With Florida visitor figures exceeding the 100 million mark, it’s no surprise that new hotels are on the horizon to fill the demand while renovations are on tap at existing hotels to increase demand. And we’re not just talking about the bigger vacation and convention hubs—Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa—where development is a given. Growth is happening all over the state.
With a new Aloft in place, Sarasota, for one, is expecting a Westin and an Embassy Suites in 2017. Just up the road in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, 2,000 new rooms are in the pipeline—either newly opened or due in the next couple of years, including the sleek new Opal Sands Resort on Clearwater Beach and the new Hyatt coming to downtown St. Pete in late 2016.
“We’re really excited about what’s happening on our hotel scene,” says Suzanne Scully, director of sales, meetings & conventions for Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater. “We also have a Wyndham Grand Resort with meeting space coming, and any amount of new meeting space for us is good.”
In Palm Beach County, where the new Hilton West Palm Beach just connected to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, hotel development is at a level not seen for a generation, with an AC by Marriott and other projects on deck. In neighboring Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Starwood Hotels and Resorts is planting a big footprint, opening nine specialty hotels over the next three years, including Aloft, Four Points and Element brands.
Meanwhile, new openings and renovations are happening up and down the Florida Keys, where, from late 2014 through the end of this year, eight new properties comprising just over 1,000 rooms have opened or are planning to open from Key Largo to Key West.
Orlando North Seminole County also has a number of hotels undergoing renovations, including the Hyatt Lake Mary, while a new Drury Inn and Suites with meeting space has been approved near Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.
Things seem to be looking up at Space Coast hotels as well.
“We are exceeding our projections for meetings for 2016,” says Bill Hendrickson, sales director for the Hilton Rialto in Melbourne. “Our hotel has seen a 30 percent increase in meetings year over year. Group bookings are on the rise due to the growth at the Kennedy Space Center and the increase in the number of space launches.”
Then there’s Orlando, where seemingly nonstop theme-park enhancements and a developing convention center district are fueling hotel openings for the foreseeable future, including the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, due this summer at Universal Orlando.
“If you’re in the theme park business, you always have to have something new or strong happening,” says Fred Shea, senior vice president of convention sales and services for Visit Orlando. “Disney Springs is a major addition, Star Wars in Hollywood Park is being redone, SeaWorld is building a new roller coaster. If those happened in any city, it would be huge news. But here, because there’s so much happening, it almost gets lost in the shuffle.”
Lest that should happen, following is the latest and greatest from around the state.
Northeast Florida
Set on the Jacksonville Riverwalk, the Lexington Hotel & Conference Center, formerly the Wyndham, is in the midst of major renovations that will transform the property’s guest rooms, lobby, landscaping, pool area and meeting rooms. Completion is slated for the end of 2016.
The Omni Jacksonville just completed room renovations—including new decor, beds, soft goods, in-room safes and Keurig coffeemakers—as part of a $9 million overhaul. The downtown hotel also boasts a new club lounge and renovated meeting space.
The Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront is sporting a new look following a major renovation that added meeting space, a new rooftop fitness center, an updated rooftop pool, a redesigned Regency Club Lounge and a complete overhaul of the property’s 951 guest rooms.
Allegiant Travel Co. is adding three direct flights to and from Jacksonville International Airport in April to New Orleans, Memphis and Richmond, Va.
With the introduction of a new prefunction and exhibit area, the conference center at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation offers 80,000 versatile square feet to accommodate banquets, conferences and theme parties of 20 to 1,800 people.
On Ponte Vedra Beach, the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa recently renovated its guest rooms and villa suites. The 65-acre resort features more than 61,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including a 2,500-person ballroom and nearly 40 meeting rooms.
The Ponte Vedra Inn & Club has a newly renovated spot to relax—Tavern, boasting a full bar, five HDTVs, a pool table and new luxury fixtures and furnishings that complement eclectic bar offerings and a small-plates menu. The AAA Five Diamond resort offers 250 rooms and more than 25,000 square feet of indoor meeting and exhibit space as well as a host of recreational options, including 36 holes of golf, 15 tennis courts, a full-service spa and four heated oceanfront swimming pools. Group teambuilding includes the new “Amazing Race” through the resort.
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Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast is undergoing multiple improvements, including a lobby renovation, remodeling of its one-bedroom villas and enhancement of its meeting facilities. The multiphase project is set to be complete by Labor Day.
