Walesbilt Hotel

"I wish the local colleges would collaborate toake the Grand hotel a luxury dorm for Webber, Warner, Polk state, and the other colleget schools in Polk county. That could really change and reenergize downtown lake Wales a lot."

Richard Ottum

"This fabulous historic hotel is finally coming back to life with a new owner, thanks to the city support. I can hardly wait to see the completed project!"

Plumeria Publishing

"The Dixie WalesBilt Hotel was built in 1926. It opened on January 27, 1927 on 5 Park Avein Lake Wales, Fl. By the time it opened the Florida land boom had begun to collapse. The hotel was built two years before Lake Wales most iconic landmark, Bok Tower was built. At the time it was built the 10 story hotel was the crown jewel of Lake Wales. It is one of only a few remaining skyscrapers from the 1920's. The first owners of the hotel were Florida governor Martin and silent movie star Thomas Meighan who owned the hotel along with fellow movie stars Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, and Clara Bow and Hollywood attorney Nathan Burkan and Hollywood producer Victor Heerman. The hotel was built for $500,000 and it was financed by selling stock in the enterprise.

The hotel architect was Fred Bishop and D.J. Phipps. It was designed in a Masonary Vernacular style with elements of Mediterranean Revival. It is an example of 3 part block with a base, shaft, and a cap. You can see the divide on the building. It was a style that was popular throughout the 1920's. The hotel was constructed of steel reinforced poured concrete in a post-and-beam method without bearing walls. The sturdy construction allowed the building to survive a hurricane in 2004 with only minor damage. The interior of the hotel was ornately decorated with Palladium style windows and doorways, Italian made ceilings, columns, a drinking fountain by Ernest A. Batchelder, marble floors by the Georgia Marble Company, mosaic tile floors, and a wrought iron balustrade. The building had a central mezzanine and shopping arcades.

In 1972 the hotel was purchased by Anderson Sun State and renamed the Groveland Motor Inn. The hotel was renovated to hosts visitors interested in the Green Swamp land sectioned off for development. There was interest in the land because of its proximity to Disney World but when the state declared the land a critical area of concern and prohibited development the company dissolved and auctioned the hotel off in 1974. In 1978 the hotel was signed over to the nationally known religious music and drama group, the Agape Players. The made improvements and added a restaurant and ice cream parlor. They added a teaching facility and operated a Christian hotel on the upper floors. They sold the hotel when they disbanded in 1985.

In the 1980's New Yorker Victor Khubani owned the hotel and changed its name to Hotel Grand. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 31, 1990. He was not able to make the code enforcement repairs necessary regarding the sprinkler system and elevator. In 1995 the hotel was sold at auction. Restoration was started but never completed.

By 2008 the city of Lake Wales owned the hotel. It had been standing empty for the past three decades, destroyed by vagrants and vandals and attempts to modernize it. The hotel had acquired the nickname the Green Monster due to its garish color from years of neglect. The city contacted Ron Brown, President of Dixie WalesBilt LLC. To restore it. Brown, a former contractor promised to restore the hotel to its former glory. The city worked out a deal with Brown where they would sell him the building for $10 if he painted the building, gave $80,000 to the city, and increased the market value of the building to 1.6 million dollars in 16 months time. In June 2011 Brown assured the city he would be ready to open the north side ground floor for retail in the fall. Based on that the city gave him the hotel but fall came and went and it never opened. Brown blamed the city for impeding his work but he has not secured funding for the next level of the project estimated to cost 10 million dollars. At the this point the city would like to find someone else to take over the building although Ron Brown wanted to finish and open the hotel. A lawsuit between Brown and the city was settled in April when it found Brown to have committed fraud when he obtained the building from the city. Lake Wales hopes to take hotel back over and find someone who is finally willing to buy and restore it."

Ariel W.