North America: Hopping Around Florida to Check Out What’s New

Hopping Around Florida to Check Out What’s NewBy Paloma Villaverde de RicoFlorida tourism numbers might have hit a record 37.9 million visitors in the first quarter of 2023—it’s the largest volume of visitors ever recorded in a single quarter for the state—but the Sunshine State isn’t resting on its laurels. Each destination contained within this tourism behemoth continues to add to its offerings, with new hotels, attractions, MICHELIN-rated restaurants and so much more popping up at a dizzying speed. We “hopped” around the state and have hand-selected a few destinations that we think should definitely be on your radar and for each have chosen 5 must-knows.PIER SIXTY SIXGreater Fort Lauderdale 1. There’s a thriving brewery scene in Greater Fort Lauderdale, and as such, the destination has unveiled a Visit Lauderdale Ale Trail mobile passport that shows visitors the way to the top breweries and offers exclusive deals and discounts at 13 Ale Trail stops. 2. The Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival is set for Jan. 8-14, 2024, showcasing the area’s renowned and emerging chefs, restaurateurs and local F&B establishments.3. El Al Israel Airlines is introducing nonstop seasonal service between FLL and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport starting Sept. 13, 2023.4. History buffs can explore the lovely Bonnet House Museum & Gardens from a different vantage point via a new paddleboard or kayak tour offered by Sunrise Paddleboards.5. The iconic Pier Sixty-Six Hotel & Marina is scheduled to reopen in fall 2024. Your clients can expect to be welcomed into a completely reimagined 325-room resort that features an array of F&B options, including waterfront dining. There’ll be a spa as well as a 2-level pool retreat with separate family and adult areas including private cabanas and daybeds. Pier Top, the resort’s rotating lounge, will offer guests 360-degree views of the Atlantic Ocean, Intracoastal Waterway and downtown Fort Lauderdale. CHEECA LODGEFlorida Keys & Key West1. The 27-acre Cheeca Lodge & Spa Resort now offers 43 luxury oceanfront suites, located in the northernmost building at the resort. Offering king and double queen accommodations, these new suites are now the highest in luxury experiences for Cheeca’s guests. Each suite features more than 685 sq. ft. of space with unobstructed Atlantic Ocean views and boasts floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open to an expansive private lanai with open-air spa tubs, a signature of the resort’s lodge suites. 2. Key West’s 311-room and -suite Casa Marina, Curio Collection by Hilton—which celebrated its centennial in 2021—is undergoing a full renovation and is scheduled to reopen this fall. Guests can anticipate a new classic design with modern touches in rooms, an airy lobby lined with windows framing the beach, enhanced F&B venues and a full restoration of its piers utilized for watersports.3. Key West International Airport is undergoing a $100-million expansion that is set for completion in early 2025. The new second-level concourse is to feature nearly 50,000 sq. ft. of space including an extensive departure area, additional baggage areas and an upgraded security checkpoint that supports up to four security lanes.4. Hawks Cay, located on Duck Key in the middle Florida Keys, has opened eight pickleball courts at its Cliff Drysdale Tennis Center. Guests can practice their shots and strategies with drills and live ball games, and experienced players can opt for a game of singles or doubles with friends and rent equipment from the Cliffs Drysdale Tennis Program.5. In Islamorada, the 2.5-acre fully renovated waterfront Marker 88 restaurant has reopened with two open-air Tiki bars, 18 craft beer taps, 10,000 sq. ft. of beach dining and two boat docks. Restaurant seating is all outdoors, with 200 seats under cover and 200 for beachfront seating.Fort Myers / Sanibel & Captiva Islands1. This past summer saw the reopening of the 330-acre South Seas resort complex on Captiva Island, with new experiences and amenities. The resort will open a new 12-hole Beau Welling-redesigned, family-friendly golf course, The Clutch, this November, and in late fall, the South Seas Bayview (North Village), a complex with family-friendly pools with movie nights, waterslides, new poolside private cabanas, new chaise lounges and the Tarpon Bar for libations with a view of the bay, will open. The new Redfish Grille will open in 2024. In fact, by the start of 2024, South Seas is slated to open all restaurant and pool experiences.2. Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs reopened its Tarpon Bay restaurant after an extensive renovation, including an open-kitchen style with a bar and chef’s table, a modernized private dining area and an expanded total seating capacity of 219 guests. 3. Lovers Key State Park has reopened with limited day-use activities and amenities (8 a.m. until sunset). 