The
original mansion at The Gardens Hotel Key West, a fine example of
the Bahamian style of architecture was built in the 1800’s
and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
In 1930 The Gardens mansion was purchased by Peggy Mills,
who envisioned creating a botanical gardens on the
property and began purchasing adjacent buildings and
land until she had acquired one-quarter of a city
block. To clear the land she had 13 existing
buildings -demolished sparing only her home and the
quaint gate house. |
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It is said that when she first purchased The Gardens mansion
the property was barren and she started her
gardening career by planting 6 coconuts upside down.
From the beginning of her ambitious project she
envisioned creating a
garden that would one day be enjoyed by the public.
From 1930 until 1968, when the gardens were first
opened to the public she went to extraordinary
lengths to make her vision a reality.
Mrs. Mills began collecting plants in earnest and
eventually obtained a permit to collect plants from
all over the world. She was known in Key West as
“The lady of the orchids” for her rare collection of
Hawaiian and Japanese orchids which flourished on
the trees.
As she was collecting her vast array of botanicals,
Mrs. Mills was also busy purchasing 87,000 century
old bricks from Cuba, Honduras and England. With
these bricks she designed and built winding pathways
and intimate seating areas throughout the gardens.
She also began to collect antique statuaries to
further enhance the garden’s appeal...
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Among the garden’s more curious features are four
one-ton earthenware jars called tinajones (teena-HONE-ez)
which were used by Spanish settlers to catch
rainwater for drinking. Being a family friend of
then President Batista, she was able to remove the
jars and rare botanicals from Cuba. The tinajones
had to be moved over 300 miles by oxcart to Cuba and
then re-crated with rubber bumpers for the trip to
the United States. They were eventually hauled to
Key West in sod trucks. They remain a fixture of the
gardens today and are the only tinajones to be found
in the country.
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Following Peggy Mills death in 1979, there were
several changes in ownership of the property until
it was purchased by Bill and Corrina Hettinger in
1992. They envisioned the property as an exclusive
Key West luxury hotel. A multi-million dollar
renovation of the original
structures was undertaken and two additional
structures were built to replicate the grand manor
houses found in the Bahamas. These new structures
currently house the garden and courtyard
accommodations.
In September of 1996, Kate Miano moved to Key West
and with no prior experience in running an Inn,
opened the original Ambrosia House on Fleming
Street, one block away from The Gardens Hotel Key West. She
became experienced rather quickly learning how to
book a reservation and make a bed at the same time.
Three and a half years later she managed to purchase
the property directly across the street, and
Ambrosia Too was born. Since moving from St. Louis,
Kate always coveted The Gardens Hotel Key West, and when it
finally went back on the market in 2004, she
immediately put it under contract. Owning and
managing The Gardens Hotel Key West is the fulfillment of her
dream. |
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The
Gardens Hotel · 526 Angela Street, Key West, FL 33040
(800)526-2664 or (305)294-2661
Email
reservations@gardenshotel.com
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