The Seminole Hotel · 1886 - 1902 The Seminole Hotel opened on January 1st, 1886. The hotel, which accommodated 400 guests, was situated on a site bounded by Osceola Avenue and Lake Osceola and sat at the eastern end of New England Avenue. At that time, wagons, carriages and bicycles were the only modes of local transportation. However, guests of the Seminole Hotel were brought to the hotel from the train depot via a horse car that traveled on rails. Many of these passengers came to Winter Park in the winter months to escape the snow and frigid temperatures of the North! The original Seminole Hotel burned to the ground in September, 1902. In 1912, a second Seminole Hotel was built. The new hotel was located on East Webster Avenue and sat on the banks of Lake Osceola. This hotel was torn down in 1970.