Ritz-Carlton, Naples, slammed by Ian, reopens bigger, better, on Vanderbilt Beach
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
The Ritz-Carlton Resort, Naples quietly reopened to resort guests last week, giving them the first peek at its major transformation.
Now, locals can see and experience the same.
On Monday, the Ritz rolled out the welcome mat to the community – and all visitors. The transformation includes several new restaurants, and a new lobby bar, with a champagne tasting menu, and “elevated light bites,” such a caviar and wagyu truffle sliders.
The world-renowned resort took a beating from Hurricane Ian, forcing it to close for more than nine months, and to lay off nearly 600 employees.
The coastal property on Vanderbilt Beach remained open in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation, until Ian hit in September, swamping it with water and sand, and lashing it with high winds.
Upgrades to the resort include the new Vanderbilt Tower, with an expansive new club lounge and more than 70 more spacious club-level guest rooms.
Read more about the Ritz Carlton and the club-level experience.
Find a home in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Plans for a new three-story mixed-used building on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples have resurfaced.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
But they look much different than a few years ago.
The city’s Design Review Board got the first look on Wednesday, embracing the changes, but asking for a few more.
The building will include a new restaurant and four condos, which will operate as hotel rooms, rented by the night.
The proposed site for the new building is at 472 Fifth Avenue S. It’s now home to a single-story building, flanked by newer, taller ones that house the Del Mar and Osteria Tulia restaurants.
Read more about this new concept on naplesnews.com
Find a home in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
…with idea that began on Bonita Beach
What if we just stayed on vacation forever?
It’s something that many of us fantasize about, but this meditation on life was inspired during a Bonita Springs snowbird season decades ago, leading to the birth of Tommy Bahama.
Although Tommy’s not an actual human, the behemoth Floridian lifestyle brand encompassing products ranging from fashion and home furnishings to food and tropical cocktails is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023.
The founders’ first foray was menswear, hitting store department stores in 1993.
Two years later, what was initially planned as the company’s first standalone retail store changed when a real estate opportunity in Olde Naples proved irresistible.
The brand’s CEO, Doug Wood, credits Barbara Walker of Neapolitan Enterprises for igniting an idea in 1995 when two of Tommy’s co-founders, Tony Margolis and Bob Emfield, wanted to open their first retail store.
It was Margolis, Emfield and their wives who were inspired on Bonita Beach years ago to create the brand.
The gents thought 1,000 square feet, but Walker showed them a space eight times that size.
The result? Two shops, one for menswear, a second for womenswear, both sandwiching what would become the brand’s first-ever restaurant.
From Naples to a National Presence – read the story on Naples Daily News
Contact David to find your home in the Bonita Beach area of southwest Florida. David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
By next year, swanky Fifth Avenue South could have its first rooftop restaurant.
Plans for a Prime Social on Naples’ unofficial “Main Street” are slowly advancing.
The project is winding its way through the city’s review and approval process.
Most recently, the Design Review Board got a second look at the conceptual plans, which continue to evolve.
The restaurant would be one of the largest on the avenue – at roughly 7,800 square feet. It would include outdoor dining, with sweeping views of the city.
Prime Social is a newer concept by Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. On the restaurants’ website, it’s described as a “lively and dynamic rooftop cocktail lounge designed for conversation,” where people can “gather to enjoy the moment.” The first one opened in Kansas City, Missouri in 2021.
The one in Naples will require a third story addition to a prominent commercial building at 837 Fifth Avenue S.
The building’s current tenants include Chops City Grill and Engel & Volkers Real Estate.
Read the full story including architectural design and concept.
Contact David to find your home in the best place to live – Naples, Florida. David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Wendy Fullerton | Naples Daily News
As construction on the long-awaited Margaritaville Resort on Fort Myers Beach really takes shape, there’s news that another Jimmy Buffett-themed hotel is coming to Southwest Florida.
The new hotel planned for Naples is going to be much more subdued than most of Margaritaville’s other properties, John Cohlan, the CEO of Margaritaville Holdings, told our reporter Phil Fernandez.
Read more about the new Margaritaville hotel in Naples, and other projects coming to the area.
Also read Naples is getting it’s own Margaritaville hotel.
For more information about homes in Southwest Florida contact David – Email or call David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
Yelp released its Top 100 restaurants in Florida list for 2023 based on the platform’s user reviews. Fort Myers and Naples claimed three spots on the list at numbers 57, 84 and 100.
Only one restaurant on the list is a repeat winner from 2022: Café Flore (No. 23), Petar’s (No. 59) and Rumba Cuban Cafe (last year’s overall fifth place winner) are absent this year.
And the winners are
- Uncle Rico’s Pizza (No. 57): Although this popular pizza joint didn’t earn bracket love from News-Press readers, Yelpers love it…
- Organically Twisted (No. 84): Starting as a food truck in 2013, John Hart’s Organically Twisted emerged as Naples must-visit vegetarian-vegan-gluten-free temple…
- Dixie Fish Co. (No. 100): After Hurricane Ian slammed the restaurant, it re-opened Feb. 23, earning the last coveted slot on Yelp’s list…
Yelp – “Reviews or keyboard gangsters?” – read the full article
Do you want to have a home near these restaurants in the Fort Myers – Naples area? Contact David David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
