Florida Today
The Sunshine State continues to evolve as a tourist destination to meet the growing demands of today’s traveler. From new high-end accommodations and experiences to improved access and infrastructure, Florida is keeping at the top of its game as one of America’s superlative vacation spots.
Response to Current Issues
In 2020 and 2021, the United States (including Florida) was gravely impacted by the COVID-19 virus. Restaurants, hotels, shops, bars, and even cultural institutions were forced to close in attempt to curb its spread. The state gained international attention as the national hotspot for the virus early on in the pandemic, and despite high positivity rates, counties reopened quickly. The long-term impact on Florida's tourism is not yet known, and we expect many properties to close, so remember to call ahead to make sure that properties are still in operation.
On the plus side, the mosquito-borne illness Zika is no longer a major worry in South Florida; its last known case was reported in 2017. As this issue could change in the future, we recommend expectant mothers and future mothers to review the CDC website and its special up-to-date Florida section (just to be safe).
In addition, major attractions in Florida have responded to several of the negative issues that have overshadowed travel to the Sunshine State in the recent past. In response to increased threats of gun violence and terrorism, Walt Disney World added walk-through metal detectors at the entrance of its four theme parks in 2015, while Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando began using wand-style metal detectors. Hearing the call of animal rights activists and protestors, SeaWorld Orlando phased out its orca shows, while Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Sarasota shut down in 2017.
Improved Access
It’s easier than ever to reach Florida by plane thanks to new flight routes and expanded airports. Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL) has completed a major expansion and renovation, with a new larger runway, which permits jumbo-size aircraft to utilize the airport. In 2018 Orlando International Airport (MCO) completed a highly anticipated, $1.1-billion expansion and is now expanding again 1 mile south of the main terminal. This new facility will serve as the Orlando station for the Brightline high-speed train.
To improve access between cities, Florida-based Brightline opened and is the first privately funded U.S. high-speed railway. Ultimately, state-of-the-art trains will travel from Miami to Orlando in three hours at speeds of up to 125 mph. Phase One, which opened in 2018, provides intercity express train service connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach in style and comfort. New stations have been constructed in the downtown areas of these three cities to provide service from one city center to the next (as opposed to using their often out-of-the-way Amtrak stations) as well as in Aventura and Boca Raton.
More Luxury
From Orlando’s timeless Walt Disney World to Miami’s burgeoning Mid-Beach and expanding Sunny Isles Beach to the coastlines of the Keys, Florida is embracing a new luxury mantra and has plenty of new five-star residents to prove it.
Walt Disney World is proving that its secret recipe of fairy tales and imagination isn’t just for tykes and tots. The 2014 arrival of the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort—and its over-the-top, near half-billion-dollar excess—ushered in a new era of five-star Disney; the Mouse et al. haven't looked back since! Eight Disney resorts added Club Level accommodations and Club Level lounges with several food and wine presentations. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa debuted pricey villa accommodations, and Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows now offers over-the-top, Tahitian-style overwater villas (with the price tag to match). Its next luxury hotel, Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge, is set to debut in 2022. At the theme parks themselves, you can treat yourself to experiences like VIP escorts, where you jump the line for each ride and go across all parks in a single day (and travel between parks in some pretty hot wheels).
Cranes and bulldozers are again dominating South Florida’s most coveted neighborhoods, from South Beach to Sunny Isles Beach, to make way for super-high-end residential and hotel developments. But Miami’s Mid-Beach area may have undergone the most dramatic transformation, underscored by the Faena District, a multiblock quarter stretching along Collins Avenue from 32nd to 35th streets, with historic art deco buildings reimagined by Argentinean developer and icon Alan Faena (to the tune of over a billion dollars). In the heart of the district lies the apex of Miami’s onslaught of luxury resorts, including the Faena Hotel Miami Beach and the in-progress Aman Miami Beach.
Miami's Design District continues to expand with ultrahigh-design retail spaces for the big brands that are moving into the neighborhood monthly.
In the northern reaches of Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach has witnessed a new high-rise frenzy, the highlights of which are the 47-story Mansions at Acqualina and The Estates at Acqualina, part of the Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach. Never one to forgo the limelight, South Beach has also made waves with the half-billion-dollar collaboration between hotel and real estate titans Barry Sternlicht and Richard LeFrak: the 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach—a seductive, two-block-long, beachfront enclave, inclusive of 156 oceanfront residences—sits in the beach’s Art Deco District.
Down in the Florida Keys, new projects have been cropping up just about everywhere. In 2019 Key Largo welcomed its first all-inclusive resort, Bungalows Key Largo, a luxury waterfront oasis. In the same year, the snazzy Isla Bella Beach Resort debuted in Marathon. In 2020 Kimpton Key West made a splash in Old Town as a collection of five reimagined boutique properties under a single brand.
