Few hotels anywhere could open their attractions page the way this one did. The single biggest attraction in Daytona Beach — the Speedway itself — was across the street, and nearly everything else worth seeing sat within a ten-minute drive. This page restores the hotel's original guide to the neighborhood, written for guests planning their stay.
Daytona International Speedway — Across the Street
Known globally as the "World Center of Racing," Daytona International Speedway hosted eight weekends of racing annually in the hotel's era, including stock car, sports car, motorcycle and go-kart racing. Visitors could also watch vehicle testing scheduled at various times throughout the year. Thirty-minute Speedway tours showcased Daytona's unique high-banked 2.5-mile tri-oval and the 3.56-mile road course from the comfort of an open-air tram, with plenty of stops for photo opportunities.
For guests at the hotel, the geography was almost comic: cross International Speedway Boulevard and you were at the ticket gates. During race weeks, guests walked while the rest of the county sat in traffic.
The Racing Calendar
Speedweeks (February)
Several racing events filled February, including the season-opening exhibition sprint, the Rolex 24 At Daytona endurance classic sanctioned by IMSA, qualifying races, and the main event itself — the Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest race and the hardest hotel night in Florida. The hotel routinely sold out months in advance; its 1998 rate card shows the 500 carrying a six-night minimum stay.
Bike Week (early March)
Supercross, amateur motocross, amateur and professional road racing and vintage races were all part of the first week in March, when several hundred thousand motorcyclists descended on Volusia County. The hotel's parking lot turned into a chrome showcase, and the courtyard conversations ran all night.
Independence Weekend (July)
The main event over the July 4 holiday was the summer 400-mile NASCAR night race, with a public race-fest salute to the drivers over the weekend. Thousands of fans met drivers and viewed show cars within walking distance of the hotel's front desk.
Biketoberfest and the Fall Shows (October–November)
October brought Biketoberfest, the autumn motorcycle rally. Thanksgiving weekend belonged to street rods and muscle cars as they competed in the Turkey Rod Run, the Southeast's largest combined car show and swap meet. In late March, a classic-car spectacular featured antique classics, sports cars and vintage race cars; a newer truck show added monster trucks, a swap meet, judged events and exhibits.
The Motorsports Attraction
Just outside the Speedway's fourth turn — directly across from the hotel — stood the interactive motorsports attraction of the era, billed as "The Ultimate Motor Sports Attraction." Guests could experience pit-stop simulations, broadcast booths, and historic race cars, then walk back across the street for dinner. The venue has changed names and exhibits over the years, but it anchored many a rained-out race day.
Beyond the Racing
- The World's Most Famous Beach — five miles east, 23 miles of hard-packed Atlantic sand where driving on the beach is still a tradition.
- Championship golf — the area's signature championship course and a dozen more within easy reach; see the golf packages page for the hotel's tee-time program.
- Minor-league baseball — Daytona's beloved Florida State League club played at historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark on City Island, three miles from the hotel.
- Greyhound track and jai alai — the kennel club two miles west offered evening racing in season.
- Flea Market & Antique Showplace — one of Florida's largest open-air markets, two miles from the hotel, weekend mornings year-round.
- Museums and venues — a classic-car museum on the boulevard, the Ocean Center arena and Peabody Auditorium downtown, and the boardwalk and pier on the beachside.
Planning around these attractions today? Current schedules live with the venues themselves and with the area's visitors bureau — and the location page preserves the hotel's original distance guide to all of them.