Ghosts, gangsters and glamour: Learn the secrets of the storied Biltmore Hotel with Miami Oculto
There is a Miami that was always there, pulsating, but maybe you haven’t noticed it. Sometimes it is a ghost, other times an old building in the middle of a city that seems to have no past. It is “Miami Oculto” (Hidden Miami), now revealed in an el Nuevo Herald podcast, which debuts with an icon of Coral Gables, the Biltmore Hotel — the elegant, historic hotel that was built from crocodile-filled swamps and has hosted Hollywood stars and presidents.
Former President Bill Clinton’s favorite suite, the Everglades Room, a two-story room with chandeliers, a fireplace and a private elevator that keeps visitors safe, is the setting of one of the city’s wildest ghost stories.
During Prohibition, gangsters operated a speakeasy and bar in the suite on the 13th floor.
One night in 1929, while gambling and drinking, the gangster Thomas “Fatty” Walsh was murdered there. He was linked to other members of organized crime such as Lucky Luciano and Al Capone, who died at his Palm Island residence in Miami Beach .
The bridge table was splattered with blood. There were many witnesses, but no one spoke, and to this day the crime remains unsolved.
But that’s just one of the few remarkable facts about a hotel that has had many incarnations. If you want to know what Will
Smith, Tarzan, Fred Astaire, rum runners, a Havana hotel, a guavabased cocktail and a golfloving crocodile have to do with the elegant Biltmore that today serves as the setting to Quinceañeras photos, tune in to the podcast. There’s a reason that Andy Garcia’s character in Father of the Bride dreams of his daughter’s wedding being held at the Biltmore Hotel.
Tune in on Tuesdays to watch Hidden Miami on YouTube and the el Nuevo Herald website. Find all the episodes of the Hidden Miami podcast on your favorite audio platform: Spotify Podcast, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.