We took the $5 tour of the Belleview Biltmore on Saturday morning. First of all, save your $5. Use it to buy a lukewarm soda pop at the ice cream shop. I thought the purpose of a tour is to get a peek behind the scenes, or learn something interesting about the subject. This tour fails on both points.
I learned very little that I did not already know about the hotel. If you are interested in the history of the place, you can find much more on the internet. Our guide made no mention of ghosts, prominent visitors, or even the velodrome. In fact, the tour guide even made up stories about the place.
If you know local history, you are aware of the amusing one-upmanship of Henry B. Plant and Henry Flagler. Most notable to Tampans was the following exchange (paraphrased):
Plant: “Come spend some time in Tampa”
Flagler: “Never heard of it, how will I find the place?”
Plant: “It’s simple, Henry, just follow the crowds.”
The Biltmore tour guide told this story, and substituted Belleview for Tampa. No I didn’t call her on it.
No peeking, either.
At one point during the tour, we ended up in the supposedly off-limits cellar. We walked about 100 yards from St. Andrews Bar to the old tracks that led from the train station. Then turned and went right outside. We did look in the secret stairway (of which I had already seen), but weren’t allowed to go that way. No lodging rooms were on the tour… Bah. You get the point – It was disappointing.
But during my visit, I got a chance to take a much better look at the place than last time. It is in serious disrepair. Last year’s hurricanes have the roof completely falling apart, and still covered in tarps. The gables over each (huge) porch are sagging badly, and need to be replaced. On the trip through the cellar, there are three plastic dishwasher trays holding up A/C vents.
To ask the owners to fix this place up is really asking a lot. And to ask them to use historical-era replacements would make it that much more expensive. Even if the city, county, and state all pitched in every last dime, it still wouldn’t be enough.
I love history, and you know I would hate to see this place go. But I certainly don’t feel comfortable telling another person (or corporation) that they should HAVE TO spend that much money.
Bryan Otto
4 years ago
I got to go there for a tattoo convention a few years ago. The whole crowd was buzzing about the ghost stories. Someone broke into the top floor, and many convention-goers (including myself) got to tour the supposedly haunted portion in the dark. It was creepy up there for sure. The rooms were in disrepair, and there was peeling 60’s style wallpaper in some areas. There was an attic and crawlspace, and what appeared to be some kind of elevator or dumbwaiter shaft with ancient iron gears and wheels.
That said, I do feel the place should be preserved.