One Shot with Aly – the Abandoned Hotel

This beautiful hotel was built in Stuart, Florida in the 1970s. It is one of the few old buildings left in the area. It is located on the water next to a boat store, and I pass it every week when I go to the chiropractor. Every-time I pass it I say I have to stop and take a picture of it one day.

I finally did stop a few weeks ago with my fiancé driving, I quickly just got out of the car and began taking shots with my Nikkor 200mm lens. I wasn’t prepared so I didn’t have a wide angle lens, so we backed up as far as we could and I took the pics from the street nearby.

Now, I always assumed the hotel was abandoned because I never noticed any cars in the parking lot and it did seem somewhat neglected. I completely overlooked the blue dumpster that can be seen in the photo above, and I also didn’t notice someone working on the far side of the parking lot.

I kept shooting, grinning ear to ear with excitement, telling my fiancé how much fun I was having until she started to whisper, “babe, there’s a guy coming.” At first I didn’t pay attention. I figured it was someone walking by. Then she said it more urgently and got my attention.

I saw the guy walking up towards me and I didn’t want to look like I was doing something wrong by panicking and running into the car. So I continued to take pictures around the area until he came up to me and asked what I was taking pictures of. I held my cool and explained that I think the hotel is beautiful and I pass it all the time and have always wanted to photograph it. I asked if he owned it. He said no but his boss does. Then I realized he was holding a shovel. I felt a little bit of fear because it was a little bit isolated where we stood. I explained that I was shooting with an old camera on film as a hobbie. It was for fun and not commercial. He seemed to still be dubious about my reasons for being there. He said it was just weird to him that I randomly was taking pictures of this place.

I put one leg into my car as I continued the conversation asking him how old the hotel was and complemented it again as I closed the door he said “well next time stop inside.” I thanked him and we left.

To be honest the situation has left me a bit trigger shy since. I had no idea the hotel was being renovated. I was rushing so I didn’t take the time to look closely and make sure I wasn’t trespassing. I took for granted that it had previously been abandoned. That is a rookie mistake but we all have to learn it at some point.

I don’t think I’ll be stopping in again but I am glad I got the two shots of the hotel that I did.

I hope you’re enjoying these one shot articles. I will be doing more reviews and videos for my YouTube channel soon. I know it’s been a little while since I’ve posted any.

I do all of the filming and everything myself so it can get expensive and overwhelming. I have added a page to allow donations if anyone is able to donate even $1 to help me keep going. I’ve talked before about how much this all means to me and I hope to keep doing it for a long time. I hope you all have enjoyed it as well. Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever had an encounter like the one I experienced.

Until next time stay motivated and keep shooting. – Aly