Hotel Escalante

The Escalante Naples Florida
Naples Florida Hotels
A Naples Florida Hotel two blocks from Naples Florida Beaches. The Escalante Naples Florida, is an intimate, luxury hideaway reminiscent of an old-world Mediterranean villa, nestled in four acres of exotic tropical gardens and located as close to the beach as a beachfront hotel.

The Escalante Naples Florida indulges guests with discrete service and creature comforts. Staff are long-time professionals steeped in five-star hospitality training, accustomed to anticipating guests needs and desires.

The Escalante in Naples is a 10-room Mediterranean boutique-style villa located in the heart of exclusive Old Naples, steps from the magnificent Gulf of Mexico beaches. The garden estate also includes a swimming pool and jacuzzi with an expansive sunning courtyard; a spa and fitness room; a handsome wood-panelled library with a 42 inch plasma screen tv and a selection of fine wines and ports; and a reception area with a front desk.

Old Naples white sandy beaches, couture shopping, haute-bistro dining, historical attractions, Naples Florida Art Galleries, and quaint neighborhoods are within walking distance.

The Escalante - History
The Escalante is named after a remarkable Spaniard named Escalante Fontaneda, who lived with the Calusa Indians in the 16th Century in what is now Naples.

His story begins in 1564, in Spain, when his father's distinguished naval career came to halt when a cholera outbreak claimed the lives of his wife and two young daughters, leaving the distraught Juan Fontaneda to raise his nine-year-old son, Escalante, alone. He embarked on a three-year study program for his son, and on Escalante's 12th birthday, Fontaneda returned to the sea to explore the New World, with Escalante in tow.

He arrived in St. Augustine in 1567, and later that year set out on an expedition with his son and a crew to explore the Florida coast. Their party was attacked by natives and all were killed except Escalante.

Escalante was found by Juan Carlos, King of the Calusas, who made him his personal slave. Within a year, Escalante had mastered the Calusa language and ways, and become a faithful and hard-working slave. As a reward, Juan Carlos freed him and Escalante became a member of the tribe.

By then, the tribe was living near the southwest coast of Florida and needed a better route to the Gulf of Mexico for their dugout canoes. Escalante was appointed to head the project: building a canal from Naples Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Recalling his knowledge and study of European waterways, he completed the project in record time. The canal he built later became Fifth Avenue South.

Escalante Fontaneda lived with the Calusas until he was 28, when he returned to Spain. He wrote extensively about his life with them, and legend tells us that he was the only European to live with this Indian nation.

By the 18th Century, the Calusas had disappeared from South Florida. In the late 1800s, Naples was "discovered," and Fifth Avenue South was built on what was once the Calusa canal.
Source: Fontaneda's Memoir; Glade House, Coral Gables, 1945
 

The Escalante Naples Reservations