Where to Stay in Florida
Florida hotels, resorts, inns, campgrounds and RV parks by county and type of stay, with what to check before you book.
Open the page →Ask 1stFlorida
Is the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables haunted?
There are stories that it is, and 1stFlorida tells them as stories, not as fact.
The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables was built in 1926 by George Merrick and opened to the public on January 15, 1926. WLRN reported in 2014 that in 1929 a gangster named Thomas 'Fatty' Walsh was shot and killed at a party on the hotel's 13th floor, and that the killing led to many ghost rumors over the years.
During World War II the hotel became a military hospital, and it reopened in 1987. Starting in 1994, a storyteller told ghost stories in its lobby every Thursday night.
Coral Gables Magazine has reported accounts of cigar smoke, of lamps no one could reach being unplugged, and of a couple seen waltzing in one of the ballrooms before vanishing.
The hotel's own history page does not tell the ghost stories. The Where to Stay page tells the Biltmore's story with Florida's other haunted places to stay.
Where to go from here.
Are there haunted places to stay in Florida?
Yes, if you mean places with ghost stories. The Where to Stay page lists inns and hotels around Florida that have ghost stories told about them.
Read the answer →Miami-Dade County
Population 2,738,356. Typical home sale price $576,224 in the three months ending June 2026; typical condo $396,250 in May 2026. Median household income $71,753; 16.9% of residents are 65 or older. (Source: Redfin; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, published January 2026)
Open the county guide →Where this comes from.
- WLRN, a history of the Biltmore, October 30, 2014 ↗ Read October 27, 2026
- Coral Gables Magazine, the ghost of Christmas past, December 7, 2020 ↗ Read October 27, 2026
- The Biltmore Hotel, its centennial story ↗ Read October 27, 2026
- The Biltmore Hotel, centennial story: the hotel ↗ Read October 27, 2026
More questions like this.
What are some one-of-a-kind places to stay in Florida?
Florida has places to stay 22 feet under the water, on a houseboat, in a treehouse or a covered wagon, in a hotel shaped like a guitar, and overnight at a space center, an aquarium and a zoo.
Which theme parks are in Florida?
Most of them are in and around Orlando. Walt Disney World has four theme parks - Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom - and two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.
Where are the water parks in Florida?
Orlando has the most. Walt Disney World has two, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach; Universal Orlando has Volcano Bay; SeaWorld's is Aquatica Orlando; and LEGOLAND Florida in Winter Haven has a water park beside its theme park.
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