Northwest Florida
Located on the ocean in Destin, adjacent to the 208-acre Henderson Beach State Park, Henderson Beach Resort will be one of the first luxury resorts in a decade to open along Florida’s Gulf Coast when it debuts this summer. Featuring 170 guest rooms and suites and a nature-inspired spa, the property also will boast 10,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and 20,000 square feet of outdoor event space.
The WaterColor Inn & Resort in Santa Rosa Beach recently redecorated its inn rooms and also offers beach houses among its many amenities. Meetings are served by 4,000 square feet of flexible space.
The Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa added a third, 7,500-square-foot ballroom, bringing the property’s total meeting space to 40,000 square feet.
Central East Florida
The Inn at Cocoa Beach recently installed a new deck for viewing Kennedy Space Center launches, though it is also available for other events. Other group space includes a conference room for up to 40 and smaller breakout areas.
Daytona Beach will welcome its first Westin property by summer 2017: the Westin Daytona Beach Resort & Spa, with 200 rooms, an Olympic-size pool, spa and 25,000 square feet of meeting and function space.
JetBlue Airways launched daily nonstop service from New York’s JFK Airport to Daytona Beach International Airport earlier this year.
Central Florida
Streamsong Resort & Spa is currently building its third world-class golf course—Streamsong Black, debuting in fall 2017—to complement a range of recreation that also includes archery, sporting clays and bass fishing. Set south of Lakeland and surrounded by lakes and wildlife habitat, the resort offers 24,600 square feet of flexible conference and meeting space along with 40,000 square feet of outdoor event space. A main lodge features 216 rooms and suites, with 12 additional clubhouse rooms.
The Hilton Orlando recently unveiled 11,000 square feet of new meeting space that includes the Key Largo and Key West meeting rooms, prefunction space and an additional registration desk.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort is undergoing a multiphase, multiyear, $125 million project that will transform all 2,265 guest rooms in both the Swan and Dolphin buildings with a brand-new look; the Swan has already unveiled all-new Grand Deluxe guest rooms. The hotel’s meeting and convention space also will be equipped with the latest advancements in high-density Wi-Fi technology.
Coming to Universal Orlando Resort this summer is its fifth on-site hotel—the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort—a 1,000-room property incorporating a Caribbean theme that is highlighted by a lush tropical lagoon and towering waterfall. Universal also will debut the new Loews Meetings Complex, which will consist of 247,000 square feet of contiguous meeting space between Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort.
The Villas of Grand Cypress is redesigning its Executive Meeting Center, a stand-alone complex that houses 7,200 square feet of flexible indoor/outdoor event space. Situated on the resort’s 1,500 acres in Orlando’s Lake Buena Vista neighborhood and framed by 45 holes of Jack Nicklaus Signature-designed golf, the Executive Meeting Center is the latest update to the Forbes Four Star, AAA Four Diamond-rated hotel, following the recent $17 million renovation of its 146 guest rooms.
The Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa condo-style resort has added 20,000 square feet of new meeting and banquet space for a total of 36,000 square feet.
Due for completion by early 2017, DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld just embarked on a multimillion-dollar renovation that will add a new 20,000-square-foot ballroom, new pool decks and 100,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting and event space.
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The Hyatt Place Lake Mary/Orlando-North has emerged from a renovation that upgraded accommodations, reimagined the lobby and updated decor. Hotel features include 1,620 square feet of flexible meeting space.
Central West Florida
The new Aloft Sarasota opened in the heart of downtown with 139 urban-inspired guest rooms, 550 square feet of meeting space and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel.
Now open on the Gulf, Opal Sands Resort makes the most of stunning Clearwater Beach views with floor-to-ceiling windows and large balconies in all 230 rooms. Amenities include a full-service spa, beachside tiki bar and 25,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space, including nine breakout rooms with Gulf views and a 5,500-square-foot event lawn.
Coming to Clearwater Beach in early 2017, the Wyndham Grand Resort will feature 450 rooms and 24,000 square feet of event space.
Sister property to the iconic Don CeSar Hotel, the newly renovated Beach House Suites by Loews Don CeSar offers 70 all-suite accommodations on St. Pete Beach, perfect for smaller groups and extended stays.
Southeast Florida
Due to open in May, Residence Inn by Marriott Miami Beach-Surfside includes 175 all-suite units and 1,000 square feet of meeting space opening to an elevated pool deck with 11 private cabanas.
