There is plenty of news coming out of Florida these days, from Brightline—the All Aboard Florida intercity passenger rail that will run from Miami to Orlando, which is slated to begin service later this year—to improvements to Tampa International Airport to the tune of $1 billion. Also in the works is the renovation and expansion of the Miami Beach Convention Center, which will soon accommodate large-scale convention, civic and cultural events.
In Orlando, a new pedestrian bridge opening in May will connect the West Building of the Orange County Convention Center to the Hyatt Regency Orlando. Meanwhile, the new 62,182-square-foot Valencia Ballroom was recently unveiled at the convention center.
New attractions include Universal Orlando Resort’s Volcano Bay, while Walt Disney World Resort’s Pandora–the World of AVATAR will open this year. AVATAR will be the largest expansion in Animal Kingdom’s history and will feature floating mountains, bioluminescent rainforests, a Banshee flying attraction and new after-dark entertainment.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios plans two historic-themed land expansions, bringing the far, far away galaxy of Star Wars and the colorful world of Toy Story closer to guests, and SeaWorld Orlando will debut its first digitally enhanced ride this summer as the legendary Kraken roller coaster is transformed into a virtual reality (VR) roller coaster experience.
At the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, the grand opening of Heroes & Legends happened in November. Featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame presented by Boeing, the exhibit celebrates the pioneers of NASA’s early space programs. Additionally, all over the state, hotels are being built or refurbished. Following is a sampling.
Latest & Greatest
CAPE CORAL
The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village is set to expand its meetings and events capabilities with the addition of a $15 million, 35,000-square-foot conference center. The facility will also offer an expansive new terrace overlooking the Caloosahatchee River estuary.
CLEARWATER
Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach opened in January, and is now the largest hotel/resort on Clearwater Beach, with 343 guest rooms, waterfront vistas, a waterside bar, an Asian-Fusion restaurant and 22,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.
Opal Sands Resort, Clearwater Beach opened in 2016 with a sleek, Mid-Century vibe and a gently curving facade fronting the Gulf of Mexico. All 230 guest rooms boast unobstructed views of the Gulf’s emerald waters, and there is 17,000 square feet of waterfront meeting space.
Safety Harbor Resort and Spa completed a $5 million renovation in November that added 30 newly refurbished treatment rooms to the property.
EMERALD COAST
The Henderson, A Salamander Beach & Spa Resort debuted in November as a $300 million luxury resort in Destin. The Henderson offers 170 guest rooms, 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 5,221-square-foot ballroom, and a variety of Gulf-side dining options.
Hilton Garden Inn, Fort Walton Beach is set to open in spring 2017. The new 178-room Hilton Garden Inn Hotel will feature a 5,000-square-foot conference center.
FLORIDA KEYS
The 20-acre Oceans Edge Key West Hotel & Marina is scheduled to open in mid-December with 175 suites and guest rooms, six pools and an on-site marina. Spacious units range from 375 to 948 square feet.
The 100-room boutique Perry Hotel Key West, located within the Stock Island Marina Village complex, recently opened. All rooms have water views and property amenities include a lush pool area, watersports options and a full-service restaurant. The $38 million hotel includes flexible small group, incentive and event space. It offers the Keys’ largest deep-water marina, featuring 220 slips, and can accommodate vessels up to 300 feet long.
The Historic Key West Inns hotel collection recently opened an 11-room extension at Key West’s Chelsea House Hotel, bringing the number to 48 total guest rooms. The collection acquired and fully renovated the former Blue Parrot Inn, built during the late 1880s as the Walter C. Maloney House, adjacent to Chelsea House. Chelsea House’s addition includes a fully accessible room, a private courtyard and a pool.
Key Largo’s Jules’ Undersea Lodge, the only submerged recreational hotel for divers in the U.S., and its adjacent MarineLab Undersea Laboratory, recently celebrated more than 30 years underwater in a Key Largo lagoon. The lodge, initially a research laboratory, was renamed in the 1980s after novelist Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and transformed into a two-bedroom retreat. Its entrance is 21 feet beneath the surface.
Hyatt Hotels rebranded its Key West hotel property as the Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa following a multimillion-dollar enhancement. The 120-room waterfront property became part of the Hyatt Centric portfolio of lifestyle hotels in early November. Property upgrades include a redesign of the Blue Mojito Pool Bar and Grill with new decor and space for larger parties, and an expansion of the property’s Jala Spa.
JACKSONVILLE
The Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront recently underwent a major renovation that included additional meeting space, a new rooftop fitness center, an updated rooftop pool, a redesigned Regency Club Lounge and a complete overhaul of the hotel’s 951 guest rooms.
The Sheraton Jacksonville Hotel recently underwent a $7 million renovation of the entire property.
The Omni Jacksonville Hotel recently completed all of its room renovations as part of a $9 million overhaul of the downtown hotel. The hotel offers a new club lounge and the pool area is undergoing updates. This comes on the heels of upgrades to the Omni’s restaurant, Juliette’s Bistro, and a complete renovation of the hotel’s meetings space.
