The 1888 Hotel breathes new life into historic downtown St. Pete property

The 1888 Hotel is housed in a century-old building at 220 5th Avenue North in downtown St. Pete | The 1888 Hotel

As downtown St. Petersburg’s skyline becomes increasingly taller and more modern, it’s particularly refreshing to see some of the Sunshine City’s historic properties revived and repurposed.

The 1888 Hotel, at 220 5th Avenue North, is a recent example of St. Pete’s history blending with contemporary styles and trends. In its heyday, the property, which was built in 1923, was known as The Hillcrest Hotel. Managing Partners Frederick Dela Cruz and Jeffrey Pippin have renamed it The 1888 Hotel as a homage to the year the first passenger train arrived in St. Pete.

Their hard work is about to pay off as the 15-key 1888 Hotel is set to open in late April or early May. The property has already gone through a soft opening, with several American Stage Theatre Company cast and crew members staying there during rehearsals for the group’s production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in the Park.”

“We acquired the property in 2020, and it was a little bit of a crazy situation,” Dela Cruz said in an interview with St. Pete Rising. “A developer wanted to demolish the building and build a parking garage.”

Dela Cruz, who hails from Orlando and moved to St. Pete in 2019, described the effort to close on the property as “a race against time.” He and Pippin completed the transaction in only 21 days.

The 1888 Hotel contains a lounge with a “jungle vibe” with dark walls and an abundance of green plants and a fireplace | The 1888 Hotel

“I always had this dream of opening up a hotel, and I convinced a couple of my college friends, Tyler Garner and Rodd Tavakoli, and some of our family members, Bill Guglielmo and Jeff Pippin Sr., to jump into this endeavor with me,” he said. “We did as much due diligence as we could, but we knew we were coming in a little bit blind. We’ve been meticulously restoring this property for the last three or four years.”

Dela Cruz and Pippin expect the hotel to appeal to working professionals and other business travelers because of its proximity to downtown St. Pete. Each room has been outfitted with a desk, full-size fridge with freezer, and full kitchen for long-term guests. There’s also a laundry room on the ground floor.

But they also believe the hotel will attract tourists who want an authentic St. Pete experience in accommodations that are within walking distance of the city’s most well-known restaurants, shops, museums, and other attractions.

One of the newly renovated rooms at The 1888 Hotel in downtown St. Pete | The 1888 Hotel

There is on-site loading and unloading parking, however, for overnight parking, the hoteliers have struck a deal with the nearby Museum of the American Arts & Crafts Movement that will allow 1888 Hotel guests complimentary use of the museum’s parking garage.

“We are a top-tier walkable city – one of the five most walkable cities in the country, and we want to encourage a lot more of that,” Dela Cruz said.

The 1888 Hotel’s accommodations are a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom suites. A standalone villa can be found at the back of the property, overlooking the alley. That suite can easily accommodate an entire family.

According to Dela Cruz, one of the biggest challenges of not only restoring, but updating, the hotel was figuring out how to give each guestroom its own bathroom. During the Hillcrest Hotel days, the property featured 30 guestrooms, with guests sharing “Jack and Jill”-style bathrooms. Each bathroom would serve two guestrooms.

The living room in a one-bedroom unit at The 188 Hotel | The 1888 Hotel

The objective, Dela Cruz added, was to highlight the hotel’s historic character while providing all the modern amenities of the 21st century. Dela Cruz emphasized the installation of the new instant-hot boilers which serve the remodeled bathrooms, while preserving some of the original touches such as the 1920s bellhop system encased in glass on the ground floor.

The rest of the ground floor includes a reception area and two lounges, one with a fireplace. The décor, Dela Cruz said, can be described as a “jungle vibe,” with dark walls and an abundance of green plants. There is a commercial kitchen on the first floor, but it hasn’t yet been restored to working order, he added.

“That’s something we'll be developing very soon to be able to provide additional services to our guests,” he said. “We’ve been approached by numerous restaurant groups here locally. Some are good friends of mine who want to do a concept with the hotel. And our focus has been, ‘Let's operate the hotel at an elite level’ and then we’ll begin to add additional amenities. So, we know [food and beverage service] will be coming. But we want to make sure that we select the right partner.”