Historic Hospitality at Shangri-La Springs
After a three-year renovation, the century-old Shangri-La Springs has opened to overnight visitors for the first time in 27 years with eight guest rooms – two suites in the main hotel and six rooms in the courtyard of Villa Ascona.

In the main hotel, the Bonita Suite houses a pair of king-size bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living room with a sofa bed. In the two-bedroom, three-bathroom Heitman Suite, there is a four-poster king bed, a queen bed, a living room, and a sleeper sofa in a living room. All of these newly upgraded rooms are on the property’s first floor, and plans are underway to redesign and refurbish the second-floor rooms, according to spokesperson Bill Oberman.

The Bonita Springs landmark was built in 1921 near the mineral spring for which the town is named to host visiting real estate prospects. It was enlarged by 50 rooms, then modernized by Cadillac heir Walter Mach, before becoming a spa. Osteopath Dr Charles Gnau – a “believer in the healing powers of mineral water” – bought the property in 1962 and installed the spring-fed swimming pool and Indian Maid of the Springs statue. Oak Creek also runs through the land, which is home to two champion Mysore fig trees. The property reopened in 2011 with the same focus on wellness and dining. The on-site certified organic garden provides fresh ingredients for the hotel’s restaurant, Harvest & Wisdom, and the organic spa offers a full menu of treatments.