Addison Mizner's 1926 Pink Mediterranean showpiece, where a maid named Esmeralda died in a house fire and the architect himself reportedly still walks a phantom monkey
501 E Camino Real, Boca Raton, FL 33432
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$$
Five Forbes-rated hotels within the resort complex; rates vary widely by season and hotel tier. Check website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Large resort campus with paved paths; accessible routes throughout
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1926 · Addison Mizner Architecture · Florida Land Boom History · World War II Military Use
Architect Addison Mizner conceived the building at 501 East Camino Real as the anchor of an ambitious planned city, with Camino Real as its main boulevard. The 100-room Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn opened on February 6, 1926, at a construction cost of $1.75 million. Mizner intended a much larger second phase, but Florida's land boom collapsed during 1926. Unpaid contractors filed suit by May, forcing the Mizner Development Corporation into receivership. Mizner lost control in July and the company filed for bankruptcy in September 1926. He died on February 5, 1933, of heart failure in Palm Beach.
In November 1927, Philadelphia utilities magnate Clarence H. Geist purchased the bankrupt company's assets and transformed the property into the Boca Raton Club. The architectural firm Schultze and Weaver enlarged the original structure, and a cabana club was added to the grounds. During World War II, the U.S. Army used the complex as barracks for soldiers stationed at the nearby Boca Raton Army Air Field — military publicists called it 'the most elegant barracks in history.'
The Schine family acquired the resort in 1944 and renamed it the Boca Hotel and Club. Arthur Vining Davis modernized the property substantially, opening the 27-story pink tower in 1969. The Boca Raton Resort and Club subsequently joined Hilton's management portfolio before MSD Partners, led by Michael Dell, purchased it in June 2019. The property was rebranded as The Boca Raton in July 2021. A $120 million renovation was completed in 2024.
Sources
The resort's ghost lore divides between its architect and a staff member. Addison Mizner, who died in 1933 and never saw his grander Boca Raton vision realized, is said to still watch over the property. The most distinctive detail in his apparition accounts is the presence of a small figure beside him — identified as Johnnie Brown, his pet monkey, who died on April 30, 1927 and was buried with a headstone. Guests report seeing a man walking a phantom monkey near the jetty.
The second figure is Esmeralda, described as a hotel maid who worked during the property's early years and was particularly devoted to both the guests and to Mizner personally. In 1926, she died in a fire at her home in Old Floresta, one of the housing developments Mizner built for resort staff. Accounts describe her falling asleep before a lit stove, with wind-blown curtains catching fire. She is reported by staff and guests as a milky-white apparition walking the hallways, and unexplained fresh flowers delivered to guest rooms are attributed to her.
Both figures are sourced from paranormal enthusiast sites and ghost tour resources rather than from independent journalism or historical documentation. Esmeralda's full name has not been found in publicly available records, and the circumstances of her death have not been corroborated through newspaper archives or fire records. The monkey detail about Mizner is historically verified — Johnnie Brown's death and burial are documented — but his appearing alongside Mizner's apparition is reported lore, not documented observation.
Notable Entities
Guests at The Boca Raton occupy the Cloister wing — the original 100-room Mizner building completed in 1926 — along with four other hotel structures added across the resort's century of operation. The distinctive Boca pink tower, opened in 1969 at 27 stories, is visible from most of the campus. The resort completed a $120 million renovation in 2024 under current owner MSD Partners.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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