St Augustine Florida Hotels

St Augustine Florida Hotels

Hotels in the Florida city of St Augustine are often required for tourists who want to visit the city. Some may want to see the historic landmarks of the city. Some tourists may want to enjoy the culture, the architecture, the landscape, the scenery and the entertainment and sports of the city. Some may want to use the city as a base to explore the area. Some visitors may be there on a work, study, entertainment, sports justifications. Some tourists may want to see the architecture and historical tourist attractions of the area.

Access to the Atlantic Ocean is via the St. Augustine Inlet of the Matanzas River.

Matanzas River is a body of water located in St Johns and Flagler Counties in Florida. Contrary to its name, it is not actually a river at all but a narrow saltwater bar-bounded estuary sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by Anastasia Island.

The Matanzas River is roughly 20 miles in length and extends from St. Augustine Inlet in St. Augustine, Florida southward to approximately 8 miles south of the Matanzas Inlet on the southern tip of Anastasia Island. The river is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The Matanzas River at St. Augustine was the main entrance to the historic city, America's oldest port. The body of water is often referred to as the Matanzas Harbor in the immediate vicinity of the city's waterfront. The southern portion of the Matanzas River was traditionally considered the "backdoor" to the city of St. Augustine and control of the river was considered a strategic necessity for early Spanish colony at St. Augustine. Spanish engineers and laborers built Fort Matanzas in the 18th Century to control access to the river from Matanzas Inlet, about 14 miles south of St. Augustine.

The city of St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menéndez on September 8, 1565. Menéndez first sighted land on August 28, the feast day of Augustine of Hippo, and consequently named the settlement San Agustíne. Martín de Argüelles was born there one year later in 1566, the first child of European ancestry to be born in what is now the continental United States. This came 21 years before the English settlement at Roanoke Island in Virginia Colony, and 42 years before the successful settlements of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Jamestown, Virginia. In all the territory under the jurisdiction of the United States, only European-established settlements in Puerto Rico are older than St. Augustine, with the oldest being Caparra, founded in 1508, whose inhabitants relocated and founded San Juan, in 1521.

In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War and gave Florida and St. Augustine to the British, an acquisition the British had been unable to take by force and keep due to the strong fort there. St. Augustine came under British rule and served as a Loyalist colony during the American Revolutionary War. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 gave the American colonies north of Florida their independence, and ceded Florida to Spain in recognition of Spanish efforts on behalf of the American colonies during the war.

American rule

Florida was under Spanish control again from 1784 to 1821. During this time, Spain was being invaded by Napoleon and was struggling to retain its colonies. Florida no longer held its past importance to Spain. The expanding United States, however, regarded Florida as vital to its interests. In 1821, the Adams-Onís Treaty peaceably turned the Spanish colonies in Florida and, with them, St. Augustine, over to the United States.

Florida was a United States territory until 1845 when it became a USA state. In 1861, the American Civil War began and Florida seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Days before Florida seceded, state troops took the fort at St. Augustine from a small Union garrison (one soldier) on January 7, 1861. However, federal troops loyal to the United States government reoccupied the city on March 11, 1862 and remained in control throughout the four-year-long war. In 1865, Florida rejoined the United States.

Spanish Colonial era buildings still existing in the city include the fortress Castillo de San Marcos. The fortress successfully repelled the British attacks of the 18th century, served as a prison for the Native American leader Osceola in 1837, and was occupied by Union troops during the American Civil War. It was removed from the Army's active duty rolls in 1900 after 205 years of service under five different flags. It is now the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.

n the late 19th century the railroad came to town, and led by northeastern industrialist Henry Flagler, St. Augustine became a winter resort for the very wealthy. A number of mansions and palatial grand hotels of this era still exist, some converted to other use, such as housing parts of Flagler College and museums. Flagler went on to develop much more of Florida's east coast, including his Florida East Coast Railway which eventually reached Key West in 1912.

The city is a popular tourist attraction, for the rich Spanish Colonial Revival Style architectural heritage as well as elite 19th century architecture. In 1938 the theme park Marineland opened just south of St. Augustine, becoming one of Florida's first themed parks and setting the stage for the development of this industry in the following decades. The city is also one terminus of the Old Spanish Trail, which in the 1920s linked St. Augustine to San Diego, California with 3000 miles of roadways.

Find a Villa from Across Europe

Grand World Villas - Find a Villa from anywhere in the world

Grand Global Villas - Find Villas from Around the Globe

Planet Villas

An Index with links to almost all our sites

Holiday to - Great places to go on Holiday to

Holiday to 2 - More Great places to go on Holiday to

Holiday to 3 - More places to go on Holiday to

Holiday to 4 - More places to go on Holiday to

Hotel in 5 (Five)

Hotel in 6

Hotel in 7

Hotel in 8