Margaritaville to Open in November

It will be a phased opening according to TPI’s Tom Torgerson. The main resort will open this November with the Beach Club (the pool area) opening in either December or January.

TPI hoped to have the entire resort open by September, however, nothing has gone according to plan to get this resort open. The company has had to battle through frivolous lawsuits, COVID, then Hurricane Ian which did tens of millions of dollars worth of damage to the construction site.

What’s causing the delay in opening the Beach Club has to do with a miscommunication with the town. The old Cigar Hut building, which TPI originally planned to save, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian. After the storm, the building had to come down because repairs could not be made under FEMA’s 50% rule. TPI thought they were given the all clear to wet-flood-proof the restroom replacement building. The town is requiring the replacement building to be dry-flood-proofed. And that is a major change which is pushing back the opening of the Beach Club.

There was a bit of good news regarding the bathroom building. It was a mere ten feet outside the high velocity zone or the bathrooms would have had to be built back about 18 feet in the air.

Once the Beach Club is open the public will be able to purchase day pass wristbands on a first-come first-serve basis. Rates for those passes have not been set yet.
Once open the resort will feature over 200 rooms (most with a view of the beach), a 5000 sq. ft. ballroom, and a large elevated terrace to host special events. The main hotel will be connected to the beach the recently installed walkover, where guests can lounge by a large pool, grab a bite to eat or drink and enjoy live entertainment. There will also be 30 beachfront suites with views of the gulf and evening sunsets.