• Beginning in May 2015, the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa will start its transition to a JW Marriott property, set to take place by Dec. 31, 2016. A $175 million expansion project will add more than 100,000 square feet of oceanfront meeting and event space, a rooftop restaurant and infinity pool, an adults-only guest tower and a 12,000-square-foot virtual entertainment center with hospitality suites. Closer to present day, the resort’s Rookery Golf Course was scheduled to reopen Nov. 8 following a $4 million renovation.
• In Naples, LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort just unveiled a $1 million makeover of its meeting and event space, including extensive enhancements to both the Vanderbilt and Bayview ballrooms and terraces as well as the common areas around the conference facilities and the popular “lantern lane,” a spot to relax and chat.
• The Naples Grande Beach Resort is no longer a Waldorf Astoria property and has transitioned to an independent resort. It is undergoing an $18 million renovation that is slated for completion by January 2015.
• The Marriott Residence Inn Naples is undergoing a $1.8 million renovation that includes the lobby, breakfast room, fitness center and meeting space.
• With vessels available for private events, Pure Naples recently opened at the Marina at Edison Ford in Fort Myers, offering excursions along the Caloosahatchee River on a newly built passenger vessel.
• The Lani Kai Island Resort on Fort Myers Beach renovated 100 guest rooms and its restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
• On Sanibel Island, Sundial Beach Resort & Spa is putting the wraps on the the second phase of a multimillion-dollar resort renovation that began in August and includes a state-of-the-art fitness center, a pizza kitchen, an on-site market and deli, new soft tennis courts and new kids clubs.
• In December, Spirit Airlines will inaugurate weekly nonstop service from Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers to Latrobe-Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa. Service will operate three days per week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Spirit will operate weekly year-round nonstop service to Chicago (O’Hare) and Detroit, complementing its daily nonstop service to Atlantic City.