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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
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A 1905 Gulfport hotel that served as a military hospital through two world wars, then a veterans' rehab facility — and where a spirit named Isabelle reportedly runs the third floor between 4 and 5 a.m.
2937 Beach Blvd S, Gulfport, FL 33707
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
16 rooms starting around $200/night. Each room is named after a cocktail and includes a complimentary cocktail from the lobby bar on arrival.
Access
Limited Access
2nd and 3rd floor rooms accessed by stairs; elevator available but may occasionally be out of service
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1905 · Military hospital during World War I and World War II · Cedars of Sinai — veterans' rehabilitation facility post-WWII · One of Gulfport's oldest continuously occupied buildings
The building at 2937 Beach Blvd S in Gulfport, Florida was constructed in 1905 under the name Bayview Hotel, a 40-room property serving the small Gulf coast community south of St. Petersburg. When the United States entered World War I, the building was repurposed as a military hospital — one of many coastal hotel and resort buildings throughout Florida drafted into medical service during the war years.
The pattern repeated in World War II. The Bayview Hotel building again served as a military hospital, and after the second war ended it was converted into the Cedars of Sinai, a rehabilitation hospital specifically serving wounded veterans returning from overseas service. This gave the building roughly three to four decades of concentrated medical and recovery use, during which time patients in various states of injury and illness lived and, in some cases, died within its walls.
The veterans' rehabilitation function eventually concluded, and the building transitioned to operate as a men's restorium — period language for a nursing home. Florida's tightening elder care standards in the 1980s rendered the aging structure non-compliant, and it closed as a medical facility. The property then passed through private ownership and reopened as a boutique hotel and restaurant. Local historian Deborah Frethem documented the building's medical history and began collecting staff and guest reports of unusual activity.
In 2022, Florida House Realty Investments purchased the property and an adjacent parcel housing The Wine House for just under $3 million. An 18-month renovation removed old carpets, reupholstered vintage furniture, and installed a new cocktail bar. The property held a soft opening in November 2023 and an official grand opening on January 15, 2024, as Peninsula Bed & Cocktails, with 16 rooms each designed around and named after cocktails from around the world.
Sources
The ghost known as Isabelle at the Peninsula Inn is characterized specifically by timing and location. The reported phenomenon is audible footsteps on the third floor, occurring in a consistent window between 4 and 5 in the morning. Current owner Veronica Champion, who operated the property before the 2022 sale, described the pattern precisely: guests on the second floor hear someone running above them on the third floor; guests staying on the third floor hear nothing at all. Local historian Deborah Frethem documented this account and the broader tradition of strange activity in the building.
The Isabelle narrative places her as a woman who lived and died in the building during the 1950s, though no documentary record of her identity appears to have survived. The building was in its veterans' rehabilitation phase during that period, which means the range of people living and dying within it — hospital patients, long-term residents, nursing home occupants — was substantial. The current operators have named their restaurant Isabelle's in acknowledgment of the tradition.
In 2013, Tom Anthony of Skyway Paranormal visited the property and conducted an EVP session. His YouTube documentation reportedly captured human-sounding voices responding to direct questions throughout the building. Manager Kayla Burch has described the entities as friendly and non-threatening. The current property management has not marketed the building as a commercial ghost-hunt venue, and no organized paranormal tours are offered.
Notable Entities
Sixteen individually designed rooms in the 1905 historic building, each named after an iconic cocktail with matching decor and a built-in bar. The property opened under its current name in January 2024 after an 18-month renovation. The restaurant is named Isabelle's in honor of the building's reported resident ghost.
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