The Casa Marina is a 100-year-old beachfront Art Deco Hotel landmark in Key West.  It was conceived by Standard Oil tycoon Henry M Flagler, visionary developer of the Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad that stretched from the Florida mainland across the islands to Key West. While Flagler had built majestic hotels up and down the east coast of Florida his last project was a luxurious resort for his wealthy travelers who could afford the train journey all the way south to Key West.   Although Flagler died the year after the railroads’ completion, Casa Marina’s construction began in 1918.

Designed by Thomas Hastings and John Carrere architects of the New York Metropolitan Opera House and the New York Public Library,  they had over 6 acres and 1200 feet of beachfront to begin with.  Sticking to Flagler’s plans the Spanish design structure had 22 inch thick walls with large picture windows, a ballroom,  a spa and two outdoor pools.

It finally opened on New Year’s Eve 1920 and became a refuge for some of the biggest luminaries of the time.

President’s Warren Harding, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, poets Robert Frost and Wallace Stevens, conductor John Philip Sousa,  bandleader Guy Lombardo,  singer Ethel Merman, Hemingway of course and movie stars Gregory Peck and Rita Hayworth all gathered here on the beach.  Today Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland have stayed here.

Casa Marina, with it’s sensational beach and amazing full service, which includes eucalyptus towels and popsicles brought around to bathers, is a location that you may never want to leave!