Well-dressed staff warmly greet arriving guests, setting the tone for the five-star ambitions of the new St. Regis Longboat Key Resort as the long-awaited resort recently welcomed its first guests.
Behind the oversized lobby doors, guests are first greeted from below by a sparkling St. Regis tile logo on the floor before catching a glimpse of the hotel’s centerpiece, the St. Regis Bar. The resort’s “living room” is a pale pink and gold bar adorned with a hand-painted mural that stretches around the bar to the ceiling.
The heart of the luxury resort also gives an idea of the luxury that awaits guests there – a single glass of Moët & Chandon champagne costs $35 in this exclusive meeting room.
To the left of the bar is CW’s Steakhouse, the signature dining venue and the first of seven dining locations on the property. The sit-down restaurant is open to both guests and the public and features a variety of aged cuts of beef from small Midwestern farms, as well as wines from various international regions.
The T-shaped resort is home to other restaurants and bars: Riva, which serves coastal Italian cuisine; Aura, an open-air poolside grill with a Latin American menu; the guest-exclusive rooftop Oshen Lounge, which serves small plates of Japanese and Peruvian fusion cuisine; Café Caroline, an all-day cafe; and Monkey Bar, an upscale, tiki-inspired bar named after the former bar at the property’s predecessor, the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.
In case you missed it: Sarasota beach resort accepts luxury spa reservations this week
The St. Regis Longboat Key was built by Unicorp National Developments on the site of the once famous Colony Beach resort. It took about a decade of legal wrangling before Unicorp’s founder and CEO Chuck Whittall was able to purchase and develop the 45-acre property that once attracted guests and celebrities from around the world.
Before closing its doors in 2010 due to bankruptcies and problems with the homeowners association, the Colony was considered the best tennis club in the world. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Colony was listed as the best tennis resort for eight years in a row.
Now St. Regis CEO Winfred van Workum leads a 250-person team at the new resort with high expectations of reviving Longboat Key’s once unmatched allure and luxury.
Unmatched amenities at the St. Regis Longboat Key
Beyond the mahogany tables and secret speakeasy at CWs Steakhouse, the lobby opens to a perfect view of the sparkling aquamarine Gulf of Mexico, drawing guests to the center of the sprawling resort.
St. Regis Longboat Key is Marriott International’s 9,000th hotel opening in just over a century. It is the only St. Regis hotel opening in the United States in 2024 and a milestone for Longboat Key.
Anthony Capuano, president and CEO of Marriott International, said the project was the result of the tenacity of both the development team and local expertise.
“I know the complexities and challenges involved in making something like this a reality,” he said. “We will be forever grateful to have added this gem to our portfolio. It takes an army of dedicated visionaries to make projects like this a reality, so thank you to the local leaders here and the community for their support.”
The 18-acre resort took 31 months to complete, just one month longer than the developer’s 30-month construction timeline. It features 168 rooms, a 20,000-square-foot spa, a beachfront lazy river and a 350,000-gallon lagoon with a selection of 2,800 marine animals curated by marine expert Dan Conklin.
Like the 10 hand-picked Southern Stingrays in the property’s lagoon, the other resort areas have been created with great attention to detail to provide guests and residents with a unique experience.
Rooms and suites have ocean views or balconies overlooking the resort’s center and winding lazy river and Great Lawn. Smart touch bathroom lighting, deep soaking tubs and rainfall showers are highlights of the lavish spa-inspired bathrooms in each guest room. Like the luxury price of the bar’s champagne, standard room rates start at about $1,200 a night, the sales team said. Those looking to splurge can snag the presidential suite for $15,000 a night.
Not only will the St. Regis Longboat Key host travelers on the pristine barrier island, but the resort also features four residential buildings on the property. The property includes 69 private residences with unobstructed views of the Gulf of Mexico. Residences range in price from $2 million to $20 million and vary in size from just over 1,500 square feet to large units of nearly 5,000 square feet.
Units at the St. Regis were sold out less than a year after the property broke ground in October 2021.
Lorna Kirwan, director of sales and marketing for St. Regis Longboat Key, said the property was highly anticipated, noting that the units have practically sold themselves. The sales team is expected to generate approximately $3.5 million in sales by year’s end.
“It’s very exciting that it’s finally open. Some of the residents are already here and others will arrive throughout the season,” Kirwan said. “We’ll also have our first wedding in November and we have 15 weddings booked for the next six months.”
St. Regis Spa: Sarasota beach resort accepts luxury spa reservations this week
The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort will continue its soft opening phase through the end of August and is scheduled to open to the public in September. The St. Regis Spa is currently accepting reservations for spa appointments, body treatments and other related services beginning the last week of August. Spa and hotel stay reservations can be made by calling 941-231-1000.
Samantha Gholar covers social justice and lifestyle news for USA Today Network-Florida. Contact her via X (Twitter) @samanthagholar or email at [email protected].