4. Margaritaville Beach Resort, with 254 rooms that feature views of the Gulf of Mexico and Matanzas Bay, is set for an early 2024 opening. Now accepting reservations for arrivals beginning March 15, 2024, the resort will feature five F&B options, the St. Somewhere Spa and an expansive lagoon-style pool. In addition, the resort has purchased the Silver Sands Resort and plans to incorporate it into an extension of Margaritaville Beach Resort with balcony suites and retail outlets. Currently in the design stage, opening of this addition is planned for 2025.5. With more than 50 miles of beaches and over 400 species of seashells that often cover the white sands, there’s no other place quite like Fort Myers and its neighboring islands for shell hunting. In fact, Sanibel Island is known as the “Seashell Capital of the World” because of its unique east-west orientation that brings countless seashells in pristine condition to its white-sand beaches. On National Seashell Day, taking place on June 21, 2024, visitors will have the opportunity to mingle with locals and go on the hunt for the most dazzling of seashells. One of the best places for shelling? Sanibel Island’s Turner Beach. MARGARITAVILLE NAPLESNaples, Marco Island & the Everglades1. Family-friendly Great Wolf is coming to Florida with Great Wolf Lodge South Florida set to open October 2024 on a 20-acre site on the eastern edge of Collier County. It will feature a 90,000-sq.-ft. indoor water park, a 60,000-sq.-ft. Great Wolf Adventure Park, and 500 family-friendly guest suites along with a number of eateries and retail outlets.2. The beachfront Ritz-Carlton, Naples is now open after a nearly 2-year closure, unveiling a dramatic transformation of its design, amenities and guest experiences. The beachfront resort, an icon in Southwest Florida for four decades, now offers an expanded footprint with the 14-floor Vanderbilt Tower designed exclusively for Club Level guests; new culinary options, including a new Lobby Bar anchored by a new Champagne tasting menu; and the addition of 10 fully enclosed, air-conditioned poolside bungalows with private bath, TV, entertainment system and service bar for refreshments. 3. There’s a Compass Hotel by Margaritaville coming to the destination, and when it opens this December, it will be the first all-suite hotel in the Compass portfolio. With its boutique hotel look, the property will feature 120 fully equipped rooms and such amenities as Sunrise at Compass complimentary breakfast buffet, Welcome Cabana with daily light snacks and refreshments, 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill and The Backyard—a destination unto itself with a pool, live entertainment, backyard games, palm tree tables, fire tables and multiple social gathering areas.4. A new dining concept from Naples’ chef Vincenzo Betulia, the 18-seat Rouge, recalls a Prohibition-era speakeasy, clandestine and accessible only through a back door. It’s a secluded space tucked in the back corner of The French restaurant on 5th Avenue. Beef is at the heart of the menu, with five entrees of Wagyu and prime cuts, including filet mignon, ribeye, New York strip #4, New York strip #7 and a veal rib chop.5. The Inn on Fifth, located in downtown Naples, is offering the Weekday Wanderlust package that includes complimentary valet parking, $50 hotel credit per stay, late check-out, waived resort fees and complimentary use of beach chairs and private golf cart transportation to/from the destination’s beaches, located just five blocks from the hotel. The package is available for stays during weekdays only (excludes weekend stayovers); minimum 2-night stay. Orlando 1. When it comes to theme parks in Orlando, there’s always something new. For starters, Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana is getting ready for its late-2023 debut within EPCOT’s World Nature neighborhood. The all-ages attraction will allow guests to explore and engage with water as it travels from the skies to the oceans and back again. Visitors will be able to choose to get wet—or take the dry path instead—as they explore this whimsical, watery world.2. In other theme park news, Pipeline: The Surf Coaster at SeaWorld Orlando is up and running. The attraction is the world’s first “surf coaster” featuring a dynamic surfing launch and “wave jumping” motions. 3. Orlando’s dining scene has been recognized in the MICHELIN Guide Miami, Orlando and Tampa. The destination boasts 46 restaurants in the guide, including four one-star venues, 11 Bib Gourmands and 31 Recommended eateries. Included in the one-star list is Knife & Spoon, located at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes.4. Already accepting reservations for stays starting on Feb. 5, 2024, Evermore, bordering Walt Disney World, will debut with 69 houses ranging from five to 11 bedrooms, 206 four-bedroom flats, 41 two and four-bedroom villas, totaling nearly 1,500 bedrooms in a variety of configurations. Also featured is a 433-room Conrad Orlando Resort. Located in the center of Evermore, the Evermore Bay is a crystalline water amenity complemented by an expansive 20-acre tropical beach complex with zero-entry swim areas, bars, cabanas, private fire-pits and an aquatic adventure area with a waterslide, rope swing and watersports of all kinds.5. Universal Orlando Resort’s Minion Land on Illumination Avenue opened last month, featuring a new attraction, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast, where guests can blast their way to “supervillain stardom.” Guests can also dine at the Minion Cafe, snack on banana-flavored popcorn at Pop-a-Nana, cool off with sweet treats at Freeze Ray Pops, shop Minion-inspired merchandise and goodies at Bake My Day and the Evil Stuff retail store, laugh alongside the Minions while experiencing absolute mayhem at the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and meet lots of fan-favorite characters along the way at Illumination Theater. BOCA RATON HOTELThe Palm Beaches1. The Boca Raton is really glammed up and there’s still more to come, according to the resort’s president and CEO Daniel A. Hostettler. He tells Recommend that the hotel has finished its first phase of renovation and is currently working on the Tower’s suites on floors 24, 25 and 26. These will be a series of 3-, 4- and 5-bedroom Presidential suites set to open this year in time for the holidays. The resort is also in the midst of building a Club Floor on the Tower's 27th floor (access will be included in the suite rate). It will feature continental breakfast, all-day dining, cocktails and entertainment on weekend evenings. Next year, the property will renovate the Beach Club, with more news to come in Recommend’s November/December What’s New issue. 2. Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa is investing in multimillion-dollar renovations that will touch the restaurant, lobby, marketplace, bar and lounge. The project is set to be completed by mid-December 2023. 3. Featuring some of the most notable contemporary, emerging and modern art galleries, Art Palm Beach will take place Jan. 24-28, 2024 at the Palm Beach Convention Center.4. Offering views of an 18-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, Banyan Cay Resort & Spa is set to open winter 2024 with 150 rooms and suites. Amenities include two pools with private cabanas as well as a poolside bar, a spa and the in-house Society 48 restaurant. 5. The 41-room Vineta Hotel is slated for a 2024 opening, announced as the first Oetker Collection hotel in the U.S. Located just two blocks from Worth Avenue, the property reimagination will pay homage to its iconic status and 100-year history and will restore it to its “original splendor.” LIGHTHOUSESt. Augustine & Ponte Vedra 1. With a grand opening in October, the St. Johns Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve will focus on the conservation of rare and endangered species of plants from around the world, as well as natural resources and native plants and animals. Visitors will be able to participate in guided tours and programs, as well as classes on plant identification, xeriscaping, landscaping, native plants, water conservation, cold protection techniques, fertilizing (or not), planting, transplanting, potting and more.2. The resort-style, 120-room Hyatt Place St. Augustine / Vilano Beach will swing open its doors this October with a rooftop bar that offers panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and Intercoastal Waterway. Other amenities include an onsite eatery and a pool. 3. Recently reopened in a new space and welcoming only members and guests of the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, the SeaPorch restaurant boasts new cocktails, family-friendly fare and a view spanning 26 miles of Atlantic Coast. 4. One of the area’s most spectacular events and a sure hit for those who love the festive season is the Nights of Lights, on from Nov. 18, 2023-Jan. 31, 2024. During this festival of lights, downtown St. Augustine glows with holiday magic with millions of tiny white lights donning the historic buildings. 5. History buffs will want to explore the recently restored 165-ft.-tall St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. It’s the most comprehensive restoration of the 1874 structure since the 1990s, touching on all areas of the lighthouse, interior and exterior, including every window and door.BUSCH GARDENS RIDETampa Bay1. A new rooftop lounge is coming to Tampa—the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street’s Beacon. Perched on the JW Marriott’s 27th floor, Beacon will become Tampa’s highest (and second highest in Florida) public rooftop cocktail and dining destination, offering panoramic views of the city skyline and the waterfront.2. Next month sees the opening of the Hotel Flor, which will join the Tapestry Collection Hotels by Hilton following a major $30 million renovation of the historic Florida Palace Hotel. On the ground floor, The Dan is a modern take on old-school speakeasies with an atmosphere influenced by the Roaring Twenties and a menu inspired by Gulf Coast cuisine.3. In 2023, three Tampa Bay restaurants received a coveted MICHELIN star—Koya, Rocca and Lilac—bringing the total number of Tampa restaurants included in the guide to 25. Other notable restaurants to be recognized in the guide include Bib Gourmand recipients like Psomi, a daytime Greek eatery and bakery, and Rooster & the Till, with an ever-changing menu located in the foodie-friendly Seminole Heights neighborhood.4. When it comes to the city’s museum offerings, Big John the Triceratops, the largest and most complete triceratops skeleton ever discovered, is now calling the Glazer Children’s Museum home, and the Tampa Museum of Art will double its exhibition spaces in 2024. 5. This past spring, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay launched Serengeti Flyer, a 105-ft. swing ride that is the world’s tallest and fastest ride of its kind. Contact InformationDiscover the Palm Beaches: thepalmbeaches.com/travel-professionalsFlorida Keys & Key West: fla-keys.com/travel-agents-tour-operatorsFlorida’s Historic Coast: floridashistoriccoast.com/toursFlorida’s Paradise Coast: paradisecoast.com/travel-tradeFort Myers – Islands, Beaches & Neighborhoods: visitfortmyers.com/travel-tradeVisit Lauderdale: visitlauderdale.com/travel-tradeVisit Orlando: visitorlando.com/tradeVisit Tampa Bay: visittampabay.com/travel-professionals

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