Take Highway 192 through Kissimmee to St. Could and then turn south on Highway 523. At 1350 South Canyon Creek Road, between Kenansville and Halopaw, sits the Heartbreak Hotel. You can’t miss it as the words are painted in large letters on the sides of the building.
Built in the 1900s, it claims to be favorite hotel of Elvis’ when he traveled through Florida. To add the myth, Mae Paxton supposedly wrote “Heartbreak Hotel” after Elvis’ tour bus stopped in Kenansville. Now under new ownership, the Heartbreak Hotel is having a renaissance. The recently remodeled guest rooms on the second floor have been reduced in number to allow for them to be larger in size and the entire first floor has been turned into a gift shop featuring the handmade crafts of artists from around the area and the country. The main feature in the gift shop was the huge, old-fashioned brass cash register that the owner found on one of her antique shopping trips. It still worked. I have never stayed in the hotel, but enjoy the gift shop every time I’m in Kenansville. Visit Heartbreak Hotel if you’re an avid Elvis fan or just a craft fair junkie.