A more than four-year wait for the opening of Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor, filled with numerous delays, came to an end Dec. 15 as the $695 million resort welcomed its first guests.
A large crowd of public officials attended a ribbon-cutting amid performances by Charlotte High School’s Silver King Marching Band. The school’s Tarpon cheerleaders and dancers helped to bring the crowd to their feet outside the resort’s food hall.
The resort, which was originally slated to open in late 2020, was delayed due to the pandemic. That wasn’t the only problem the resort faced after its groundbreaking in March 2019, though.
A labor shortage prevented Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co. from hiring the contractors it needed for construction and work slowed.
Hurricane Ian, which caused $35 million in damage to the resort, delayed construction activity by another three months. In addition, during construction several minor fires broke out, halting work for short amounts of time.
Several food and beverage directors, along with Sunseeker President Micah Richins and Senior Vice President Jason Shkorupa, praised staff members, who pulled together during the setbacks, and locals, who’ve been rebuilding their homes since the hurricane 14 months ago.
“There is a lot of resiliency here,” Shkorupa said.
Richins said the Sunseeker concept began with a blank sheet of paper on which he and Shkorupa began to design the resort on 22 acres.
Charlotte County Commissioner Bill Truex read from a proclamation declaring Dec. 15 Sunseeker Resort Day. Among those assembled in the lobby for the event were county Commissioners Ken Doherty, Chris Constance and Stephen Deutsch, county Director of Tourism Sean Doherty, Punta Gorda Mayor Lynne Matthews and Councilman Bill Dryburgh.
The resort can accommodate large conferences and meetings with 60,000 square feet dedicated for that purpose alone.
The ground-level pool is 117,000 square feet, and there also is an adults-only rooftop infinity pool with a poolside bar.
A full-service salon and spa is open to the public. For those planning a wedding at Sunseeker, a special bridal suite is available.
The public can dine at any one of the resort’s 20 food and beverage venues. The 25,000-square-foot Harbor Yards Food Hall boasts 11 stations, offering Italian, Asian and American fare, seafood, a raw bar, charcuterie, gelato and dessert crepes and a patisserie.
Stand-alone restaurants include Maury’s steakhouse, Stretto Italian restaurant, Waterside Table, Blue Lime authentic Mexican restaurant, Half Cracked tiki shack overlooking the harbor and Allegiant Stadium sports bar.
Carlos Cepero, executive director of food and beverage, who oversees all of the resort’s food and beverage outlets, banquets, catering and special events, said Sunseeker staff members share culture, ethos and passion.
“We can only execute when we inspect what we expect,” Cepero said.
Cepero previously worked for Four Seasons and the Fairmont hotels in Miami and Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Prior to the ribbon cutting, Richins and Shkorupa spoke about their lives in Las Vegas where they were executives at hotel casinos, including MGM Grand. They’ve been good friends for decades and lived in suburban neighborhoods of Las Vegas where they raised their families.
“I lived in Las Vegas for 30 years, and my wife is from Las Vegas, which has been good to my family. All of my children were born in Las Vegas, which will always have a place in my heart,” Richins said.
And although they are from Las Vegas, both emphasized they are happy to be running a resort without a casino and vowed Sunseeker wouldn’t add one in the future.
