History of the Brazilian Court Hotel

The article went on to say, “ The dining room at the Brazilian Court became known as one of the best res- taurants in Palm Beach during the season, with reser- vations required more than a week in advance. ” Another Palm Beach icon was feted at the BC in May of 1986. Joe Testa, owner of Testa ’ s Restaurant on Royal Poinciana Way. Some 50 members of the “ Breakfast Club ” gathered for the breakfast buffet. Testa was awarded $1 million dollars shredded into more than a million pieces and enclosed in a glas jar. In the December 5, 1986 issue of Town & Country magazine, Criss Leydecker wrote about the Brazilian Court as one of "Three Hotels for Christmas". The other two were The Grand Hotel in Rome and The Imperial Hotel in Vienna. He ended the article with, "For a weekend trip or a season - long stay, the Brazil- ian Court, which hosted Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Carol Channing, and Gary Cooper in the glory days or the Thirties, is once more a choice destination." The 124 rooms in the hotel were sold to individual investors in a condominium package. Totals of the sales were $26,720,000 or $215,322 per room ac- cording to news articles. The deal went sour in 1987 when Dominion Mortgage Center backed out of the deal due to insufficient collateral, saying the hotel was not worth the proposed mortgage loans of $25 million. Unknown to the buyers, the loans were then arranged thorough Summit Savings Association of which Clifton Harrison (part owner of the BC) was the sole shareholder. A class action suit was filed by 114 of the 134 investor - owners against the investor group charging fraud and mismanagement. In return the investor group filed for foreclosure actions against the owners. To complicate matters Summit Savings was placed in receivership. While the lawsuits were slogging their way through the legal system the BC turned the corner and began to be successful once again. Dennis Heffernan, hotel manager also had to file suit against Harrison. In 1984 Heffernan was given a written promise from Harrison that he would receive $100,000 as an "introduction fee for John H. Roberts, Jr.". Heffernan won the lawsuit in 1987 by default when Harrison failed to respond to the complaint. The judgment was satisfied in March of 1988 in a settlement. On April 15, 1987 another employee of the Brazilian Court Hotel was arrested. Lori Scott, 22, of West Palm Beach was charged with one count of grand theft. She was suspected of taking $3,000 in cash and

David Semadeni, Manager 1986

phisticated horticulturalist. The pool area is popular and offers quick service. An adjoining plot of ground will be prepared to offer sunning and shade to those who prefer a bit of grass underfoot. A large cocktail lounge separating the main dining room from an intimate alcove dining area seats about 60 guests who are not pres- sured to imbibe but may enjoy the quiet and relaxed atmosphere and contemporary piano music. In the small dining area, The Bristol, sandwiches salads, soups and such things as crab cakes and warm maine (sic) lobster or country pate with French bread are served until 11 p.m. The staff is multi - lingual so there are no problems in communication. Transportation will take you golfing or to the ocean. An article in the April 20, 1986 issue of the Palm Beach Daily News announced the BC would be stay- ing open through the summer months. “ Our winter season was highly successful for a first year, ” Gen- eral Manager David Semadini said. “ Palm Beach is no longer a one - season town. We ntend (sic) to oper- ate on a year - round basis. ”

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