CLEWISTON INN

By  Mike Miller November 12, 2025

The 57-room Clewiston Inn is the oldest lodging facility on Lake Okeechobee. The hotel dates to 1938 and is designed in the Neo-classical Revival style.

Since 2011 it's been owned and operated by Clewiston Hospitality LLC, hosting travelers and locals.

A 1940s mural covers the lobby walls, and the inn ties to the area's sugar cane roots. Clewiston bills itself as America's Sweetest Town. 

Clewiston Inn Exterior

The original inn was built in 1926 by the Southern Sugar Company using celotex walls. On September 19, 1937, fire gutted the building.

The flames spread in less than an hour. No one was injured, but the blaze left Clewiston without rooms.

The U.S. Sugar Corporation stepped in and had architects L. Phillips Clarke and Edgar S. Wortman draw plans for the current building. Construction began in the Neo-classical Revival style and finished in mere months.

The new inn opened June 2, 1938, with an elevated, sturdy design using reinforced concrete for fire prevention.

Mural at Clewiston Inn by J. Clinton Shepherd

In the early 1940s, J. Clinton Shepherd, an American magazine illustrator, sculptor, and muralist, lived in the Clewiston Inn for several months. He was renowned for his wildlife-themed works capturing Florida's natural landscapes.

He painted a mural of the Everglades on the lobby walls that shows native wildlife like deer and herons. It still decorates the wall today.

A Personal Memory of Clewiston Inn

In 2004 a friend and I crossed the state on the Okeechobee Waterway from east to west.  On the second night of our slow (sailboat) travel we stayed at Roland Martin's Marina in Clewiston.  There was a free shuttle back then to the Clewiston Inn.  My friend and I shuttled there for a Friday night fish fry. The fish were catfish, and they were delicious.  Sadly, I understand they no longer have these great fish fry meals or meals of any kind other than a continental breakfast for hotel guests.

During the devastating floods tied to hurricanes in 1947 and 1960, the Clewiston Inn transformed into a makeshift shelter for dozens of displaced residents, farmers, and travelers from the surrounding Lake Okeechobee basin.

These storms caused levee breaches and inundated sugar fields and homes with up to 10 feet of water, forcing evacuations. The inn's elevated, sturdy design made it a safe haven.

Hallways, lounges, and even the Everglades Bar and Lounge overflowed with cots and blankets. Families hunkered down for days, sharing meals while waiting for waters to recede.

Staff and guests cooked communal pots of gumbo on-site. It reinforced the inn's role as Clewiston's enduring anchor amid the Everglades' wild weather.

Late 1950s updates added air conditioning and glass brick porches. The site joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Clewiston Hospitality LLC operates it under the name Americas Best Value Inn Historic Clewiston. They purchased it from U.S. Sugar Corporation in 2011.

The inn remains listed for sale at $4.4 million since late 2024, with no completed sale reported by mid-November 2025.

The Clewiston Inn is at 108 Royal Palm Ave, Clewiston, FL 33440. It fronts U.S. 27 near Lake Okeechobee. Reach it via I-75 to SR 80 east.

It is a working inn, with check-in starting at 3 p.m. and checkout ending at 11 a.m. The Everglades Bar & Lounge opens Thursday through Sunday from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

A continental breakfast comes free for guests. There are many restaurants nearby. For fun you can walk the grounds, view the mural in the lobby, walk to the town shops, or look for alligators from the Inn’s dock.

Ask staff for lake tours or sugar mill visits. Parking is in the front lot. Wi-Fi works throughout the Inn and grounds.

CLEWISTON INN WEBSITE

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