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Our Story

REMINISCE THE OLD-WORLD CHARM HOTEL

The Hotel Flor Tampa is a national landmark hotel located at 905 N. Florida Avenue, Tampa, Florida. It was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 12, 1996. On March 19, 1996, the City of Tampa adopted local Ordinance No. 96-55, designating the hotel as a local landmark and landmark site.

Front View of Hotel Flor, Tampa
History of Hotel Flor, Tampa

Historical Hotel

Hotel Flor is Tampa's only grand historic hotel in Hillsborough County. In 1906, Allen J. Simms of New Brunswick, Canada, moved to Florida and worked for the Tampa Bay Land Company. He sold lots in Palma Ceia Park and Keystone Park and then founded Simms Realty Company in 1908. After serving in World War I, Simms returned to Tampa in 1919, creating neighborhoods like New Suburb Beautiful and Parkland Estates and constructing apartment and office buildings.
The Birth of Hotel Flor, Tampa

The Birth of Hotel Flor

In the summer of 1925, Allen J. Simms realized a hotel for business travelers would thrive amid Tampa's land speculation boom. He and local investors founded the Tampa Commercial Hotel Company, Inc., with Simms as General Manager and Secretary. They purchased the current Hotel Flor site, hired Tampa architect Francis Joseph Kennard to design the hotel, and contracted G.A. Miller Construction Co. to build it.
Popularity of Hotel Flor, Tampa

POPULARITY

The hotel acted as home base for the Cincinnati Reds baseball players during Spring Training and hosted numerous corporate events for the Lance Crackers, the Jaycees, the Optimist Club, and others, as well as school graduations, receptions, proms, and other activities that still connect the hotel to Tampa's local community through fond memories of Tampa's residents. For that reason, many have passed by the hotel over the years since its closure and hoped it would be saved. It is not only a national landmark; it is a local treasure.
The Crystal Ballroom at Hotel Flor, Tampa

Notable Guests and Events

Gus Arencibia and Mary Jim recalled movie stars and public figures like James Stewart, Charlton Heston, Gary Cooper, Constance Bennett, Esther Williams, Sherman Hayes, and Elvis Presley staying at the hotel. The hotel is also linked to a rumored Mafia plot by Santo Trafficante, Jr. to assassinate President Kennedy. Additionally, Clarence Darrow, known for the 1925 "Scopes Monkey Trial," stayed for a biblical debate with local religious leaders.
Building of Hotel Flor, Tampa

Our History

In 2005, facing demolition due to poor condition, the Floridan was saved by an international hotelier who saw its potential. Investing over $18 million, he meticulously restored the hotel's architectural details, renaming it "Hotel Flor Tampa." Teams of craftsmen spent thousands of man-hours to re-create the grand sense of place the Floridan formerly offered its guests. The hotel reopened on July 30, 2012, just in time for Tampa's first Republican National Convention in August 2012.

  • 1920s-1960s

    The Hotel Flor's heyday stretched from opening in the late 1920s to the 1960s. During this period, the hotel flourished, becoming a central gathering spot for local business leaders and the military, particularly in the 1940s.

  • 1940s

    The hotel became a popular venue for business and military gatherings. Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker, the highest-ranking officer of Native American ancestry and the first general lost in action during WWII, was at the Floridan's Sapphire Room bar when he received word of the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war, the hotel was so popular that rooms were scarce, as recalled by Gus Arencibia, a former bartender at the Floridan.

  • Post-1960s

    After the 1960s, the Hotel Flor experienced a decline as Tampa's downtown core saw residents move to the suburbs. Despite this, the hotel remained a site of historical and cultural significance.

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