Paradise Uncovered: What’s New This Season along Florida’s Paradise Coast

Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades Welcome New Offerings in Spring 2024

Naples, Fla., April 18, 2024 – Experience the dynamic blend of culinary innovation, cultural gems and premier sports events defining Spring 2024 on Florida's Paradise Coast. From exclusive arts and culture offerings to eagerly awaited hotel openings, uncover the latest developments and milestones further enhancing the allure of Florida's Paradise Coast:

Culinary Experiences

  • Bicyclette Cookshop – The restaurant’s executive chef and partner, Kayla Pfeiffer, recently won the Chopped championship on the Food Network’s season finale. At Bicyclette Cookshop, expect familiar dishes with surprising flavors like Caviar bumps paired with a pack of crunchy Bugles or a cocktail topped with Pop Rocks. The cuisine, which toes the line between traditional and eccentric, is best described as “New American.”
     

  • Unidos Latin Kitchen and Bar– Inspired by trendsetting Latin and Central American cities and capitals like Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Lima, Unidos is a new culinary getaway in the heart of Naples. The modern Nuevo Latino concept opened in January 2024. The menu at Unidos excites the senses with its rich Argentinean wines and asados combined with the seafood-rich dishes of Peru, Ecuador, the prolific mountains of Colombia, and the diversity of Mexico.

  • LoLa 41 – Having gained notoriety in Palm Beach and Nantucket, the March 2024 opening of LoLa 41 in Naples was met with buzz and excitement. The restaurant specializes in cuisines from the 41st parallel, bringing an East-meets-West fusion of global flavors complemented by a vibrant ambiance to the downtown dining scene around the corner from Fifth Avenue South.

  • Nolita – The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, unveiled its latest culinary experience, Nolita, which joins recent additions: Sofra, Moka, and the Lobby Bar. Drawing inspiration from its namesake neighborhood in New York, Nolita features artisan pastas made in-house, as well as hand-tossed pizzas and a menu of familiar Italian classics influenced by family recipes. By day, Nolita offers an expanded breakfast buffet, transitioning to a menu of timeless Italian fare for lunch. By night, the lively bar complements a dinner menu of classic dishes such as veal parmigiana, vongole, and spaghetti with meatballs. Boozy ice creams and timeless desserts complete the menu including Limoncello Strawberry Cheesecake and Tiramisu.
     

Hotel Happenings 

  • The Perry Hotel Naples – Opening in 2024, The Perry Hotel Naples will offer 160 rooms with a modern industrial design with local touches complemented by world-class amenities, including distinctive food and beverage venues, ground-level and rooftop pools and a seventh-floor, open-air rooftop bar and 75-seat restaurant with unmatched panoramic seventh-story views. The hotel will face the Cocohatchee River with direct channel access to the Gulf of Mexico and Wiggins State Park and a riverwalk through its nature conservation area to a waterfront pier and eight-slip marina for watersports and excursions.

  • Compass by Margaritaville– Now booking stays, the new upscale boutique hotel is bringing the iconic Margaritaville state of mind to Naples. Guests will have the choice of 120 fully equipped rooms and enjoy amenities including “Sunrise at Compass” complimentary breakfast buffet, a Welcome Cabana with daily light snacks and refreshments, 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill, and The Backyard – a destination unto itself with a pool, live entertainment, backyard games, palm tree tables, fire tables, and multiple social gathering areas.

  • The Great Wolf Lodge – Naples expects to celebrate the grand opening of the iconic Great Wolf Lodge on September 25, 2024. The Naples location will be the 21st lodge to join the Great Wolf Lodge water park resort family. The property will include a 90,000-square-foot indoor water park, a 60,000-square-foot Great Wolf Adventure Park and 500 rooms along with restaurants and retail outlets for families to enjoy throughout their stay. The complex will be located on the eastern edge of Collier County next to the Paradise Coast Sports Complex. Known for its family-friendly amenities, the property will serve as a staycation destination for a local getaway as well as a draw to tourists coming from across the U.S.
     

