Wyndham Garden Hotel on Fort Myers Beach demolished due to damage from Hurricane Ian
One of the last vestiges of the old Florida hotels on Fort Myers Beach was cited as unsafe by the town
One of the last of the 1960’s era old Florida beachfront hotels on Fort Myers Beach is being taken down more than two years after Hurricane Ian effectively destroyed an icon of the southern side of town.
The Wyndham Garden Hotel, formerly a Holiday Inn where a shuffleboard and tennis court once stood, where Pincher’s once operated a restaurant, where Jet Ski rentals could be found and whose beach property is among the more expansive on the entire island, is being cleared with bulldozers. For what? Nobody knows yet.
The hotel’s owners had been ordered by the town last September to demolish the structures at 6890 Estero Boulevard or risk having the town doing the work itself after it was cited as an unsafe building. The work started in recent weeks and has accelerated.
The hotel dates back to 1969 and was last traded hands for $12 million in 2001. Its owners FMBH LLC and Herbert Pohlmann Jr. have so far not made any proposals to the town for how or if a hotel will be rebuilt on the lot where two buildings that house 102 motel units once stood and welcomed guests for decades. Pohlmann could not be reached for comment.
The Wyndham Garden Hotel, located on Estero Boulevard close to Santini Plaza, was among the hardest-hit commercial structures on the southern portion of the island after Hurricane Ian struck two years ago. Debris from the hotel and cars that were in the lot floated across Estero Boulevard to neighboring properties during the hurricane. It has been in disrepair ever since.
The owners FMBH LLC, who are registered in Naples, recently informed the town that its representative would be John Callis to handle affairs. Callis did not return messages seeking comment. A message left with Wyndham’s corporate communications was not responded to.
The loss of the hotel is a big one for the town as it was one of the main places for visitors to stay on the southern beach of the island.
“The loss of the Wyndham and the Pinchers on the south end of our island has been devastating,” Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said. “This loss, coupled with the loss of the Outrigger, has created a huge vacuum for hotels and restaurants — particularly on the beach. Replacing these fine institutions in some form must be a priority as we move forward with our island rebuild.”
Former Fort Myers Beach Mayor Anita Cereceda, who operates The Islander, Gift Gallery & Boutique just down the street at Santini Plaza, said The Wyndham “has been a great loss for south-end islanders and all of Fort Myers Beach. The tiki bar and restaurant were something that everyone frequented from time to time. And of course, when you had guests coming to town, the Wyndham was always a great option. Whether it was the Holiday Inn back in the day or the Wyndham most recently, this was a hotel that was, and probably still has a lot of great memories for most of us.”
Atterholt said the town is still “anxious to see the remaining debris cleared from the property.”
As for what replaces the Wyndham, Atterholt hopes it is something similar.
“It would be my hope that any future development include a hotel, restaurant and a tiki bar facing the beach,” Atterholt said.