Eight months after Hurricane Irma damaged many hotels, 86% of the Florida Keys' lodging units are
open, according to the Florida Keys Tourism Council.
Meanwhile, new property development is underway across the
islands, including what will be one of the Key's largest resorts.
In Key West, 95% of all properties are open, with only two
major hotels still closed: the 148-unit Parrot Key Resort, scheduled to reopen
Aug. 1, and the 64-room Key West Bayside Inn & Suites, slated to reopen in
September.
Still mostly closed is the 177-room Hawks Cay Resort on Duck
Key, set to reopen this summer. In March, Hawks reopened its 100 villas as well
as its spa, one pool, kids center, and its Angler and Ale restaurant.
The storm has not stopped developers from building new
hotels on the islands, where almost 1,500 new rooms are set to open in the next
year.
The 199-room Isla
Bella Beach Resort is scheduled to open in early 2019 with several restaurants,
pools and a marina, near the Seven Mile Bridge, becoming one of the largest
resorts on the islands.
In Key Largo, the Keys' first "luxury-inclusive,
adults-only" resort, the 135-room Bungalows Key Largo, is slated to open
this fall, as well as the 200-room Baker's Cay Resort, a hotel in Hilton's Curio
Collection. Baker's Cay is a conversion of the Hilton Key Largo.
In Islamorada, two properties, the 70-room Fisher Inn Resort
& Marina and the smaller Hadley House Resort, are both in development.