It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere, but it was closer to 2 p.m. Dec. 7 when the ceremonial ribbon was cut on the 254-room Margaritaville Resort on Fort Myers Beach.
Margaritaville, owned by Minnesota-based TPI Hospitality, provided media tours of the sprawling, 7.25-acre resort at 251 Crescent St. It was built mostly on what had been a decaying strip mall on properties TPI began assembling for about $26 million, beginning in December 2014.
Construction, which began in August 2021, cost about $200 million, about $30 million over budget due to damage from Hurricane Ian.
Locals may remember brands, including Quicky Cycles, Cigar Hut, Discount Liquors, the Mermaid Lounge and Pierview Hotel, all of which were cleared out when their leases expired and then demolished to make way for Margaritaville.
The biggest takeaway from Thursday’s festivities was that the resort was built to attract locals as much, if not more, than tourists, TPI Hospitality co-CEO Tom Torgerson and resort General Manager David Cesario said.
“We think this will be the No. 1 tourist destination in all of Southwest Florida,” Torgerson said. “But we appeal to more than just the overnight guests, I cannot stress that enough.”
Most of the resort’s many amenities, including all the restaurants, bars, shops and spa are open to the public. Even the biggest amenity that isn’t, the Fins Up Beach Club, can be accessed by purchasing a day pass starting at $30, Cesario said.
A resort-style, chlorinated pool that will be filled with about 365,000 gallons of water spread across 15,000 square feet is scheduled to open later next month and will be the centerpiece of the Fins Up Beach Club. It’s on the beach side of Estero Boulevard, along with 30 of the resort’s highest-priced rooms.
Margaritaville also is encouraging locals to try the resort, promoting a Wastin’ Away on Fort Myers Beach discounted rate for stays now through Jan. 31, 2024, using the code ESCAPE when booking on the resort’s website.
Eventually, there will be six restaurants on hand, all open to the public, with multitudes of business partnerships, including local brands Norman Love chocolates, Chocolattés coffee and Judi Mae cookies, all for sale at the resort’s Coconut Telegraph coffee shop, which also opened for business.
The Island Girl, a beach shop destroyed by Hurricane Ian, will partner with the resort, selling mostly women’s beach apparel.
Lah De Dah Beach Bar & Grill seats up to 290 people and is on the ground floor. It opened to the public for the first time 1 p.m. Dec. 7. The structure actually withstood the furious winds of Hurricane Ian when it filled the building with water Sept. 28, 2022, Cesario said. The storm set back completion of the project by several months and by $30 million, Torgerson said, with the final construction budget growing from $170 to $200 million.
Outdoor live entertainment, including a steel drum player, began Dec. 7, with more options on the way.
JWB Grill, named for the late “Margaritaville” singer and brand originator Jimmy Buffett, offers fine dining on the second floor on the beach side. License to Chill Bar and Grill and 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill are other options along with a 43,000 square foot Sunset Terrace.
“With Lah De Dah, you can walk right from the beach to the bar,” Cesario said. “And it’s open from 11 until when it closes. There’s live music. It’s probably more of a party atmosphere. When you come over to the main resort, there’s a License to Chill. This is more quiet. We do have live music over here, but it’s going to be more like amplified acoustic music. We’re going to have a sunset ceremony we’re going to have every day.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony took more than 30 minutes and was filled with a video presentation, speeches and endless gratitude from the resort’s owners and management.
“Just as we said in 2015, we envision this as a catalyst to revitalize all of Fort Myers Beach,” Torgerson said.