The Lexington Hotel & Conference Center is in the midst of major renovations, including new guest room decor, a reconfiguration of the lobby, new landscaping, an overhaul of the meeting rooms, a remodeled pool area and more. The work will take place in phases, as the hotel will remain open during the overhaul. The renovations will be completed by this summer.
MIAMI/FORT LAUDERDALE
The Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel & Executive Meeting Center officially completed an expansive and stylish $10 million renovation. Enhancements include all 405 guest rooms and the lobby and outdoor pool, as well as the entryway—all of which complement 17,000 square feet of recently renovated meeting and event space.
The Diplomat Beach Resort is fresh off a $100 million transformation, including 10 new dining concepts meant to deliver an all-encompassing group experience. Fully renovated guest rooms and suites offer water views from most rooms.
The Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach is expected to open this winter with 290 expansive studio and suite accommodations, four alfresco dining experiences, a 4,000-square-foot ocean view spa and fitness center, and 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space.
The $23 million Tryp Maritime by Wyndham in Fort Lauderdale opened in March. The eight-story, 150-room maritime-themed hotel offers a European-style tapas bar featuring 11 aquariums.
The Fontainebleau Miami Beach recently updated the design of its historic Versailles Tower and renovated its existing 33 poolside cabanas. Each cabana is equipped with a flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi and butler service, among other amenities.
Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort recently debuted a new upscale restaurant, JWB Prime Steak and Seafood. The resort offers 30,000 square feet of meeting space and a rooftop for receptions with a view.
NAPLES
Following a $40 million renovation, Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa renovated its lobby and upgraded accommodation options, including new luxury rooftop guest suites as well as first-floor guest rooms and suites with spacious patios and direct pool access. Additionally, a completely re-envisioned restaurant concept and corresponding grab-and-go market will launch upon the property’s debut.
Naples Grande Beach Resort announced the unveiling of its renovated public spaces, including $2 million of enhancements to its Vista Ballroom and Lobby Lounge. The resort offers over 83,000 square feet of function space.
The 189-room LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, a Noble House Resort located on the idyllic Naples beachfront, completed a $6 million renovation that includes luxurious new Beach House guest rooms, property-wide beautification updates, new sustainability initiatives and the introduction of a gourmet coffee bar.
ORLANDO
The AAA Four Diamond Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando completed extensive renovations to its 1,501 guest rooms, its grounds and amenities. The hotel also added a special events pavilion, practice spaces and new technology to its freshly redesigned 18-hole golf course.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort’s lobby will undergo a $12 million redesign as the final stage of the largest makeover in the resort’s history. When finished this fall, it will feature a new lobby and new dining and beverage options. The lobby redesign is the final stage of a $140 million project that also includes the transformation of all of its 2,267 guest rooms, along with upgrades to the hotel’s meeting space.
Universal Orlando Resort opened the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, featuring 1,000 rooms and suites with a casual Caribbean theme, built around a lagoon and towering waterfall. The new Loews Meetings Complex consists of 247,000 square feet of contiguous meeting space between Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort.
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, the largest of the six convention hotels at Walt Disney World Resort, is expanding over the next two years, adding new dining options, resort rooms and outdoor spaces. As part of that expansion, construction is underway on a new 15-story tower that will bring an additional 500 rooms to the resort, including suites and concierge-level services. A new rooftop restaurant and lounge atop the tower will offer panoramic views. The expansion will also include new meeting venues, adding a boardroom and two multipurpose rooms to the resort’s current 220,000 square feet of dedicated meeting and function space.
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In 2016, the Buena Vista Palace Resort and Spa became the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, located in the Disney Springs area, marking the unveiling of a large-scale renovation project including 92,000 square feet of renovated meeting spaces.
Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek unveiled the completion of its $5 million renovation, including a new 3,500-square-foot Bonnet Creek Ballroom accommodating up to 360 people and a 2,155-square-foot Expedition meeting room.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
The Boca Raton Mandarin Oriental will debut in downtown Boca Raton later this year. The 158-room property will include two adjacent towers that will form part of an upscale mixed-use development featuring 65,000 square feet of luxury lifestyle retail, as well as a world-class private club, which will offer fitness, spa and championship golf amenities. The property will also offer extensive banqueting and meeting space, including an expansive 4,500-square-foot ballroom and a variety of adaptable conference rooms.
Another exciting development coming to downtown Boca Raton is the addition of the new 200-room Hyatt Place, a 15-story property just a mile from the beach.
West Palm Beach will become home to one of eight new Canopy by Hilton Hotels, the brand’s concept hotel touted as an energized and natural extension of its neighborhood with local design, food and drink, and culture. In 2018, ground will break for the new 150-room, 14-story hotel, which will be built two blocks from CityPlace.
The Breakers’ new seafood bar welcomed guests with spectacular vistas of the Atlantic Ocean from all angles. The new design features a bespoke nautical theme with stunning detailing to create the sense of dining aboard a private luxury yacht.
