Signature article by Steve Hartridge.
Punta Gouda/Englewood Beach, on Florida’s
South-west Gulf Coast, has unveiled more reasons to attract visitors this year.
A new hotel, a luxury tiki boat experience and
three new restaurants will be added to the destination's list of attractions in
2024.
A 65 room, six-storey hotel (as yet unnamed) is
scheduled to open at the end of the year. It will include its own brewery and
an indoor-outdoor bar with a courtyard on the sixth floor. This will be
situated opposite Punta Gorda’s only Irish pub, ‘Celtic Ray Public House’ and
owned by the same company.
’The Oasis’ (pictured), by Punta Gorda
Adventures, became the most luxurious tiki boat experience in the destination
when it launched early this year.
Features include plush lounge seating, upgraded
lights, and an impressive sound system. The boat, which can take up to 36
people, is a good suggestion for both larger groups and single guests.
Meanwhile, on the dining scene Whiskey Joe’s
restaurant opened late last year opposite the new 785-room Sunseeker Resort
hotel. Located on a stretch of sandy beach, there's indoor/outdoor dining, an
open-air palapa bar offering tropical cocktails, live music, firepits and beach
volleyball.
Two very different restaurants recently opened
under the same roof. Penny’s Diner is a Fifties-style diner, complete with
turquoise booths and a jukebox, while Penny’s Speakeasy offers fine dining and
recreates a bygone era with antique furniture, 1920s-style light fittings, an
upright piano and trompe-l’oeil of a vintage wine and bootleg cellar.
Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach is a coastal
community surrounding the state’s second-largest harbour, between Tampa and
Naples.
Posted by: Visit USA Association (UK) Ltd
Posted on: 30/04/2024