For the first time in decades, St. Pete Beach is about to get a new hotel.
Hotel Zamora opens for business this weekend. The 50-room boutique hotel is located across the street from the Gulf, with a pool overlooking the intercoastal waterway.
Hotel Zamora is also going to have the first open air rooftop bar on St. Pete Beach.
"It's kind of like South Beach meets St. Pete Beach,” said Tom Robertson, Hotel Zamora G.M.
Robertson hopes to have the rooftop bar open for the 4th of July.
Mayor Maria Lowe said Hotel Zamora is the first new hotel in the area built from the ground up in decades.
"This is a landmark event for St. Pete Beach. We have not had a new hotel in over 30 years,” she said.
The Chamber of Commerce CEO said one reason there hasn't been much new construction is because of a lack of a comprehensive plan in the city.
"We've been in a legal battle for many years about redevelopment issues. That's the primary reason. In the most recent years, recession, oil spill, all of that are factors that weigh in as well,” said Robin Sollie, CEO Chamber Of Commerce.
Robertson said they're counting on locals to make Hotel Zamora a success.
"We definitely need the locals, especially, the restaurant. The hotel's going to be perfect for kind of the stay-cation getaways,” he said.
The hotel’s restaurant, The Castile, is already open for business.
Executive Chief Ted Dorsey said they'll be serving some of the freshest local seafood on St. Pete Beach and there's a way to prove it.
"We're doing everything spear caught. So, it all comes from the Gulf,” he said. “We actually have a tracking system where you can actually from your phone in the restaurant track the fish. The date and time and the boat that it came off of."
The rates for a night's stay at Hotel Zamora range from $200 to $350 a night depending on the season.
The hotel will be managed by Coral Gables-based Trust Hospitality. The management company oversees 21 independently owned properties in the U.S., Caribbean and South America.