According to new statistics from the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, 76% of the hotel rooms that were operating on the beach, before Hurricane Ian, are now back open. There were 1,699 rooms before Ian. As of today, 1,290 rooms are open.
There are 19 hotels now open on Fort Myers Beach between the bridges, or hotels just outside the bridges, that feed into the island. From those 19 hotels, 1,290 rooms are open. A big reason the beach is at 76% is Margaritaville. That resort alone adds 254 rooms to the total.
This chart shows all the hotels that are currently open and how many rooms each hotel has:
Two hotels are temporarily closed: The Beach Shell Inn and The Tahitian Inn Motel. According to the Chamber, The Beach Shell Inn, with its 15 rooms, will open later this year. There is no time frame for The Tahitian.
The chart below shows the 19 hotels destroyed by Hurricane Ian. Those 19 hotels were home to 590 hotel rooms before Ian wiped them out. Some will never return. Some of the properties they were on have been sold. Some, like The Beacon have been turned into a paid parking lot.
Local journalism is hard work. If you appreciate the most in-depth reporting on Fort Myers Beach, please support what we do HERE by Venmo, Zell or PayPal. Thank you.