Historic Bonita Springs hotel considered a 'hidden gem' celebrates 100 years

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. —

Nestled along Old U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs, there is an old-Florida gem you might miss if you're not looking for it.

"I like to say that the Shangri-La Springs, you don't go looking for it. It comes to you," said chef Amy Visco, kitchen manager at Shangri-La Springs.

After Hurricane Ian destroyed her Sanibel restaurant, Visco was looking for a job.

"It's just been this great healing center. It's so in tune with who I am as a person," Visco said.

One hundred years ago, a pioneering Southwest Florida developer named Gilmer Heitman was looking for a place to put up potential buyers.

"So, he built this specifically as a hotel, and it opened in 1926," said Lee Bellamy, general manager of Shangri-La Springs.

It was first called the Bonita Hotel and helped put Bonita Springs on the map, but to this day, an element of mystery remains.

"If I had a jar with pennies in it for every time somebody said, 'I've never seen this place. What is it?' We'd be rich. It happens every single day," said Bellamy.

Shangri-La has more than eight acres of lush landscape, award-winning trees, and what many consider to be healing waters. The natural cold spring on the property is actually how the city got its name. It was also a catalyst for the shift from a business hotel to a relaxing retreat where people can find restoration and a deeper connection with nature.

"Beginning in the late '40s, in the early '50s, there's a few owners that were very influential in bringing the health and wellness spiritual aspects to the property into play here," Bellamy said.

To this day, it remains a peaceful escape.

"It's just a quiet old-Florida feel, you know, but right in the middle of downtown Bonita Springs," Bellamy said.

In recent years, Bellamy said the hotel has bounced back from major hurricanes like Irma and Ian.

"We've rebuilt all the roofs since then, so that was a challenge," Bellamy said.

While he and his team welcome the changes happening around them, they intend to preserve the property.

"I'd like to see some expansion, especially of our spa and our dining facilities. But at the same time, I wouldn't change much else. I think it's important that we stay this little old-Florida historic gem," Bellamy said.

And you do not have to stay at Shangri-La Springs to experience it.

"We're open from 8 to 2 for the general public every day. You just come, and you can enjoy the grounds," Bellamy said.

The hotel's restaurant, Harvest & Wisdom, is also open to the public, but at this time, reservations are required. Visco and her team have a garden-to-table menu using food grown just a few hundred feet from the kitchen.

"It's almost like every week it's a different surprise. You don't know what you're going to get," she said.

For her, that job search uncovered much more.

"Honestly, I believe the energy is just so restoring and healing. And it's a draw. It's something that we're missing today in general," Visco said.

The water on and around what is now Shangri-La Springs has been a draw long before anything was ever built there. Legend has it that Juan Ponce de León thought the cold spring could possibly be the fountain of youth. When he sailed to the area in the 1500s, it was already inhabited by the Calusa people.

"They were water traders. That's what brought them to this area. We are kind of divided in half by Oak Creek, which flows into the Imperial and then out to the Estero Bay," Bellamy said.

To this day, many people believe that the spring has medicinal and spiritual benefits.

"From what I've heard, it's blessed by Native Americans every year. I believe that the springs probably do have that magical power, but it is also what you get out of it, too, right? So, if you come here looking for that, maybe you'll find it," said Visco.

Throughout 2026, Shangri-La Springs will commemorate its 100th anniversary with special events and seasonal experiences.

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