FORT LAUDERDALE – Dozens of new hotels are opening across South Florida this year, ready for the day pandemic-hostile travelers choose that long-awaited vacation.
There are more and more new hotels near the airports, along the beaches and in the city center. Most hotels carry the flags of major national brands such as Hilton, Marriott, and Holiday Inn.
Broward and Palm Beach counties combined will see two dozen hotels go online this year – and Miami-Dade’s numbers are almost in line with both, according to Colliers International.
Those planning hotel stays shouldn’t expect widespread discounts: as long as COVID-19 suppresses the public’s desire to travel, it will continue to depress hotel revenues across the industry, according to analysts. What travelers can expect is hotel staff eager to woo them with fancy restaurants, spas, fitness centers, and commitments to keep them safe from the coronavirus.
“I think consumers will benefit from offers here and there, but there aren’t huge discounts,” said Rich Lillis, director of Colliers Hotels USA, a branch of real estate services company Colliers International.
“It’ll mean newer products and more of a variety of offerings,” Lillis said of the store openings. “We believe that just because consumers will care, the new hotels will outperform the older ones.”
Here are examples of some of the new offerings as listed by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Visitors and Convention Bureau and Discover The Palm Beaches:
Among the first out-of-the-box offerings this year is the recently opened 141-room Maren Fort Lauderdale Beach, Curio by Hilton, on 525 Ocean Blvd.
“The view of the water is our claim to fame,” said Matthew Lois, the hotel’s sales director. “Ocean View. Intracoastal views. Most of our rooms have a balcony. “
He also reckons with a restaurant run by a “Top Chef” star. Fabio Viviani’s Riviera, an Italian seaside restaurant with 200 seats, went into operation this weekend.
“We’re looking for someone who wants to be close to the beach, but not a large plot of land,” Lois said of the clientele who want to build the hotel.
Prices are in the middle of $ 300 a night, which Lois described as “competitive” against other hotels along the coast.
Lois said he expected most of the visitors to the Maren to be from Florida, as has been the case with most hotels since the pandemic broke out last March.
“I think the southeast is a big component,” he said. “There are currently limited flights from Canada” due to national travel restrictions imposed by the Ottawa government. Ordinarily, Canadians would be “a huge component coming to Fort Lauderdale” at this time of year.
“I think right now we’re still seeing the propulsion market, at least to Fort Lauderdale Beach,” Lois said. “Business travelers come too, but their numbers are minimal.”
“We’re seeing some business trips coming back that we haven’t seen in the last few months,” he said.
Those who prefer to be closer to many downtown shops and restaurants will have plenty of new options.
The Courtyard Fort Lauderdale Downtown, also opening this month, has 137 rooms. It will be in the trendy, art-oriented Flagler Village in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Features include a state-of-the-art lobby, two meeting rooms with a total of 2300 square meters of flexible meeting space and an indoor pool.
The Ray in Delray Beach is slated to open in July and is located two blocks north of Atlantic Avenue in the Pineapple Grove art community. The 141 rooms have a balcony.
And guests have access to a 20,000-square-foot pool deck with four food and drink options, a rooftop venue, a unique restaurant, and a neighborhood café.
There are also several private event spaces available, including the roof and the cube.
After several years of stopping and starting, the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale Hotel & Residences is planning to open in December.
The 22-story project with 148 hotel rooms and 83 private homes provides guests with access to the Four Seasons-managed a la carte services, including a state-of-the-art fitness center, two pools with luxurious cabanas. Beach butler service and spa and yachting service.
The second Mandarin Oriental in Florida is to open in Boca Raton at the end of the year. The hotel is located on East Camino Real, a nearby neighbor of the venerable Boca Raton Resort & Club and only the seventh Mandarin in the US
The hotel has two rooftop pools. Gourmet restaurants and bars, including Mandarin Oriental’s rooftop MO Bar + Lounge with an outdoor terrace; and a Mandarin Oriental pastry shop.
The spa at the Mandarin Oriental offers holistic rejuvenation and relaxation, as well as a state-of-the-art fitness center. A mandarin spokeswoman declined to discuss the opening.
In West Palm Beach, the Banyan Cay Resort & Golf will open its luxury hotel with 150 boutique rooms and suites, two pools, restaurants, and a 5,000 square meter relaxation and wellness center.
Three hotels in Dania Beach, south of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, in an area of explosive residential and business growth, are about to open.
These include the 196-room Marriott at the Dania Pointe, the AC Hotels by Marriott with 154 rooms at the Dania Pointe, and the Avid Dania Beach with 100 rooms.
A Dolce Hotels & Resorts with 100 rooms is to open in April in Hollywood, as well as another hotel with 100 rooms, a Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Miramar.
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