Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United States / Belleair / The Belleview Inn
The Belleview Inn
Belleair, Florida, United States · Opal Collection · Accessible Luxury
Henry B. Plant opened the Queen Anne Hotel Belleview on a Clearwater Bay bluff on 15 January 1897: Florida heart pine, Edison steam electricity, a rail line to the door. Vanderbilts, Fords, and Babe Ruth came for the White Queen of the Gulf. After a 2009 closing, JMC saved the 1897 lobby, 35 rooms, and Tiffany ballroom ceiling, rolled the 1,750-ton core some 300 feet, and reopened it on 5 December 2018 as this Opal Collection inn, Plant's only Florida grand hotel still taking guests.
- 35 rooms
- Opened 2018
- Rooms from 330 sq ft (31 m²)
About The Belleview Inn
- Railroad magnate Henry B. Plant built the original 1897 Hotel Belleview using native Florida heart pine and steam-generated electricity introduced by Thomas Edison himself.
- Nicknamed the 'White Queen of the Gulf,' it drew Vanderbilts, DuPonts, Fords, and Babe Ruth, and later grew to become reputedly the largest occupied wooden structure in the world.
- After closing in 2009 and falling into disrepair, roughly 90 percent of the structure was demolished in 2015 and 2016, but the preserved 1897 lobby and Tiffany ballroom ceiling were relocated about 300 feet and reopened as a 35-room inn in 2018.
- Entry-level rooms start at 330 sq ft (31 m²).
History
The Belleview Inn at 25 Belleview Boulevard in Belleair, Florida, is the surviving heart of one of the Gilded Age's grandest resorts. Railroad and steamship magnate Henry B. Plant built the sprawling Queen Anne-style Hotel Belleview on a bluff above Clearwater Bay in 1896, and it opened on January 15, 1897 with 145 rooms, constructed of native Florida heart pine and equipped with steam-generated electricity introduced by Thomas Edison. Reached directly by Plant's rail lines, the "White Queen of the Gulf" drew Vanderbilts, DuPonts, Fords, Babe Ruth, and multiple U.S. presidents. After Plant's death, John McEntee Bowman of the Biltmore hotel chain acquired the property and renamed it the Belleview Biltmore in the 1920s; expanded over the decades, it grew to some 820,000 square feet and 400-plus rooms, reputedly the largest occupied wooden structure in the world, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The hotel closed in 2009 and fell into disrepair. After developer JMC Communities acquired it, roughly 90 percent of the deteriorated structure was demolished in 2015–16 amid preservation outcry. The central portion of the original 1897 building — its lobby and 35 rooms above, along with the ballroom's Tiffany stained-glass ceiling — was preserved, relocated about 300 feet onto a new foundation, and meticulously restored at a cost of some $13 million. The downsized Belleview Inn reopened on December 5, 2018 as a 35-room boutique hotel, a member of Historic Hotels of America and part of the Opal Collection — the only one of Plant's eight grand Florida hotels still operating as a hotel.
The setting
2 miles from State Highway 60.
Restaurants and bars
- Belleair Country Club 19th Hole — Restaurant
- Belleair Country Club – Main Dining Room — Restaurant
- Maisie's Marketplace — Café
Experiences
- Golf at Belleair Country Club — Access to two 18-hole golf courses designed by Donald Ross, with driving range and Pro Shop; tee times bookable through the hotel.
- Iconic pool — Iconic pool with first-come, first-serve chairs.
- Hotel history tours — Tours of the hotel offered 5 days a week.
- Bike tours, kayak excursions and golf lessons — Activities guests can explore around Belleair, as listed in the FAQ.
Amenities
- Pool
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Golf course
Open The Belleview Inn in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.