The AAA Four Diamond-rated Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa recently unveiled the results of a $6.8 million renovation, including upgrades to guest suites, the lobby area, dining and meeting spaces.
PANAMA CITY
A $30 million renovation of the Sheraton Bay Point Resort is underway. Renovations and expansions include 60,000 square feet of flexible indoor/outdoor meeting space.
A Gulf-front, 182-room Hampton Inn & Suites will open this summer.
The 125-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Panama City Beach-Beachfront is opening this spring.
Frank Brown Park recreation and aquatics center is undergoing a $4 million upgrade, while plans are moving forward on the east end of the beach to build a 200-plus-acre, $30 million Sports Park. A new Fairfield Inn & Suites is under construction near the planned Sports Park.
PENSACOLA
Hilton Pensacola Beach completed an $11 million renovation of Pensacola’s largest meeting property, which offers more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space and 275 guest rooms.
Portofino Island Resort is adding towers to the hotel, which will include a Grand Salon conference center with over 14,000 square feet of meeting space.
Margaritaville Hotel Pensacola Beach recently refreshed the outside of the hotel and replaced the pool deck. The hotel offers than 2,800 square feet of meeting space.
SARASOTA
The Westin Sarasota is slated to open June 30 across the street from Sarasota Bay. It will have 255 rooms, a rooftop pool and lounge, a spa and several meeting rooms.
Zota Beach Resort in Longboat Key is set to open in May on the Gulf of Mexico. The resort will have 187 newly renovated guest rooms and suites, a stylish restaurant and wine bar, and easy access to two international airports.
SOUTH WALTON
Construction of the 55,000-square-foot Seascape Towne Centre, as part of the Seascape Resort, is scheduled to open in spring, including restaurants, live entertainment, boutique shops and more.
ST. AUGUSTINE
The newly opened Tryp by Wyndham Sebastian St. Augustine is located along the San Sebastian River on the edge of St. Augustine’s Historic District. The 95-room hotel features a heated pool, 24-hour bistro and lounge.
Opened in February, Collector Luxury Inn & Gardens in St. Augustine was once the home of the 1790-era landmark Dow Museum of Historic Houses. The property offers 30 guest rooms and suites.
Ponte Vedra Lodge & Club recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of its 66 oceanfront guest rooms. Each of the 24 suites, eight preferred rooms and 34 deluxe rooms has a new interior design.
The AAA Five Diamond Ponte Vedra Inn & Club executed a new design to its conference center, comprising over 25,000 square feet of indoor meeting and exhibit space, including upgrades to its two ballrooms.
Hammock Beach Resort, located south of St. Augustine in Palm Coast, has completed a remodel of its lobby with all-new furnishings and a sophisticated new lobby bar. The resort’s makeover extended to its Premium Ocean Front Suites, meeting and function space, and restaurants.
The $25 million resort-wide refresh of the iconic Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach is evident throughout its 511 guest rooms/villas, resort pool area, modernized front desk area, hotel facade, Sawgrass Spa and Cabana Beach Club. Other sophisticated facets of the project are a “Butler Serviced” guest wing and the American Gator Club restaurant.
ST. PETERSBURG
Fenway Hotel, located 25 miles from St. Petersburg, will open in September. The 1920s-era building returns to its original role as a hotel. Developer Mainsail Lodging is transforming the Mediterranean-style waterfront building into a member of the Marriott International Autograph Collection. The hotel will have 83 guest rooms and suites, a rooftop bar overlooking Honeymoon & Caladesi Islands, combined indoor and outdoor event space for up to 300 people, a resort-style pool, and an expansive front lawn for croquet, badminton and bocce ball.
Loews Hotels & Resorts’ Beach House Suites by the Don CeSar, the 70-room sister-property of the Loews Don CeSar, recently underwent a $7.8 million upgrade, including all-new one- and two-bedroom suites.
Hyatt Place, Downtown St. Pete will open later this year. The 175-room hotel is part of a larger mixed-use development located in the heart of the city’s urban core, called One St. Petersburg, which includes a 41-story condominium tower and extensive retail.
TALLAHASSEE
New hotels in Tallahassee include Tru by Hilton with 90 guest rooms.
A 124-room Hampton Inn & Suites will debut in 2018 with nearly 80,000 square feet of space as well as an outdoor pool.
Residence Inn Tallahassee Universities at the Capitol completed a $1.5 million renovation in fall 2015 that reinvented 135 guest rooms and expanded public space and conference center capacity.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tallahassee recently renovated its meeting spaces and pool area while continuing renovations of 243 guest rooms. In 2018, the property will add a new top floor for a rooftop restaurant and bar.
TAMPA
An AC Hotel by Marriott is slated to open by next year and will offer 175 rooms and 96,000 square feet of space. It will be located in the MetWest International 32-acre mixed-use development.
The Westshore Grand, formerly InterContinental Tampa, reopened in November. It has 325 guest rooms and meeting space for up to 700 with its 17,000 square feet of flexible space.
Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, which features 683 guest rooms and 36 suites, recently added a wellness floor.
