Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hotels undergo major makeovers
Established properties know they face new competitors
A handful of Fort Lauderdale’s biggest hotels welcomed the New Year with fresh looks and revised menus of guest amenities.
The property upgrades are timely, as several new hotels get set to open across the city and Broward County this year and beyond, generating fierce competition for tourist and business traveler dollars.
W Hotel & Residences Fort Lauderdale recently completed a major makeover of its 517 guest rooms, suites and residences as part of a $55 million-plus renovation project started last summer that’s expected to wrap up by this fall.
“We finished the guest room renovations. We’ve done the ‘living room,’ which is completed except for a few more pieces and furniture to come in,” general manager Anna MacDiarmid said during a property tour. “Our wet deck, which is our pool area, is almost completed also.”
W Fort Lauderdale’s guestroom upgrades included refreshed décor, new carpeting, window treatments, furnishings and the addition of coffee makers. Enhancements to its public spaces include a redesign of the living room — the fourth floor lobby, check-in and social gathering area — and a Sushi bar, which opened four weeks ago.
“We also have a new great room in the works that should be ready by May 1,” MacDiarmid said. “And we have a new restaurant coming at the corner of Bayshore Drive and A1A.”
That yet-to-be-named new restaurant, now under construction, is expected to open by September, she said. It will offer a more casual setting with outdoor and indoor seating and a take-out counter.
On the exterior of the hotel-condo property at 401 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., work is under way to complete a new
B Ocean first opened in 1956 as the 150-room Yankee Clipper. Over the decades it expanded to nearly 500 rooms under different owners.
porte-cochere entrance.
Farther south along the popular A1A beachfront corridor, the B Ocean Resort Fort Lauderdale completed renovations of its 484 rooms and suites as part of a multi milliondollar transformation started in 2015.
B Ocean at 1140 Seabreeze Blvd. first opened in July 1956 as the 150-room Yankee Clipper hotel. Over the decades it expanded to nearly 500 rooms under different owners and previously operated as the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel before being purchased and re-branded in late 2014 by a new owner.
The resort’s recent overhaul includes an openconcept lobby, coffee bar, two spa suites, expanded meeting space and a twostory penthouse with private elevator, kitchenette, separate sitting area and king-size bedroom.
The resort’s iconic shipwreck-themed Wreck Bar was expanded to include a sushi bar area and Polynesian-style menu, B Hotels & Resorts spokeswoman Kristina Lynch said. Starting Feb. 10, the popular hangout will offer a new Adults-only burlesque mermaid show and continue every Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m.
By mid-February, the B Ocean’s new Naked Crab seafood-themed restaurant by celebrity chef Ralph Pagano is set to open in renovated space that once housed a Mexican eatery.
Pagano, head of Yes Hospitality Group and a former “Hell’s Kitchen” TV show contestant, was named to lead the resort’s food and beverage outlets. As part of the partnership, he’ll also revamp the resort’s beachfront poolside bar and grill into the Salty Siren concept, which will serve high-end seafood courses as well as beachfriendly fare.
“Ralph Pagano has a following,” general manager Jean Capps said. “He’s a fun, energetic guy who just has fun with what he does and he just automatically draws people in.”
With the major upgrade work in the rear-view mirror, the renovated B Ocean hopes to welcome back repeat customers and attract new ones.
During the past year, a handful of other Fort Lauderdale hotels invested millions to spruce up their guest offerings.
Among them is the 236-room Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel along Southeast 17 Street near Port Everglades. In November, the Renaissance finished a nearly $5 million improvement project that included contemporary coastal design upgrades to its lobby and common areas. The hotel added food and beverage outlets including Bistro 17, R Lounge and the Calusa Coffee Bar.
Enhancements were also added to the Renaissance’s meeting space, pool area, property lighting and fire safety systems, said Ben Johnson, director of sales and marketing.
“It’s wonderful to see this level of reinvestment, and [it] reflects the strong confidence our owners have in the future of Fort Lauderdale’s hospitality industry,” Johnson said.
“Ralph Pagano has a following. He’s a fun, energetic guy.” Jean Capps, general manager for B Ocean