Court of Flags Resort

Court of Flags in 1989

The Court of Flags Resort was a resort located in Orlando, Florida, USA.

History

It was built by US Steel in 1972 and opened in 1974. It was a popular upscale resort when it opened, and later in its life it become more of a budget resort. In 2006, it was demolished to make room for the new Citymark of Orlando; this never materialized. It was located near International Drive, on Major Boulevard just across the street from Universal Orlando Resort, and just across the street from the now defunct Mystery Fun House. The lot of the former resort currently sits vacant.

Name changes

The resort changed names a few times during its life:

• When opened it actually was under three franchises at one time. Admiral Benbow (one building), Sheraton Motor Inn (two buildings), and The Quality Motel (one building)
• Ramada Court of Flags – ? to 1995
• Delta Orlando Resort – 1995 to 1999 (closing)
• In 2001, the hotel was to be remodeled into a Doubletree resort. After tourism declined following the September 11 attacks, the plans never materialized.

Construction

The Court of Flags Resort is noted for its unique construction type. The rooms were stacked on top of each other and with framing and concrete added around them. They used the same system at the Polynesian Resort and part of the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World.

• U.S. Steel movie clip showing process of how the rooms were installed at the Contemporary. The buildings were all built off site the same way for both the slide in and stack type construction.

Court of Flags construction by US Steel

US Steel thought this new system of building would catch on and revolutionize construction but the system had flaws that were not known until later. The buildings shifted and settled. The air space between the rooms kept too much moisture and let mildew grow.

The resort consisted of four separate guest room buildings. It housed a total of 800 rooms with 16 suites. It also had three pools and three restaurants.

The Court of Flags six years after its demo

References

• Hampton, Jim (14 December 2001). "Delta: Down time is right time for $38M redesign: Hotel will get new hotel affiliation, name change as part of overhaul.(Delta Court of Flags Hotel)". Orlando Business Journal via AccessMyLibrary.com. Retrieved 2008-07-09. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Mervine, Bob (August 19, 2005). "Delta resort near Universal scheduled for demolition. Aging hotel to make way for construction of residential community with retail component". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-07-09. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Hampton, Jim (December 14, 2001). "Delta: Down time is right time for $38M redesign. Hotel will get new hotel affiliation, name change as part of overhaul". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-07-09. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Court of Flags Pictures and info at BigFloridaCountry.com
• U.S. Steel movie clip of the Contemporary Resort Construction, compliments of BigFloridaCountry.com