Arts & Culture

  • Andy Warhol Portfolios Exhibition – Artis—Naples, home of The Baker Museum, presents Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop | Works from the Bank of America Collection beginning on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The exhibition includes rare complete portfolios and individual prints by Warhol, starting with iconic works from the mid-1960s to the series of monoprints titled Vesuvius that he created in 1985. The prints included in this exhibition demonstrate many aspects of Warhol’s art, including his brilliance as a colorist, which can be seen in the early Flowers and Sunset series. As the foremost fine art museum in Southwest Florida, The Baker Museum is comprised of more than 4,000 objects, the museum’s broad holdings of 20th- and 21st-century art reflect particular strengths in modern art of the United States and Mexico.
     

  • Revs Institute – Auto Trader, an automotive online marketplace, recently recognized Revs Institute as the best auto museum in the state and No. 5 in the world, after analyzing Google review scores and annual global Google searches for more than 180 auto museums across the globe. Revs Institute is not only one of the greatest car museums and sources of automobile knowledge in the world; it is a working educational institution dedicated to the study, preservation, conservation and restoration of historically significant automobiles. The Revs Institute houses more than 100 cars built between 1896 and 1995, one of the largest specialized automotive libraries in the world and recently acquired the Van Bever Photography Archive.

Adventure & Attractions

  • United Soccer League – Florida's Paradise Coast will welcome its first professional soccer team. The United Soccer League (USL) will bring the world’s biggest sport to Naples, attracting domestic and international audiences to the destination. USL League One franchise will begin play in 2025 at the state-of-the-art venue, the Paradise Coast Sports Complex. The team's name, crest and colors will be a collaboration between USL Naples and the local community, devised through strategic listening sessions and community-focused events throughout 2024.
     
  • Minto US OPEN Pickleball Championships –Naples, the Pickleball Capital of the World, will host the largest, most prestigious, and energetic tournament in the sport. The 8th annual Minto US OPEN Pickleball Championships, otherwise known as the “biggest pickleball party in the world,” will take place at the East Naples Community Park on April 13-23, 2024. Over 3,000 players competed in The OPEN in 2023, and 40,000 people watched and celebrated the sport. The event attracts spectators ranging in age from 8 to 88, and hailing from 29 countries around the world, all 50 states and American Samoa.
     
  • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – A movie lover’s oasis meets a golfer’s paradise, HappyLand Movie Miniature Golf will be located in the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and will combine a bar and lounge with a world-class mini golf course for all-in-one fun. Inspired by film favorites, each of the nine holes incorporates a different Hollywood creature into the putting challenge. HappyLand will also feature a full bar with 24 beers on tap and a golf-themed signature cocktail list. The new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Naples will be located in the mixed-use destination, Mercato. Guests can start working on their short game at HappyLand when Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opens in Spring 2024.
     
  • Everglades National Park Adventures – A second pontoon boat doubles the capacity of the highly popular Ten Thousand Islands Boat Tour offered by Everglades National Park Adventures. Two additional boats are currently under construction, and when finished in late 2024 or early 2025, the increased fleet will maximize the number of people who can enjoy Everglades National Park through its daily tours.

For more information on Florida’s Paradise Coast, visit https://www.paradisecoast.com.

About Florida’s Paradise Coast

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the official source for area travel and tourism information about Florida's Paradise Coast. Located in Southwest Florida, this premiere vacation and meeting destination offers leisure, group, and business travelers a variety of exceptional options year-round. Along a 30-mile Gulf of Mexico coastline ribboned with soft, white-sand beaches, visitors enjoy a refined yet relaxed atmosphere with a thriving arts and culture scene, exceptional restaurants, and eclectic and luxury boutique shopping experiences. Home to over 90 public and private golf courses, sports enthusiasts have access to a variety of championship courses; pickleball and tennis facilities; and water activities ranging from kayaking to sailing charters. Outdoor adventure activities include exploring and photographing the world-famous Everglades – the only sub-tropical mangrove wilderness in the U.S. and features endangered and rare wildlife species in their natural habitat, including over 350 species of birds. 

Florida’s Paradise Coast is truly where the high life meets the wildlife. Recent accolades include being named the No. 1 “Best Beach Town in the U.S. to Live In,” No. 1 “Healthiest and Happiest City in America” and “One of the Best Small Cities in the U.S.” Located just two hours from Miami, three hours from Tampa, and four hours from Orlando, Florida’s Paradise Coast is easily accessible by Interstate highway. Travelers outside of the Sunshine State can fly into Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), Punta Gorda (PGD), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Miami (MIA). For more information about Florida’s Paradise Coast, call 800-688-3600, visit ParadiseCoast.com, and follow us on X, (Formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.