The HACIENDA
5621 Main St, New Port Richey, FL 34652
On March 4, 1926, James E. Meighan, brother to Thomas Meighan, leading man of the silver screen throughout the 20s and 30s, donated land for the construction of a new Spanish Colonial Revival-style hotel befitting New Port Richey’s growing popularity with arts, society, and sports luminaries. 96 years ago on February 5, 1927, Ed Wynn acted as the master of ceremonies for the grand opening and ribbon cutting of The Hacienda Hotel in New Port Richey. The Hacienda and New Port Richey became known as “Hollywood East” due to the celebrities that enjoyed the town and hotel, including reported sightings of Thomas Meighan, Gloria Swanson, Lupe Velez, Charlie Chaplin, and Ann Harding, among other notables. The Hacienda was a popular gathering spot for sports and entertainment figures for many years.
Celebrities at the Hacienda Hotel in New Port Richey. Left to right: Mrs. George R. Sims (the former Marjorie Bartlett Byington), Mrs. Thomas Meighan (the former Frances Ring), Gene Sarazen (one of the greatest golfers in the world in the 1920s and 1930s), George R. Sims (the founder of New Port Richey, wearing the hat), Mrs. Raymond Hitchcock (the former Flora Zabelle, seated), Earl Benham (actor, song writer and a custom tailor for entertainers), Mrs. Earl Benham (the former Christine Mangasarian), Mrs. Gene Sarazen (the former Mary Peck). This photo was probably taken in late 1927. Photo courtesy of Peter Altman & West Pasco Historical Society
The Hotel closed in the 1970s, and in 1986, the building reopened as the Hacienda Home for Special Services. Later the hotel was then empty for years. The City of New Port Richey became owners when the building was abandoned.
After years of the hotel being closed and four years of a multimillion-dollar restoration, the historic Hacienda Hotel opened again to guests this past September.
Let’s take a look at the restored interiors. As many of the original details as possible were saved. The first floor lobby and public areas are beautiful. The lobby fireplace is a perfect example of restoration.
Like an archeologist carefully uncovering an artifact, the crew carefully cleaned and renewed the 1927 fireplace. This process took over a week due to the intricate details. Both the fireplace, and the process of restoring it are truly works of art…and love.
Each chandelier was restored and rehung.
Let’s go upstairs and see a guest room.
This Queen Room overlooks the courtyard.
There are plenty of views from the windows as The Hacienda is located next to Sims Park and the ‘Cotee River.
The Hacienda has participated in Downtown New Port Richey events such as a Halloween stop for children trick-or-treating. Santa was there for children to visit one weekend in December. Their restaurant offers fine dining with special menus for holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. It’s becoming very popular with the local residents.
On Sunday, February 5, 2023, the hotel celebrated its 96th birthday and restoration with a special ribbon cutting with those who helped to bring The Hacienda back to its original glory .
If you visit central Florida and Tampa Bay, take a drive to New Port Richey and have a drink at The Hacienda. They’d love to see you.
To learn more about the Hacienda visit: haciendahotelnpr.com
History of the Hotel: http://www.fivay.org/hacienda.html
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Photos courtesy of The Hacienda.
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I love places like this that are both beautiful and loaded with history. This is a wonderful post and celebrating such a beautiful spot.
Me too – I love that it’s popular again and thriving.
Florida does have an interesting history. I wonder if Mr. Flagler’s railway stopped here?
Flagler’s railroad ran up the east coast of Florida, not the west. It was call the Florida East Coast Railway and ran from Palm Beach down to Key West. There was a railway on the west coast at a later time. It mostly is a bike path now.
It looks like they did a wonderful job with restoring the Hacienda Hotel. If I was to someday go there, what would be the cost to stay in one of their rooms? Can they make a breakfast, lunch & dinner there? I love the past and I love what they did with this place.
Cruisin Paul
Their restaurant Sasha on the River serves meals all day. I haven’t eaten there yet but I’ve heard it’s excellent. The accommodations range from $149 a night up to $239 a night I believe.
…I’m glad that this treasure was restored!
I would love to stay in this hotel! The photographs are amazing. My late mom was born in 1927…
I would love to stay in one of the King rooms with a view of the river. I love the lobby. Happy Thursday!
That’s very cool. I love it when historic buildings are overhauled, restored, updated and repurposed. This should be an asset to the community for years to come. Such beautiful old hotel.
The pictures are wonderful. Looks like a nice place. I love that staircase.
What a beautiful hotel! I’m glad investors and preservationists brought it back to life, and I’m sure it is an asset to Port Richey.
Now that’s a story with a happy ending! So glad the Hacienda was restored. Looks very beautiful and elegant inside and out.
a nice restoration. And many beutiful pictures
Marvellous.
Beautifully done.
What a gorgeous place. They did a great job restoring it to its original beauty1
A beautiful old hotel and enjoyed its history very much. Thank you Carol! The picture with the people near the top, I always enjoyed the fashion from that era.
It’s beautiful!!!!!
What a beautifully ornate hotel! I loved learning about the history of The Hacienda and so nice to see it transformed back to it’s former glory.
Dear Carol, I am so glad that this beautiful and historic hotel has been renovated so nicely and that so many of the old details have been preserved or reconstructed. It looks fabulous. The fireplace is a real gem, with and without Christmas stockings 😉 I love the way they celebrate 96th birthdays – the vintage cars fit perfectly! What a glorious party it will be in 2027 for the HUNDREDTH!
Have a good new week! All the best from Austria!
Traude
❤️
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/02/costa-rica-6-kapitel-tortuguero.html
I’m sure they will have a big party!
Amazing restoration and fabulous pictures. Thanks for sharing. At #LYC and sending Warm regards, Nancy Andres at Colors 4 Health
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
So happy to see this wonderful resort restored. how very special it is with it’s history. If we are ever visiting in Florida, it would be lovely to stop and enjoy a cocktail.thanks for sharing at Love Your Creativity.
Oh wow! They did an amazing job on the restoration. That looks like such a lovely hotel.
Wow! What a fabulous restoration it looks lovely and very elegant thanks for the tour 🙂
Have a Haciendatastic week ?
What an elegant place! Wonderful to see such a treasure restored rather than turning it into another graceless “big box”.
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/02/spring-is-here.html
That’s so gorgeous. I love the cars!! #WWOAT
They did a fantastic job restoring the hotel.
I’d love to stay in the hotel.
Hugs and blessings, Carol.
To day I have selebrating my mothers birthday
What a lovely place. So very nice.
You have documented the restoration efforts so well. The property looks amazing and the view from the window is most fabulous.
thanks for the kind comment.
I really enjoyed this post, Carol. What wonderful pictures of a fabulous place! I’ll be featuring this post at the March 2023 Edition of Hearth and Soul which goes live on Sunday. Hope to ‘see’ you there! Have a lovely weekend.
Thank you so much for the feature. I’ll drop by on Sunday; I hope your weekend is fabulous!