Fort Myers Beach hotel’s future in limbo

This Fort Myers Beach hotel was once the beating heart of a community, a place where families and friends made memories.

Wyndham Garden Hotel at Fort Myers Beach is now a ghost ship stranded and forgotten by the shore.

People who once cherished its lively tiki bar, cozy rooms and vibrant atmosphere are left wondering why the beach favorite remains abandoned and forgotten.

Before Hurricane Ian, on a Friday night, the hotel would’ve been packed, according to the people WINK News reporter Asha Patel spoke with.

Now, the community wants to know what’s next for the beloved building. Will it be torn down? Replaced?

At one point the Wyndham Garden Hotel had a Pinchers Grill Room and Tiki Bar; weddings were also held at the hotel because of its large event room.

Now, it sits empty.

Isabell Saiz has had a condo for the last 38 years right across from the Wyndham Hotel.

She grew up going there and seeing it abandoned now gives her a constant reminder of Ian, even two years later.

“I don’t understand how the city or our town allowed [the hotel] to be like that. [The] fact it’s been almost two years and nothing has happened and no information and news available to the residents,” said Saiz.

Currently, no one has said anything about what the future holds for the hotel.

WINK spoke to some people on the beach to hear their opinions.

“Wonderful time; we would come with our friends, 5 families from our little town, we would bring our children, we would go every Labor Day weekend,” said one beach visitor, Michelle Thomas.

And now it’s a place that sits quietly, with no cars, no people and no business.

“[We are] disappointed there’s not more progress than there is, but we understand since every condo needs major work. The contractors are spread really thin,” said Gary Miller, a nearby property owner.

Residents and visitors would like to know what comes next.

“Concerned with the fact it’s been languishing there since the storm and hasn’t been touched and no information as to what is going to happen to that building,” said Saiz.

According to the hotel’s website, the hotel will be closed for renovations until September.

WINK News has reached out about plans for the hotel but has not received a response yet.