Suncoast gay resort st petersburg
REVIEWS
8/21/22
Beautiful place and Ken was great! Definitely encourage you guys check it out.
-Justin Jordan
9/4/22
My partner and I checked out Gay Paradise Suites today...what an amazing occupation Ken did with the property...very clean and successfully done-suites are a wonderful home away from home.
-David Steven Troy
9/7/22
I highly propose Gay Paradise Suites. The suites are all beautifully appointed, all with their own unique themes. They are perfect for a one night stay or can even be content with all of the necessities you would necessitate to stay for months on end. The outdoor space is also gorgeous with so much to offer while you wait there, or just to visit during the night to hang out in the splash pool, substantial hot tub or sunbathe in the sandy beach area.
-Peter Dus
10/12/22
What an astonishing place to stay while visiting St Petersburg. it was a last minute find and I am so glad I came across it. My Suite was spacious, clean and had everything I needed for a comfortable keep. the Yard is Beyond incredible, pics do not do it justice. Must be seen in person. You can lounge by or in the lagoon/wading pool. Sit on the man made beach, hook by the fi
Businessman David Fischer to convert Mari Jean Hotel into a gay resort
David Fischer, who has made a name for himself in St. Pete’s flourishing Gay community, is now taking on a new business project – establishing a gay resort.
Fischer is an entrepreneur famous for creating well-liked gay-centric and warm destinations such as The Cocktail Exclude, The Saint Speakeasy and the ZaZoo’d retail shop, but he is taking his endeavors a step further alongside a business loved one to redevelop the Mari Jean Hotel into an adults-only gay resort.
The first Mari Jean Hotel building is a historic property, built in 1926 at 2349 Central Ave. The original owners lived in a home nestled in the hotel’s gardens. In 2013, the house was relocated and became the Metro Inclusive Health LGBTQ Welcome Center.
Fischer explained the framework of converting the hotel into a gay resort came into view by Michael Andoniades, owner of the Hollander, Avalon hotels and the Mari Jean. Fisher has a deep-rooted working association with Andoniades, as he worked on the interior plan of his hotels.
David Fischer, the owner of ZaZoo’d, The Saint Speakeasy and The Cockta
St. Petersburg’s Skyway Marina District to get $70 million mixed-use project
ST. PETERSBURG — Years after a popular gay resort closed and its property was sold to Home Depot, the empty, weed-strewn site is about to be developed.
Phillips Development & Realty, which expects to close on the parcel in December, has unveiled plans for a $70 million mixed-use project that will encompass 300 apartments and about 15,000 to 25,000 square feet of retail space, including a restaurant.
The Tampa firm submitted its site plan to the city Monday. The St. Petersburg Development Review Commission is expected to think about it in January. Glen Stygar, an executive with Phillips Training, said work on the 9-acre property on 34th Street — between 30th and 32nd avenues S — will begin in late spring or early summer next year.
The project has brought another burst of good news to the fledgling Skyway Marina District, which has seen plodding but steady progress toward its goal of redeveloping the area adjacent to waterfront neighborhoods and near Eckerd College and southern Pinellas County beach communities.
“It’s thrilling. I think it’s going to be really good for our area,&
Back in the heyday of the Wedgewood Bar in the mid-1970s, owner Bob Pope had his hands full. The attorney ran the motel/dance club on Fourth Street South and 18th Route for about 18 months before he closed its doors.
But those 18 months were definitely memorable.
Pope, who still lives in St. Petersburg, says he tried to make the historic landmark into an LGBT resort, but the expense behind refurbishing the property was gigantic , and he didn’t have deep pockets at the time.
“We just had to make improvements as we went,” Pope remembers. “We did have a lovely garden and a nice swimming pool. During our height we’d have people standing in line for a block and a half to get inside.”
But despite the popularity, it was firm to keep the Wedgewood running. Support then, most people didn’t know that Pope didn’t own a liquor license for the venue.
“We had a restaurant license, which meant we had to serve food,” he says. “We didn’t have the stand-alone liquor license and that caused some of our problems. I’m not a restaurateur and I didn’t know how to watch over it—and neither did my general control