline of three years," Smith said. "Defeat is not an option." He promises that what will emerge will be a Victorian-style resort surrounded by beautiful gardens and walking paths in an idyllic 22-acre setting. Absent will be vehicles driving around on the property.
"You are never going to see a car," Smith said, referring to the plan for underground parking accessible through a couple of "rabbit holes" where vehicles will disappear from view at the grand entrance.
"The outside has to be restored to what it looked like in 1937-'38," said Smith.
The same holds true for the entire first floor. The restoration goal is to make the Belleview Biltmore as historically accurate to the 1930s as possible, based on existing drawings and photographs.
There will be 450-plus guest rooms, with 50,000 square feet of meeting space, intended to attract large conferences, and the spa.
The three cottages on the property will be restored. The Magnolia Cottage will have sleeping accommodations for 18, plus a dining room and gourmet kitchen. The Palm Cottage also will include sleeping space. The cottages are envisioned as perfect for weddings, family reunions or private business meetings.
"So much is being kept," Smith said of the hotel's restoration plan.
What will go is much of what was not original, including the pagoda, spa, amphitheater, the porch portion of Palm Grill, the meeting rooms near the lobby bar, aluminum siding, and the stage portion of the Starlight Ballroom.
Though the hotel has to look "period" to meet its obligations as part of the National Register of Historic Places, it also will be energy efficient and environmentally-friendly.
"This is a green project," said Amy Maguire of Southern Strategy Group, who handles public relations for the Biltmore. "It will be green, state-of-the-art, and historic, with a beach property as well." Smith and executive assistant Sharon Delahanty, who is also the hotel's historian, have been busily cataloging, photographing, tagging and preparing to store everything of historical significance, right down to the solid brass fixtures and a reservation log from March 17, 1987 that set aside accommodations for Vice President George H.W. Bush and Justice Department officials.
As he looks ahead to closing, Smith waxes nostalgic about his 200 employees, many of whom he has helped to find other jobs but, unfortunately, not all.
"The staff has stood by this hotel. They're loyal," he said. "There is something about this building that brings out the good in people. They've made this place what it is." Hundreds of construction jobs will be created over the three years.
"We want to keep people informed," Maguire said. "We need to continue to engage the community." While a 3-year construction timetable may seem like a painfully long wait to those eager to experience a newly magnificent Belleview Biltmore, Smith offers some perspective.
"It will be just around the corner," he said. "This used to be the place to be, and it will be again."
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