A PIRATES TREASURE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

posted by admin on 14th, 2010

GASPARILLA INN & CLUB

If you have not heard of the Gasparilla Inn & Club, you have missed one of Southwest Florida’s best kept secrets. It is located on Gasparilla Island, a seven mile long island with beautiful white beaches, a quaint old fashioned downtown and an 1890 lighthouse located in the Gasparilla Island State Park. Until recent years, the inn’s owners have preferred to keep this historic inn a relatively quiet secret.

When the railroad was built, the island became an upscale destination for wealthy winter visitors. It was Florida’s gold coast without all the glitz. The waters were excellent for tarpon fishing and eventually became known as the “Tarpon Fishing Capital of the World.” The tarpon season is from May to August and there are boats for hire at the Fifth Street docks. These captains will take you to their secret spots.

The Gasparilla Inn, built in 1913, is celebrating its 97th season. It is a member of the Historic Inns of America, offers 140 accommodations and allows an escape that evokes the feeling of “Florida as it is meant to be.” The inn and island takes its name from the legendary Spanish pirate Jose Gaspar, who reputedly plundered the seas and stashed his treasure on Gasparilla Island in the 18th Century. The inn has played host to many notables throughout the years, including Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, and Katherine Hepburn and in recent years the George H.W. Bush family who visit every holiday season.

Most of the guests are regulars who routinely book a year in advance. The inn and cottages are designed to make you feel totally at ease and at home. Suites 201, 202 or 301 have a wide balcony overlooking a manicured green and face west for beautiful sunsets. All of the rooms and cottages are brightly decorated with beautiful colors and the southern charm you would expect. The inn’s common areas offer places for conversation, a library with computers, a quaint bar and a southern front porch facing west to enjoy a peaceful sunset with your favorite happy-hour drink.

This past season the inn welcomed Certified Master Chef, Peter Timmins, who most recently was the executive chef at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. The food is outstanding and entrees include potato-crusted snapper with creamed spinach, white asparagus, black trumpets and a lobster sauce, as well as roasted free range chicken with fava beans, and a pressed terrine of chicken and foie gras. In the Main Dining Room at dinner you receive souvenir menus that have your name personally printed on them.

A few years ago, Pete Dye was contracted to completely tear up the 140-acre golf course and start over. The 6,811- yard course presents plenty of challenge. Holes 14 through 16 play along the water and one of the toughest holes is amongst the shortest, No. 17. It has water all along the right side and basically no shot from the back of the green. It is hard to select a club with confidence on this 175-yarder when the wind is blowing. General Manager, Jack Damioli, says it is one of the most challenging courses he has ever played.

Downtown is just a short walk from the inn and invokes the memory of small town charm from yesteryear. The old railroad depot has been remodeled in recent years to host inviting specialty shops. There are several bars to choose from if you want to enjoy a drink with someone special. The welcoming charm of this town draws you in to experience the feel of an era long ago. A few steps more and you have entered the beautiful private property of the inn. The restaurant, with its unobstructed views of the ocean, makes dining an unforgettable romantic adventure. The full-service spa beckons you to take advantage of the pampering services it offers.