Last month I wrote about my trip to the Shangri-La in Bonita Springs, which focused on the incredible food my fellow Floridaphile Joey and I ate there.

But there’s so much more to this historic hotel and spa than food.

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History of the Shangri-La

The Shangri-La opened in 1927, not as the Shangri-La but as the Hotel Bonita. A rail stop not so far away — part of Henry Plant’s line — made this an easy destination for anyone venturing into the Sunshine State. Additionally, the Tamiami Trail would open the next year, leading more people to the hotel.

Most of the freshwater springs you’ll find in Florida are north of State Road 60, so the spring at Shangri-La would have been — and remains — an anomaly. And, for many people coming from outside Florida (although Florida didn’t see nearly as many tourists as it does today), any spring at all would have seemed magic.

The Depression, Bonita Springs, and the Shangri-La

Owner Harvey Heitman built the 24-room hotel for $64,000,  but the late 1920s wasn’t the best time to open a hotel in Florida; the state barreled into the Great Depression a few years ahead of the rest of the country. That’s because the bottom fell out of the 1920s land boom, two devastating hurricanes, and the Mediterranean fruit fly that decimated the citrus industry.

Not many people had recreational travel on their mind, and when the rest of the country followed Florida into the Great Depression,  the hotel struggled to stay open. Robert and Elizabeth DeFoor bought in 1935 , and in 1950 it changed hands again, when the new owner, William Mack, renamed it Villa Bonita.

This is where the focus on the mineral spring as a health benefit begins.

Mack, who had arthritis,  believed in the benefits  of “taking the waters,” a popular trend at hotels and spas built around Florida’s freshwater springs (my podcast co-host Rick Kilby wrote an entire book about this, Florida’s Healing Waters).

Mack added a spring-fed pool and two more buildings, although he left the original main building, a lovely piece of Mediterranean-style architecture, as it was.

Becoming the Shangri-La

In 1965, the hotel changed names — and owners — yet again, finally getting the name “Shangri-La” and leaning hard into the “springs as health resorts” movement.  R.J. Cheatham added gardens — still there today — to supply fresh fruit and vegetables to diners, and the Shangri-La encouraged guests to enjoy meals built around those fresh foods.

After his death, German investors bought the property in 1993, but bankruptcy forced the hotel to close not quite two years later. In 1998, rather than see the Shangri-La demolished, Lama Hama Trust bought the property.

Renovations took the current owners a quarter-century, but the Shangri-La re-opened for guests in 2024.

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Shangri-La Springs Today

Today, the grounds of the Shangri-La still have an almost mystical feel about them.  On the grounds, a champion tree, a Mysore fig, offers shade and also evokes a sense of peace. It stands 80 feet tall, 450 feet wide (not at the base), and has a 120-feet spread at the crown. It’s the third largest Mysore fig in the state. Figs litter the ground, although litter is too pejorative for the fruit, and bees abound, feasting on the fallen fruit.

Renovations to one of the outbuildings is done, and it welcomes guests. Others continue; not all the rooms on property are guest-ready yet, but the spa and restaurant cater to locals as well as guests.

The gardens from the last century remain, now certified organic and supplying the restaurant with fresh fruits and vegetables. The restaurant, Harvest & Wisdom, also uses honey from the beehives on property.

While the springs-as-a-health-resort craze has ended, there’s no denying it’s good for the soul to take a break and enjoy Florida spaces like these.

When Joey and I visited, several artists were painting en plein aire on the property. And it’s no wonder; every vista offers a different view of Florida’s natural beauty.

Visit Shangri-La Springs

Shangri-La Springs, 27750 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs. ShangriLaSprings.com; 239-949-0749.