For four years, the block from Golf Drive down to Banyan Boulevard was a construction site. Residents walked past chain-link and heard pile drivers where they used to hear steel drums. That period ended on November 17, 2025, when the new Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort, officially opened to the public, and the neighborhood's southern edge became something new again.
The shorthand version of the story is that a Four Seasons has arrived in Southwest Florida. From inside Coquina Sands, that framing misses the point. What opened in November was a partial resort with two heritage restaurants restored, a lobby, a spa preview, and a beach. What is still coming through 2026 will do more to change the daily rhythm of the block than the ribbon-cutting itself. The reopening is a calendar, not an event, and residents who understand the calendar will spend the year better than residents who don't.
What Is Actually Open Right Now
The two names that matter most to longtime Coquina Sands residents are HB's and Sunset Bar. Both were rebuilt on their original footprints. The reopening restores public access to more than 1,000 feet of Gulf shoreline and reintroduces two local landmarks, HB's beachfront restaurant and the Sunset Bar, after years of construction that reshaped both the waterfront and the neighborhood surrounding it. The bar keeps its open-air posture but has been retuned. The Naples Beach Club also revives Sunset Bar, the long-loved gathering spots for live music and golden hour drinks, now reimagined with neon accents, Latin-leaning small plates, tropical cocktails. The space keeps its easy, open-air spirit, while infusing a lighter, more playful energy.
Beyond those two, the property opened with a full lobby sequence, the flagship dining room, and two of five planned food concepts running at capacity. The new resort opens with 220 rooms and 57 suites, five dining venues, a full-service spa and wellness center, racquet facilities and more than 32,000 square feet of event space. The spa's public rooms are still being finished. the new 30,000-square-foot spa, slated to open in 2026. Guests staying at the resort can already book in-room treatments, but residents looking to walk over for a facial will need to wait for the doors on Sanctuary Spa.
The Chefs Now Taking Reservations Two Blocks Away
The Merchant Room is the piece of the property most likely to reset how Coquina Sands thinks about fine dining within walking distance. Just beyond the lobby, the flagship restaurant, The Merchant Room, brings culinary weight to Naples' fine dining scene. Led by two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen from Minneapolis, the menu promises a French spin on Gulf flavors. Kaysen's arrival is the kind of hire that would previously have sent residents to Miami or Chicago for the experience. It now sits at the corner of Gulf Shore Boulevard and Broad Avenue.
At HB's, the seafood program is being led by two chefs with distinct pedigrees. Most recently, she led the culinary team as Chef de Cuisine for Daniel Boulud at d|bar in Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. Now, Naples and the seafood-forward menu at HB's offer the perfect next chapter, allowing her to combine her culinary artistry with her love of diving and the serenity of the sea. Chef Maru is joined by Chef Fabio, who grew up on the coast of Puglia. Between the two of them, the raw bar and crudo program at HB's have been treated as a serious kitchen rather than a hotel amenity, which is a distinction most beachfront restaurants never earn.
A 2026 Calendar Worth Marking
The rest of the property is opening in staged waves. Residents planning around them should hold the following approximate timing in mind:
| Opening | Approximate window | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sabal Suite | Early 2026 | the resort's most luxurious accommodation, the 7,000 square foot five-bedroom Sabal Suite on the sixth floor |
| Naples Trading Co. | Q1 2026 | Naples Trading Co. (grab-and-go café): Q1 2026 in Market Square |
| The Picture House | Q1 2026 | cinema, bowling alley, and game room, a 22-seat theater |
| Fin's Club & Teen Centre | Q1 2026 | Fin's Club & Teen Centre (opens Q1 2026, suite reserved during holidays) |
| Sanctuary Spa | 2026 | 30,000 sf full-service spa |
| The Wager | 2026 | this sports-centric gastropub pairs elevated pub fare with an impressive selection of draught beer with a four-lane bowling alley |
| Tom Fazio golf course | Fall 2026 | the upcoming Tom Fazio–designed 18-hole golf course (scheduled to debut Fall 2026) |
The golf course is the last domino, and it is the piece that will most change traffic patterns on Golf Drive and Gulf Shore Boulevard. A redesigned Tom Fazio 18-hole course, spanning 100 acres, is scheduled to debut in 2026 with new hitting bays, comfort stations and a clubhouse overlooking Old Florida–style landscaping. Its opening will complete the transition from a heritage municipal-adjacent course to a private-club setting operated in partnership with Discovery Land Company.
The August Closure Nobody Is Talking About
One quiet detail worth flagging. HB's, having reopened only nine months earlier, will close for the month of August 2026. As we continue to refine the HB's experience, the restaurant will be closed throughout August 2026 for exciting updates. We look forward to welcoming you back to a newly enhanced HB's in September. For most Coquina Sands residents, August is the softest month of the year on the block anyway. Full-time residents used to walking down for a Sunday dinner should slot the closure into their calendars now rather than discover it at the host stand. Sunset Bar is expected to remain in operation on its usual schedule.
What Market Square Will Actually Feel Like
The most misunderstood piece of the redevelopment is Market Square. Press coverage has described it as a "social hub," which is accurate but doesn't tell a resident what to expect. In practice, it is a small collection of walk-up businesses arranged around a courtyard. At the heart of the community is Market Square, a dynamic hub with a curated retail experience, cinema, bowling alley, game room, and grab-and-go offerings at Naples Trading Company. Future amenities, slated to debut in 2026, include the Wager gastropub, the 22-seat Picture House theater, an immersive kids' club, and an 18-hole Tom Fazio-designed golf course.
For a resident, this translates to a short list of walkable evening options that did not exist twelve months ago:
- A four-lane bowling alley open to visitors, not only hotel guests
- A 22-seat cinema for one-off screenings
- A grab-and-go café worth walking to for morning coffee and pastries
- A gastropub with draft beer and a real television bar
- A bookable game room for grandchildren visiting during the season
Whether these venues extend an open welcome to non-guests on the same terms as guests is a question the property has answered by design. Market Square, home to a dynamic mix of shops, dining, and entertainment sits at its centre and is purposefully designed to foster connection and community with an incredible array of options including a sports pub, bowling alley and cinema.
Reading This Alongside Coquina Sands' Other Coordinates
None of this happens in isolation. Coquina Sands residents already navigated a partial neighborhood in 2024 and 2025, leaning heavily on Lowdermilk Park at the north end of the block. Lowdermilk Park stands out by having 1,000 feet of Gulf shoreline, two volleyball courts, two children's playgrounds, a duck pond with winding paths, rentable gazebos, and a working concession stand on site. The park continues to operate on its familiar rhythm, with the recent addition of automated entry. The City of Naples has activated newly installed gate arms at the entrance and exit of Lowdermilk Park. • Gate Operation: When the park is open, the gate arms will remain raised and display a green status.
Between Lowdermilk on the north and the Four Seasons on the south, the block is bracketed by two very different kinds of shoreline access. One is public, metered, and staffed by City of Naples parks. The other is private, membership-oriented, and staffed to Four Seasons standards. Residents living between them now have both.
The construction cranes have not left the neighborhood entirely. New residential projects continue to reshape Gulf Shore Boulevard, with Rosewood Residences Naples advancing on nearly five acres of Gulf frontage just to the north. That story belongs to another post. What matters for now is that the reopening of the Four Seasons is neither the beginning of the neighborhood's next chapter nor the end. It is the piece around which the rest of the year will orient itself.
For an unhurried conversation about how the property's opening calendar is shaping this stretch of Gulf Shore Boulevard, the team at Earls & Lappin is available at your convenience.