Dive Brief:

• Global lifestyle brand Margaritaville will open its first ski destination hotel and resort in South Lake Tahoe, California, at the end of this year, the company announced Wednesday in a release obtained by Hotel Dive. 
• Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe will replace Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel after a more than $70 million renovation and redesign spearheaded by creative interior design agency The McBride Company. The property will be the only all-suite resort in the South Lake Tahoe basin, with 399 suites. 
• The resort will offer a variety of experience-based amenities for guests, including new dining concepts and access to year-round outdoor recreation. Margaritaville joins other hotel brands targeting leisure markets — particularly in mountain regions — to accommodate changing traveler demand. 

Dive Insight:

The Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe is designed to give guests a feeling of “escapism,” which for some means an action-packed vacation, according to Steve Contos, EVP of Davidson Resorts, the company set to manage the resort. 

Guests will be close to the action at Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe, with proximity to year-round outdoor recreation, including skiing, hiking and swimming. The property’s on-site amenities will include an indoor heated pool and outdoor patio with mountain views. Additionally, there will be several dining concepts, including LandShark Bar & Grill, which pays homage to the brand’s tropical roots. 

With the new resort, Margaritaville joins other brands bringing lifestyle hotels to popular ski destinations. Earlier this month, Choice Hotels International’s Cambria brand opened a property in Copper Mountain, Colorado — a leisure market similarly offering year-round recreation amenities. 

Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe and the Cambria hotel come to market as leisure travelers are demanding more experience-based trips and prioritizing connecting with nature when selecting a travel destination. 

“Our properties are near beaches, on lakes, in the mountains, and bustling cities, so we are always on the lookout and exploring new markets to bring the Margaritaville state of mind to consumers,” Tamara Baldanza-Dekker, chief marketing officer at Margaritaville, told Hotel Dive. 

The brand is currently actively expanding along the West Coast. Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter will open in August, followed by the Lake Tahoe property later this year and another resort coming to San Diego in 2024. 

Earlier this month, however, the owner of Margaritaville Resort Times Square in New York City filed for bankruptcy to avoid an imminent foreclosure sale. 

Baldanza-Dekker said the brand continues to look for new urban locations for Margaritaville hotels and resorts worldwide. As for Margaritaville Resort Times Square, the bankruptcy filing will not impact resort operations, and the property will remain open and staff members employed, Baldanza-Dekker noted.