As Southwest Florida continues to recover from the impacts of Hurricane Ian, the reopening of the Ritz-Carlton Naples is the latest sign of progress. The luxury hotel on Florida’s Gulf Coast will reopen July 6 after an extensive renovation.
The renovation began in 2021, long before Hurricane Ian blew ashore last September as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. Damage from the storm forced the hotel to close and, as part of a Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification in October 2022, the property indicated it would not reopen until 2023.
The reopening of the Ritz Carlton will be highlighted by the new Vanderbilt Tower, which features an expansive new Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge and more than 70 club-level guestrooms. Renovations include a new resort lobby and three new dining experiences. In addition, the resort’s outdoor spaces have been reimagined and the rooms underwent a redesign.
Damage to southwest Florida’s hotel inventory by Hurricane Ian was significant. Eleven properties totaling 279 rooms in Fort Myers were identified by CoStar’s Hospitality Research team as permanently closed due to storm damage. Another 64 hotels in Fort Myers totaling 5,235 rooms were temporarily closed, bringing the total impact to 75 properties and 5,514 rooms. Forty percent of rooms in Fort Myers were permanently or temporarily closed due to Hurricane Ian.
Naples, approximately 25 miles south of Fort Myers, was less severely affected by the storm. Sixteen hotels in the area, totaling 1,587 rooms, were temporarily closed, representing 20% of Naples’ room inventory.
With the Ritz-Carlton set to reopen in early July, Naples’ hotel inventory has largely recovered from the hurricane impacts. However, signs of damage from the storm may linger, even after reopening. For example, the LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort began a phased reopening in late January as repairs continue. Available amenities include a selection of accommodations, private beach access, a satellite location of SpaTerre and some dining and retail outlets.
Reopenings in Fort Myers have progressed more slowly than in Naples, due to the devastating extent of damage from the storm, particularly on Sanibel Island. The storm closed 86% of the rooms in the Fort Myers Beach-Sanibel Island area, and approximately 50% of existing rooms in the area are still temporarily closed for repairs or renovations.
Although slow, signs of progress are visible. DiamondHead Beach Resort, Pink Shell Beach Resort and Lighthouse Resort Inn & Suites on Sanibel Island are in various stages of partial reopenings with limited amenities and ongoing construction throughout the resorts. Sundial Beach Resort remains closed but has started accepting wedding, event and group bookings for 2024.