Florida’s Historic Casa Monica Hotel Gets a Moroccan-Inspired Makeover
A historic Florida hotel built in 1888 has unveiled its new decor, which draws heavily on Morocco. For the renovation, Casa Monica brought in zellige tiles, lighting and handcrafted woodwork from the kingdom, using them in several areas of the property.
The new bar near the pool is especially eye-catching. Named Soltana Pool Lounge, it is decorated with emerald-green Moroccan zellige and lit by brass fixtures made in Morocco. These features are part of the renovation announced on November 5 by the US-based Kessler Collection group, which owns the hotel in Saint Augustine, Florida.
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Zellige is not the only element brought in from the kingdom. The group says it also imported woodwork and other handmade tiles for the common areas. In the rooms, the designers chose arches, patterns and materials evoking both Morocco and southern Spain.
The property has 137 rooms and is now called Grand Bohemian Casa Monica. Built in 1888 by architect Franklin W. Smith, it was later bought by businessman Henry Flagler before serving as a courthouse for several decades. It returned to its role as a hotel after a restoration that began in the 1990s.
Moroccan influences were already present before this renovation: the owner had installed, among other things, an antique Moroccan counter inlaid with mother-of-pearl and chandeliers made in the kingdom, as the group noted in 2021.
To complement the new design, the hotel commissioned fourteen original works from French-Canadian artist Jean-Claude Roy. Intended for the rooms, they draw inspiration from Morocco’s landscapes, colors and architecture.
