An Iconic Florida Hotel Bridging Classic and Contemporary

Henry Plant didn’t just build the original iteration of the hotel that is now The Belleview Inn. He’s the little-known individual responsible for kick-starting the development of Florida.

While Henry Plant’s Victorian hotel has seen a lot of change in her 120 years, one thing that has always remained consistent: her glamour and grace.

Before the crumbling Hotel Belleview could be renovated and reborn as Belleview Inn, she needed to be moved to her new foundation. So how do you move a 1,750-ton structure the distance of roughly the length of a football field?

While the hotel is obviously not the same as it was when it was first built in 1897, there are so many preserved portions and unique nods to the past scattered throughout. You just need to know where to look.

Simultaneously, while Belleview Inn’s restoration was being done, master Florida artist Christopher Still was conducting his own elaborate history project to create these commissioned works for the hotel.

If these walls could talk, they’d whisper stories about past presidents wandering these halls, weddings taking place generation after generation within the ballrooms, special anniversary dinners, and more. But alas, walls cannot talk. Luckily, these longtime locals can.

Leave the planning to the pros – this Opal-approved guide to Clearwater Beach, FL gives you an easy-to-digest list of all the top attractions, restaurants, beaches, and local favorites in the area.

While the on-site plethora of pastimes is enough to keep you busy at Belleview Inn, sister property, Sandpearl Resort, also brings guests a little bit of Clearwater Beach.

The various spaces and places to take your morning breakfast basket of caffeine and croissants at Belleview Inn.

Pier 60 is over a thousand feet of family fun jutting out from the last strip of land into the open ocean. But the litany of activities doesn’t stop when you step off the pier, there are swaths of beach, waves, and boulevards filled with activities that are not to be missed.

Golf activities aren’t just reserved for trips with your buddies. When planned correctly, a weekend golf getaway can be a wonderful experience for you and your significant other.