Turning a Dream into
Reality
The original mansion at The Gardens Hotel in Key West, a
fine example of Key West luxury hotels, was built in the
1800’s and is currently listed on the National Register of
Historic Places.
In 1930 The Gardens Hotel in Key West, formerly The Gardens
Mansion was purchased by Peggy Mills. She envisioned
creating a botanical garden 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 Hotel in Key West
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. They are the only tinajones to be found
in the country and set our Gardens apart from
other Key West luxury hotels.
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Following Peggy Mills
death in 1979, there were several changes in
ownership of The Gardens Hotel in Key West until
it was purchased by Bill and Corrina Hettinger
in 1992. They envisioned the property as one of
the exclusive Key West luxury hotels. 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 guest rooms.
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 in 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 in Key West as one of
the most beautiful Key West luxury hotels. When
it finally went back on the market in 2004, she
immediately put it under contract. Owning and
managing The Gardens Hotel in Key West is a
fulfillment of her dreams. |
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Contact the Gardens Hotel in Key
West Florida |
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The Gardens
Hotel · 526 Angela Street, Key West, Florida 33040
(800)526-2664 or (305)294-2661
Email
reservations@gardenshotel.com
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