Guests flee as Florida hotel collapses into sinkhole
Thirty-six holidaymakers were forced to flee a hotel close to Disney World in Florida last night when the building fell into a giant sinkhole.
Guests at the Summer Bay Resort in central Florida, about a 10-minute drive from Disney, said they heard loud noises and windows cracking as three floors of the hotel slid into the 15-foot deep crater.
Summer Bay is described on its website as a luxury resort with condominiums, two-bedroom villas and vacation houses in addition to standard rooms. It is sold in the UK by online travel agents including Travel Republic, Expedia and Booking.com.
It has, or rather had, a clubhouse, atrium, hot tubs and a poolside tiki bar, and offered jet skiing, water skiing, canoeing and pontoon boating on a series of lakes scattered throughout the resort.
Guests who were staying in the damaged part of the hotel have been given other rooms.
Sinkholes are an ongoing problem in Florida, which sits on a bed of porous limestone. They cause millions of dollars worth of damage when the bedrock dissolves.
In February, Jeff Bush of suburban Tampa was killed in his bed when his house slid into a sinkhole. His body was never recovered.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025