Best Western to reopen this weekend
When the Best Western Plus Beach Resort reopens this weekend for the first time since before Hurricane Ian, one of the most fascinating and surely welcoming features for its returning customers will be the survival of the shuffleboard court along with its outdoor pool.
“Brutal,” is how Best Western Managing General Partner Tim Malbon describes the road his Fort Myers Beach hotel has taken to recovery since Hurricane Ian.
Still, Malbon is jubilant for the hotel’s reopening this weekend which has been long anticipated. The return of its 75 rooms back online will be big sigh of relief for Fort Myers Beach, which has lost a lot of hotel and vacation rental rooms since Hurricane Ian.
The Best Western Plus Beach Resort has been in his family’s hands for more than 30 years since they took over the beachfront hotel on the north end of the island.
The hotel, which dates back to the 1970’s, was on track for an earlier opening but a candid Malbon said there were delays due to some drywall subcontractors not meeting the standards he and his partners expected. “I felt like we rebuilt it three times,” Malbon said. “Some things we had to do over again.”
The hotel looks as good as new now and despite all the damage, the recovery of the Best Western is a remarkable feat.
“It was pretty much a 100% renovation. We had to gut everything,” Malbon said of the hotel structure. There wasn’t anything we could really keep.”
While a cottage believed to have dated back to the 1950’s did not survive on the backside of the resort, the shuffleboard court and outdoor pool are in tiptop shape. The cottage had long been used as an extended stay rental.
“We had about three feet of water on the second floor and quite a bit of damage to the first floor,” Malbon said. The third, fourth and fifth floors were in much better shape. The roof had to be replaced. Malbon said the rebuild was slowed by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Malbon said the resort is still looking to hire some maintenance and housekeeping help. “We’re getting everybody working together on the same page.”
Malbon said he thinks the recovery of Fort Myers Beach is still a little “too slow” for him. He was hopeful that Lee County’s Bowditch Point Regional Park and Lynn Memorial Park, which are both within walking distance to the Best Western, would have been fully repaired by now. The rebuild of the Fort Myers Beach Pier is still a couple years away from being completed.
The Best Western’s clientele is “98% leisure,” Malbon said. They cater to a lot of families and seniors. “We’re far from the crowds,” he said. Holiday Watersports is on their beach property to provide chairs and umbrellas.
The Best Western Plus Beach Resort Is located at 684 Estero Boulevard on Fort Myers Beach.