Belleair
Belleview Inn
The surviving core of Henry Plant's 1897 Hotel Belleview, once one of Florida's largest wooden buildings, moved and restored as a 35-room inn.
- Built
- 1896built 1896 by Henry B. Plant; opened January 1897 as the Hotel Belleview. Surviving original section (lobby, grand staircase and guest-room block) moved about 300–320 ft and turned 90 degrees onto a new foundation in Dec 2016; restored and reopened as a 35-room inn in Dec 2018.
- Style
- Queen Anne / Shingle Style
- Architect
- Francis J. Kennard and Michael J. Miller (per the former NRHP record for the whole hotel)
- Type
- Inn
- Rooms
- 35
- Price
- $$
- Credentials
- Historic Hotels of America member
The story
Railroad and steamship magnate Henry B. Plant built the hotel to bring passengers to his west-coast rail lines; it opened as the Hotel Belleview in January 1897 and grew, through wings added in 1905, 1914 and 1925 and later additions, into one of the largest wooden buildings in Florida. Renamed the Belleview-Biltmore under John McEntee Bowman, it hosted guests including Babe Ruth, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, and housed troops during World War II. The hotel closed in 2009 and most of it was deconstructed from 2015. Developer JMC Communities saved the original section, moved it on 47 computerized carts to a new foundation in December 2016, and spent $13 million restoring it as the 35-room Belleview Inn, which opened in December 2018. Saved original features include the grand staircase, fireplaces, heart-pine floors and 24 Tiffany stained-glass panels from the old Tiffany Ballroom.
Good to know
- Breakfast: included
- Parking: on-site free
- Address: 25 Belleview Blvd, Belleair, FL 33756
Sources (7)
- https://www.opalcollection.com/belleview-inn/faq/
- https://www.historichotels.org/us/hotels-resorts/belleview-inn
- https://www.historichotels.org/us/hotels-resorts/belleview-inn/history
- https://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/move-over-175-tons-of-the-belleview-biltmore-is-finding-a-new-home/2306975/
- https://www.83degreesmedia.com/devnews/historic-florida-hotel-reopens-as-belleview-inn-010819.aspx
- https://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2018/dec/14/belleview-inn-tampa-jmc-communities/
- https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2017-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.