The Biltmore in Coral Gables

Royal luxury for the soignée body and soul

by Lucy Komisar

The Biltmore in Coral Gables, just south of Miami, is one of those hotels that you visit even if you're not staying there. A friend who has lived in Coral Gables for many years took us there as a highlight on a tour of the area. We could see the tall cream-colored spire of the large Spanish colonial style red-tile roofed building from many blocks away. The Biltmore, in Mediterranean Revival style, was inspired by the Cathedral of Seville in Spain.

Among the people who have lodged at this very distinctive hotel are Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, British Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher and President Mikhail Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union, as well the presidents of Columbia, Peru, Spain, Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and individuals from the royal houses of Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg, Monaco. Also a fellow named Barack Obama when he was U.S. Senator from Illinois. Various Bushes, too. And a few dozen theatrical royals. 

In 1994, President Clinton hosted 34 heads of state from the western hemisphere at the Summit of the Americas at the Biltmore’s Conference Center of the Americas.

We drove up a long drive-way and walked inside an ornate lobby dominated in the center by outsized mahogany and green marble birdhouses with singing finches. At one end of the grand hall was a small afternoon tea restaurant where people chatted to background music provided by a pianist at a baby grand. At one place, high vaulted ceilings were painted blue and dotted with stars. At another, the ceiling was covered with painted wood panels. Greek columns marched down a lengthy expanse. You have the sense of being in a European palace.

A few months later, we checked in to the Biltmore for one of the most memorable hotel experiences we have had. Our junior suite was divided into sitting and bedroom areas by a double-sided ceiling high shelf unit with drawers on the bedroom side and a desk on the other. The canary yellow walls were set off by a bright pink and yellow flower painting and an old map of Cuba and the Caribbean. There was a comfortable couch and glass coffee table of green wrought iron. The tiled floor was in different hues of gold. Through the window we could see a huge azure pool edged by a café on one side and row of cabanas on another, and further in the distance the golf course and club house.

We quickly made our way to our cabana. It was in of a line of luxurious outdoor rooms with one side open to the huge pool that curves past the open air Cascade Grill, but privacy was afforded by a screen of palms, hibiscus and bougainvillea. There was an Egyptian cotton covered couch, a ceiling fan and a sideboard with plates and glasses. We brought some work, plugged in our computers and enjoyed the wifi connection.

The cabanas have their own waiters. When you want something, you press a button on the phone that rings on the server's cell phone. We had lunch of delicious halibut with rice and beans and a pepper and eggplant mix. Our favorite Mojitos turned out to be made with vodka, not rum. We tried a mango Mojito, but decided that the sweet fruit overpowered the mint. To get some sun, we repaired to the two white chaises longues on the private terrace in front of the cabana. You can use the cabanas for day or evening. A double cabana includes a table and chairs and more chaises. It's perfect for parties.

We had breakfast at the Fontana restaurant, an outdoor terrace around an Italian fountain (hence the name). It was a buffet with good croissants (always my measure), fresh fruit, cold cuts, yogurt and more. My companion had a made-to-order omelet. The Fontana is open for tapas and lunch at midday and for dinner. But the most spectacular event is the famous prix fixe Sunday champagne brunch which is booked for Mother's Day a year in advance! I started with oysters and champagne and made my way around the buffet through stations serving such treats as sushi, tapas and filet mignon. It took a few hours! A guitar player added to the sybaritic mood.

We had dinner at the Palme d'Or where we designed our own tasting menu – among our choices were Mediterranean fish soup, grilled wild striped bass, Dover sole filet with roasted baby leeks, and roasted lamb. It's was perfect for me, a person who likes to taste everything! The room is stunning, with potted palms, pale gold walls and arm chairs, and chandeliers of small lamps that bathe the room in soft light. The food was memorable. The French chef is Philippe Ruiz, and he's made this place a culinary prize winner.

After all that good eating, it was time to check out the fitness room, one of the largest I've ever seen in a hotel, with rows of walking machines, weight machines, every kind of exercise machine. I discovered that the Biltmore also features classes in Pilates, aerobics and yoga. I peeked into a large private spa room with several massage beds, chaises longues and a soaking tub, available for groups. The ten Hartrue tennis courts are lit at night.

We never really had to leave the Biltmore, but we took one trip outside to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden nearby. We made a reservation for the 7 pm tram ride through some of the 83 acres.

The Garden, opened in 1938, is a rolling expanse of palms, tropical fruit trees and cycads, which are plants with thick trunks and large crowns of leaves. I loved the skirt palm. Doesn't the bottom part look like a skirt?

Fairchild has the largest collection of tropical plants in the U.S. It is not named after a multimillionaire benefactor – surprise!—but after David Fairchild, who lives from 1869 to 1954 and was a renowned botanical explorer. He traveled the world and brought back such important plants as mangos, cotton, alfalfa, soya beans, nectarines, dates and flowering cherry trees. Well, actually the money for the garden came from a banker who named it after his friend, Fairchild.

You can spend a day here, with the help of a map and trams. Stop at the Asia Collection, Jewels of the Caribbean and the Tropical Flower Garden, among many sites. We just took the tram ride that slowly passed by or stopped at the highlights. A guide provided explanations. I was delighted to see set among the plants a series of black bronze sculptures by the Colombian artist Fernando Botero as well as the stark red and yellow steel girders of Mark di Suvero. I found Botero's 1999 bronze, "Man Walking," especially moving. It is a reflection on oppression that the curator said is supposed to make you ask yourself, "Are you the man walking or the man he is walking on? Can you be somewhere in between."  

After the tour, we stopped at the Garden's outdoor café for tapas and wine, served up with classical music by a flute player and guitarist.

If you go

The Biltmore
1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables FL 33134
(305) 445-1926 or 913-3159.
(800) 727-1926
Fax: (305) 913-3158
reservations@biltmorehotel.com
http://Biltmorehotel.com/

276 rooms on 150 acres.
Free wifi and ethernet in the rooms.
6,700-yard course designed by Donald Ross.
8 miles from Miami International Airport.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL 33156
(305) 667-1651.
www.fairchildgarden.org/

9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, later on weekends and in season.
Entrance $10 for children 6-17, $15 seniors, $20 adults.

Tram tours of forty-five minutes departs 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. weekdays, 4:00 p.m. weekends, later on weekends in season.

Photos by Lucy Komisar