Iconic Fire Island hotel hits market for just second time in 68 years
A beacon of gaudy grandeur catering to the gay community for the last 68 years, The Belvedere Guest House in Cherry Grove on Fire Island is being offered for sale.
Listed with Mitch Muroff of Newton, Mass.-based Muroff Hospitality Group for $10.9 million, the 33-room Belvedere on .56 acres at 33 Bayview Walk was built in 1957. It was briefly on the market 22 years ago, according to published reports.
The Grand Salon at the Belvedere overlooks the Great South Bay. / Courtesy of Muroff Hospitality Group
The Belvedere was the brainchild of John Eberhardt, a set designer and builder who first came to Cherry Grove in 1949 and built dozens of summer homes there before creating the Venetian-inspired boutique hotel, adorned with trompe l’oeil murals and European antiques. His partner Craig Eberhardt expanded the property with a pool, Jacuzzi, balconies, and private baths, according to Muroff’s offering memo.
The property’s iconic onion-domed tower, which was added to the building in 1972, was toppled by Hurricane Gloria in 1985 and restored a few years later.
After John Eberhardt died at age 92 in 2014 and Craig Eberhardt died four years later, The Belvedere has been owned by Oakland Park, Fla.-based Eberhardt Realty Company LLC, which is controlled by Craig Eberhardt’s husband Julian Eberhardt Dorcelien.
The Belvedere, which has 200 feet of bayfront, offers premium and deluxe rooms with bay views, private terraces and en suite baths, while its standard rooms offer mid-tier accommodations with en suite baths. The property also features 13 economy rooms that share eight bathrooms, catering to groups, according to the listing.
“The Belvedere is an iconic building in the heart of Cherry Grove, the world’s first gay destination,” Muroff told LIBN. “The building dates back to 1957 when John Eberhardt assembled vacant land and built more than 50 summer cottages. It’s an incredible Venetian-inspired property with 200 feet of glorious bay front on the Great South Bay. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire this stunning asset.”