Photo by: 35westdesign.com
As Miami locals we think 3p is cafecito time (actually 3:05p give that 305 is our area code!). We get cafecito at random corners on 8th street or Lincoln Road, pay $1 and call it a day. This weekend, we did something a little bit different. We had afternoon tea at the Biltmore Hotel.
Schultze and Weaver, the architects of other hotels in the Biltmore chain (as well as New York’s Grand Central Terminal and Miami’s Freedom Tower), designed the hotel to have the most modern of conveniences while fitting in a playful Mediterranean Beaux Arts style.
The Biltmore Hotel is a “luxury resort destination with an award-wining spa.” It sounds incredibly fancy. As it should. Because that’s exactly the Biltmore. As we sat down at 3:15pm to have petite fours and loose leaf tea in real China, we saw three brides and their respective bridal parties, a few photographers, and the best of Miami’s society pages – really cute eight-year olds dressed in ballerina outfits extremely excited about the fact that the harp music was indeed from Beauty and the Beast (okay, I was really excited too, but let’s keep that between us).
Sweet on the top and savory on the bottom! Too bad this is not an every day treat! Photo: 35westdesign.com
We loved the China and ritual of the afternoon tea. Dan was very skeptical at first, but eventually… he was a total pro about it!
The full tea service is $34.5 per person, and it includes a pretty generous three-tier tower of sweet and savory treats (the raspberry macarons were our favorite, followed by the flavored scones), plus three hot water refills of your own fancy hot tea pot. You can choose from white teas, black teas, and herbal teas, which is pretty hard, as all of them were pretty delicious. However, the tea service and the caring and smiling staff were actually not my favorite part of my first ever afternoon tea experience. The Biltmore Hotel was.
Spanish painted tiles are a used across the whole property, staying true to the original Beaux Arts inspiration.
The arch hallways and Arabian Nights inspired outdoor pendants are almost magical, and immediately pull you towards another time and place. Photo: 35westdesign.com
The Biltmore Hotel was designed by Schultze and Weaver and was built in 1926 by John McEntee Bowman and George Merrick as part of the Biltmore Hotel chain. When completed it became the tallest building in Florida at 315 feet holding the record until 1928 when the Dade County Courthouse was built. The Biltmore actually served as a hospital during World War II and as a VA Hospital and campus of the University of Miami medical school until 1968. In 1966, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark. The hotel was used for a setting for the movie Bad Boys, as well as TV shows such as CSI: Miami, and Miami Vice.
And, my total favorite part? Some said this hotel is actually HAUNTED, most often by the spirit of Thomas Walsh, or Thomas “Fatty” Walsh. He was a New York mobster who was killed at the Biltmore on March 4th, 1929 during a gambling dispute. Often, you hear Miami locals talk about how his ghost haunts the hotel elevator, which doors have been seen opening and closing and lights blinking on and off. The elevator usually stops and opens on the 13th floor, where Thomas Walsh was killed…oh my.
I came for the petit fours, and got spooked out! Just kidding. We really enjoyed walking around and marveling at the amazing decor and furnishings full of history and stories.
Fast-forward a few years later, and we are listening to classical music and smearing strawberry jam on buttery scones, and talking about the hotel’s amazing decor!
Now, this is a floor lamp worth blogging about…
In one of the many hallways, chairs’ arm rests and legs resemble birds and other animals with detailed wood carvings, typical of the late Gothic movement.
Dan eventually warmed up about the idea of doing afternoon tea. Outside, the views of the courtyard and perfectly manicured golf course were picture perfect.
You can read more about Biltmore Hotel’s history here.