Longtime owners are credited with saving, enhancing downtown landmark
Managing partner Hilary Roche (center), who represents a third generation of family ownership, stands with other longtime Colony staff (l-r): Margarita Eberly, general manager for 20 years; Jorge Salvio Jr., bartender for 19 years; Bill Kevish, front office manager for 20 years; David Woods, accounting manager for 20 years; Marina Alvarez, housekeeping supervisor for 17 years; John Creaven, administrative support for 22 years, and Marie Jean Louis Jolis, a housekeeper for 10 years. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Sephora Charles
Long before Atlantic Avenue became the heart of Delray Beach, the Colony Hotel was already creating a history that now spans 100 years.
Entering the bright yellow Spanish Colonial Revival-style building transports guests back to the 1920s, with a functional 1926 Otis elevator, an original telephone switchboard, antique wicker furniture and historic photographs.
“It’s a community. It’s more than just a hotel,” said Hilary Roche, the hotel’s managing partner.
The business’s legacy dates to 1926, when Albert T. Repp opened the Alterep Hotel, now the Colony Hotel. Designed by Martin Luther Hampton, the building reflects Florida’s Spanish heritage, from its vibrant colored walls to the Cuban-style tile floor on the porch. The Alterep’s success was short-lived, as Repp later filed for bankruptcy.
After the hotel’s closing, newlyweds George and Agnes Boughton were passing through Delray Beach on their way to Cuba for their honeymoon when they stumbled upon the property and fell in love with it.
In 1935, George and his father, Charlie, bought the hotel and renamed it the Colony Hotel.
A functioning manually controlled traction elevator from 1926, above, and a medallion from the Historic Preservation Board, below.
The family affair expanded when John Banta, George’s cousin and Roche’s grandfather, started running the hotel with George. During World War II, the cousins were drafted, and their wives held down the fort, managing the hotel until their return. The family bought another hotel in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1947, which is now operated by Roche’s brother, John Martin.
Delray Beach’s Colony Hotel operated seasonally from January to April, then the staff would travel to Maine to manage the other hotel from May to September for “cool summers, warm winters,” Roche said. The Delray Beach location has operated year-round since 2000 at 525 E. Atlantic Ave.
“I feel like it’s another member of the family,” Roche said of the hotel. “I’m taking care of it for the next generation, so it’s just my turn right now.”
Mayor Tom Carney credits the hotel’s success to its being able to provide visitors with a unique historical vibrancy.
In the 1980s, the owners were offered a deal to redevelop the property, but declined because of their greater vision of keeping the hotel and the city’s history alive, Carney said.
“I have a great deal of respect for the Colony Hotel and the Boughton family, who really kept it alive,” he said.
Family ties are not limited to the owners’ history but extend to that of its employees.
David Woods, the hotel’s accounting manager, joined the Colony 20 years ago, looking for “something different” from the corporate world. Two decades later, he still works there and plans to continue until he retires because he “became part of the family,” he said.
That sense of belonging and community has been passed on to his sons, Cody, 29, and Cory, 25, who both work at the hotel. Cody is the manager of the hotel’s Cabana Club, while Cory works at the front desk.
Other staff members, like the general manager and landscaper, also have children who have worked at the hotel at different times, reinforcing what Woods describes as a family-oriented environment.
Delray Beach’s Colony Hotel operated seasonally from January to April, then the staff would travel to Maine to manage the other hotel from May to September for “cool summers, warm winters,” Roche said. The Delray Beach location has operated year-round since 2000 at 525 E. Atlantic Ave. BELOW: The hotel pictured in the 1920s. Photo provided
Recognized on the city’s Local Register of Historic Places and a member of the Historic Hotels of America, the Colony has made its mark on the city’s tourism, said Laura Simon, executive director of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority.
Born and raised in Delray Beach, Simon remembers going to the Colony as a little girl during the holidays to see the decorated Christmas tree and to shop nearby. She said the hotel creates a welcoming atmosphere for guests and incorporates them into its history.
“It does carry a lot of history and a lot of conversation with that building and history for our town,” she said.
Roche previously ran the 70-bedroom, three-story hotel with her cousin, Jestena Boughton, who is George’s daughter. Together they worked to preserve the hotel’s ambiance through original furniture, unique interior architecture and tropical fabrics.
“You’ll feel history everywhere here,” Roche said.
A maintenance crew also performs monthly preventive checkups throughout the hotel to avoid deterioration and keep the century-old property functioning properly.
At the same time, modern installations have been necessary.
“The technology part of what exists in the world today has forced our hand to change a little bit,” Woods said.
The hotel includes air conditioning, televisions, a modern elevator and high-speed internet to accommodate guests. Hurricane impact windows that look like the original windows were also installed.
Simon’s father, Roy Simon, who was a local architect, designed the development of the hotel’s updated laundry facility. It was one of his last projects before he died in 2024.
The hotel’s evolution extends beyond its main building to the Cabana Club, located two miles away along the ocean at Linton Boulevard. Since the family’s purchase in 1951, the beach club has grown to include Florida native plants, environmentally friendly pools, 250 feet of beach, cabanas and changing rooms.
“The Beach Club is really a fascinating place to lose yourself in,” Woods said.
The lobby of the Colony Hotel exudes an old Florida vibe.
As the Colony Hotel celebrates its milestone birthday, the Delray Beach community hopes to continue preserving its distinct character and giving guests a homey experience for centuries to come.
“It’s something that Delray can offer that, quite frankly, a lot of the cities around us don’t have,” Carney said. “They don’t have a Colony Hotel.”
Comments