When it opens in May, EAST, Miami will be the first EAST property outside Asia and will anchor the new downtown Brickell City Centre mixed-use complex. Amenities will include 352 rooms and suites, a rooftop bar and 20,000 square feet of function space, including a 39th-floor ballroom.
The venerable Miami Beach Convention Center is getting a top-to-bottom makeover to the tune of $615 million and will be LEED-certified and feature 500,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 60,000-square-foot ballroom and 81 new breakout rooms by 2018.
Miami’s SunLife Stadium is undergoing a massive renovation, installing an open-air canopy that will put 92 percent of fans in the shade, protected from the elements, while also adding four HD video boards and improved audio. Renovations will be complete by the season kickoff this fall.
The Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is expected to open this summer with 290 studios and suites, 20,000 square feet of meeting space and amenities that include four dining venues.
In downtown Fort Lauderdale, a 24-story dual-hotel complex featuring a Starwood Tribute Portfolio and Element by Westin Hotel will offer 12,000 square feet of retail, a rooftop bar and sky lobby, seventh-floor infinity pool and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. The targeted opening is spring 2017.
Expected by 2018 in Fort Lauderdale is a 22-story Four Seasons property, offering 150 rooms and 44 residences, plus two restaurants, a spa and fitness center, and meeting facilities.
At the AAA Four Diamond Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, the recently opened Kuro has been in such demand that they’ve kicked off 2016 with two new offerings, Saturday lunch service and extended dinner hours, adding Mondays to the mix.
Making its debut in January, the long-awaited Hilton West Palm Beach is connected to the Palm Beach County Convention Center via enclosed walkway and features 400 rooms as well as more than 24,000 square feet of meeting space and two 2,400-square-foot lawn spaces for special events.
Due to open this summer is the 200-room Hyatt Place Boca Raton with a restaurant and 4,000 square feet of meeting space.
Slated for a late 2017 opening, the Mandarin Oriental Boca Raton will include two adjacent towers that will form part of an upscale mixed-use development featuring 65,000 square feet of luxury retail as well as a private club offering social, fitness and golf amenities. The 158-room hotel also will include extensive banquet and meeting space, including a 4,500-square-foot ballroom, along with a signature rooftop restaurant, a Mandarin Oriental cake shop and a spacious club lounge.
In May 2016, ground will break on a new 150-room Canopy by Hilton hotel in West Palm Beach. Touted as a neighborhood hotel concept, the new brand embraces local elements in design, culture and menus. The property will be set two blocks from CityPlace, downtown West Palm Beach’s retail, dining and entertainment complex, with a projected opening at the end of 2017.
Southwest Florida
The Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf & Spa completed the first phase of a $250 million transformation toward its rebranding as the JW Marriott Beach Resort Marco Island, the first JW Marriott Beach Resort in the continental U.S. The resort now has 716 newly renovated guest rooms, new dining options and a reimagined lobby, while work continues on a new resort tower that will feature celebrity chef restaurants, meeting space and a new pool deck. Completion is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2017.
The newly opened Hyatt House Naples/Fifth Avenue offers 183 “residentially inspired” rooms and a picturesque location on the Gordon River section of Naples Bay near downtown. Four function rooms total 3,160 square feet of flexible meeting and event space.
Bellasera Hotel in Naples, a SunStream property, has earned its second palm designation from the Florida Green Lodging Program. The environmentally aware, all-suite property is set in the heart of downtown Naples shopping and dining and also features 4,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa (http://coconutpoint.hyatt.com) in Bonita Springs recently refurbished its ballroom, foyer and meeting rooms with new lighting, wall coverings, digital signage, contemporary furnishings and artwork. The resort provides more than 70,000 square feet of versatile indoor/outdoor space.
The Florida Keys & Key West
Key Largo’s new Playa Largo Resort & Spa offers 144 rooms and suites, 10 private bungalows and a three-bedroom beach house ideal for private or corporate events. Other group facilities include a ballroom and bayside event lawn.
The Islamorada Resort rebranded as Amara Cay Resort, increasing rooms to 110 and opening an Italian-style eatery. A Mercedes-Benz shuttle takes guests to Islamorada’s most popular locales.
New in Key West is the Keys Collection, a trio of newly built properties that includes the Gates Hotel, with 245 rooms, two pools and a business center; the Fairfield Inn and Suites, boasting 133 rooms and poolside cabanas; and the Hilton Garden Inn, a 141-room property offering access to 24-hour business and fitness centers.
