HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
1925 Mediterranean Revival Hotel with Baseball-Player Ghost Lore
501 5th Avenue NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Research updated May 2026
Age
All ages; minimum check-in age 21
Cost
$$$$
Luxury resort rates; check the venue website for current pricing and packages.
Access
Wheelchair OK
The operator lists elevators, accessible routes from the main entrance to the pool, fitness center, spa and restaurants, accessible meeting spaces, interior-corridor room access, and valet parking for vehicles outfitted for drivers who use wheelchairs.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1925 · National Register of Historic Places · Mediterranean Revival Architecture · 1920s Florida Boom Hotel
Construction of the Vinoy Park Hotel began in 1924 and the property opened to guests on New Year's Eve 1925. The hotel was the speculation of Aymer Vinoy Laughner, an Indianapolis golfer who had wintered in St. Petersburg and saw the city's bayfront as the next site of a Florida boom-era resort. Architect Henry L. Taylor designed the building in the Mediterranean Revival style fashionable in 1920s Florida hospitality, with stuccoed walls, red-tile roofs, and elaborate Italianate detailing in the public rooms. Locally the hotel became known as the Pink Lady for its distinctive exterior color.
The Vinoy operated as a winter resort for Northern industrialists through the 1920s and 1930s. Babe Ruth, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover were among the documented guests. The hotel closed in 1974 and stood vacant for nearly two decades.
A $93 million restoration completed in 1992 returned the property to luxury operation. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Subsequent ownership transitions have included Renaissance Hotels and Marriott; the property has operated under several names including the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and now The Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, Autograph Collection. The hotel sits at 501 5th Avenue NE on the bayfront and continues to serve as the spring-training-season hotel for visiting Major League Baseball teams playing the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sources
The Vinoy carries a long-standing reputation among visiting Major League Baseball players, who have described odd experiences during spring-training stays, particularly on the upper floors. The hotel appeared in an episode of Ghost Hunters (Syfy). Accounts vary on the specific names, room numbers, and dates behind the stories.
Media Appearances
A luxury overnight at the 1925 pink-stuccoed resort on Tampa Bay. Visiting Major League Baseball players staying with their teams have long reported odd experiences in the upper-floor rooms, with accounts varying on the specific names and dates.
The Vinoy operates seven on-site restaurants and bars on its 1925 grounds, including waterfront and lobby venues.
See current room rates and availability at The Vinoy Resort & Golf Club.
Check rates and bookThis St. Petersburg tour includes The Vinoy Resort & Golf Club on its route.
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