The gradual transformation of Naples into a luxury destination has quickened with the expected opening of a Four Seasons in 2025 and the ongoing influx of wealthy retirees and top executives into the seaside community on Southwest Florida's Paradise Coast.
The city is already the fourth most expensive hotel market in Florida, according to Smith Travel Research, trailing only Key West, the Upper Keys and Miami Beach, with ADR peaks seasonally in March of about $400 a night. At luxury hotels, however, ADR can be 50% higher, according to a CoStar research report done for Collier County.
Several hotels have recently changed hands, prompting speculation that lodging choices in Naples could rocket further into the upscale category in the near future -- that Collier County report classifies 54% of the rooms under development as "upper upscale."
The headliner there would be the Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort -- a redevelopment of the Naples Beach Hotel. The 216-room hotel, owned by the Athens Group, will be the first outpost on Florida's Gulf Coast for the Toronto-based Four Seasons luxury chain, which will manage it.
Purchased for $362 million, the 125-acre site will have 100 fewer hotel rooms than previously but will add 58 luxury residences. Pricing for the hotel has not been announced but is expected to be at the top of the market.
Further speculation about the future of the market swirls around the 18-story Naples Grande Beach Resort. Opened in 1988 as The Registry, the 474-room property was acquired last year for $248 million by London-based Henderson Park HP Advisors and South Street Partners, a North Carolina private-equity real estate firm.
Already a complete resort with a spa, 15 tennis courts, a nearby 18-hole golf course and an exclusive beach, the 35-year-old hotel is loaded with promise. The sellers, Northwood Hospitality, were retained to manage the resort. So far, no major changes have been unveiled, director of sales and marketing Melinda Hutchins said.
Moving on up?
The possibility that the Naples Grande could move up in class (and price) has caused some uneasiness among some travelers, said Hutchins, who noted that the property currently is in a sweet spot between the midmarket and the nosebleed rates of deluxe hotels.
The lobby of the Inn on Fifth, a popular hotel for C-suite functions. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
"We find ourselves the nice, happy medium right now," she said, adding that she's already heard from some of her regular group business contacts. "They say, 'Please don't go too high-end. We want to be able to afford to stay there.'"
Driving the trend toward greater luxury is the scarcity of large properties along the coast, said Robert Taylor, executive vice president in the Miami office of Hunter Hotel Advisors, a brokerage. Strict zoning laws also apply. "You can't knock anything down and build anything up," he said.
Naples is also a residential magnet for top CEOs, which has contributed to the luxury lodging boom, as well. "The rock stars of corporate America go to Naples," Taylor said, and conduct business-related events at the high-end properties.
Many of those CEOs hold board meetings and other functions at the 119-room Inn on Fifth, said Shereen Ghandour, its director of sales and marketing. The boutique hotel in downtown Naples was acquired last year for $108 million by the Pebblebrook Hotel Trust.
"It's like a community," Ghandour said of the C-suite clientele. "It becomes the place to meet."
The inn, where weekend rates in December start at $459, also hosts a lot of destination weddings and sells out every first weekend in February for the Cars on 5th Concours, a charity event displaying rare and exotic cars hosted by the Ferrari Club of America.
The Ritz-Carlton Naples reopened in July with a new tower after having closed for repairs following Hurricane Ian. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Ritz-Carlton Naples
After the storms
In recent years, Naples weathered two strong hurricanes: Irma in 2017 and Ian last year. The north end of the destination is just now recovering from the latter. The 474-room Ritz-Carlton on Vanderbilt Beach reopened in July, adding a 14-story tower with 70 Club Level rooms along with a 4,000-square-foot club lounge and three new dining venues. A Saturday night stay here in January will run $1,056.
Just up the road, LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort is still partly closed; rates for available rooms there start at $1,189 for a Saturday night stay in January. The 40-room Bay Tower and 70-room Gulf Tower have reopened, while the 79-room Beach House, with its spa and fitness center, is expected to reopen by year's end.
In addition to luxury developments, Naples will also get its largest hotel to date next year when the 500-room Great Wolf Lodge resort opens. Part of a chain of family-focused indoor waterpark resorts, the Great Wolf is being built adjacent to the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, a major venue for traveling youth sports competitions.
Plans call for a waterpark and an adventure park, with opening day scheduled for Oct. 1.