Our History | Don Shula's Hotel and Golf Club, Miami Lakes, Florida

The mere mention of the name "Graham" to any Miamian will evoke a sense of Miami history and tradition. Ernest Graham arrived in Florida in the early 1920’s long before the South Florida nightlife of South Beach and the downtown Miami hotel scene took hold. The Graham Companies are the owners and operators of Shula’s Hotel and developers of Miami Lakes.

In 1989 The Graham Companies opened the first Shula's Steak House in the Golf Club. Coach Shula had been a long time resident of Miami Lakes with a home on the sixteenth hole of what today is the Senator Course and had sequestered the Miami Dolphins team before every home game to stay at the Golf Club during his tenure as head Coach of the Miami Dolphins. What better place for the original Shula's Steak House to make its debut. Due to the success of the Steak House, in 1992 The Graham Companies re-named the entire property to Shula's as a special recognition of Coach Shula's contribution to our community.

This parcel of land was once considered swampland and later one of the largest dairy farms in the state of Florida. Today Miami Lakes is home to Shula’s Hotel, Golf Club and Spa boasting 205 guestrooms and one of Miami’s longest operating Athletic Clubs.


Ernest (“Cap”) Graham (1886-1964) is the patriarch of The Graham Family. Originally born in Michigan, Graham moved to Dade County, Florida in 1921 to manage the Pennsylvania Sugar Company's sugar cane operations. In January of 1932 he acquired approximately 8,000 acres of land, a part of which would later become Miami Lakes, as the sugar company shut down its South Florida operations.

Ernest Graham had one daughter, Mary Graham, and three sons: Philip Graham, who was the publisher of The Washington Post and Newsweek, William Graham, head of the family’s real estate operations including Miami Lakes and the cattle, pecan, pineland and dairy farms, and Bob Graham, two-time Florida Governor and three-time U.S. Senator.

Lester Colllins, Our History | Don Shula's Hotel and Golf Club, Miami Lakes, Florida

Lester Collins (1914-1993), grandson of John Collins of the Miami Beach “Collins Avenue”, created the master plan for Miami Lakes, home of Shula’s Hotel & Golf Club. Development began in 1962 on what was predicted to be a 30-year project. Lester Collins received a graduate degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University in 1942 and also studied in China and Japan. Prior to going into private practice in Washington, he served as Harvard’s Dean of the School of Landscape Architecture. Collins vision for “New Town” Miami Lakes was considered radical when development began, but it has stood the test of time.


	Philip Graham (1915-1963) was the first of three sons to State Senator Ernest Graham. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida, he attended Harvard University Law School where he was the editor of the Law Review and graduated magna cum laude.

In 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps as a private and emerged in 1945 as a major attached to the intelligence staff of the Far East Air Force. He married Katharine Meyer in 1940 and in 1946 became publisher of the Washington Post, owned by the late Eugene Meyer. Philip Graham’s most noted accomplishment was his purchase of Newsweek Magazine, a deal that was penned on a paper napkin. He began his career as a lawyer who showed promise for a brilliant future and ended as the president of a flourishing publishing and broadcasting company.

William Graham, Our History | Don Shula's Hotel and Golf Club, Miami Lakes, Florida

Bill Graham (1924-), the second of three sons to State Senator Ernest Graham, was born on a houseboat on the Miami River. His family’s accomplishments always provided plenty to live up to. Fortunately, Bill Graham had a vision of his own and was the mastermind behind the development of the 3,000 acres of land, which would become Miami Lakes. In addition, Bill Graham also helped build the family’s agricultural interests into the registered Angus cattle, pineland and pecan farm in Albany, Georgia as well as the dairy farm in Moorehaven, Florida.


Coach Don Shula (1930 -) retired in 1995 as the winningest coach in NFL history. During his time as the head coach for the Miami Dolphins (1970 – 1995), Coach Shula was a prominent member of the Miami Lakes community where he lived with his wife and children.

In 1993, Miami Lakes Inn & Golf Club was renamed to Don Shula's Hotel & Golf Club in honor of Coach Shula’s support to our community. Coach Shula assisted in franchising Shula’s Steak House where today his son, Dave Shula, is President of Shula’s Steak Houses, LLLP.


	Bob Graham (1936-) was born into politics as the third son of Ernest Graham who, at the time, was a Florida State Senator. After graduating from Harvard Law School he returned to Miami and worked with his brother, Bill, during the early stages of the development of Miami Lakes.

Bob Graham spent 12 years in the Florida State Legislature, two terms as Governor of Florida and 18 years in the U.S. Senate. He is known for his “Workdays,” his daily notes and his leadership, particularly in the areas of education, the elderly and the environment.