Outside patio and reception area of The Luce hotel in St Pete Beach.<\/p>\n
The nearly 70-year-old hotel was ravaged by Hurricane Helene. Now it\u2019s back with a brand new look.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been almost two years since Postcard Inn \u2014 a St. Pete Beach staple known for it\u2019s rowdy beachfront bar \u2015 closed its doors due to flooding from Hurricane Helene. <\/p>\n
Now the nearly 70-year-old hotel is back under a new name: The Luce. <\/p>\n
The hotel remains under the same ownership, but joins the Tribute Portfolio, a collection of independent hotels from Marriott Bonvoy. <\/p>\n
Nightly rates range from about $260 to more than $700 during the peak spring season, according to the Marriott website.<\/p>\n
The property has been completely overhauled with retro-Florida inspired interiors, featuring bold patterns and flamingo-pink accents. All 200 rooms have been renovated. Several suites feature private outdoor lounges. <\/p>\n
A 1970s-era Ford Bronco will transport guests up and down the beach at the Luce. [\u00a0ASHLEY NEYRA | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
The fresh look will give way to a more refined iteration of the hotel. Gone are the days of raucous dance parties<\/a> filled with strawberry daiquiri chugging beachgoers. <\/p>\n Instead, The Luce will focus on premium beach and pool-front cabanas with butler service and a curated cocktail program. <\/p>\n Live DJs will still perform on the weekends. There\u2019s also new programming like a nightly \u201csunset social,\u201d rum tastings, live cigar rollers from Ybor City\u2019s Findy Cigar Company and yoga classes. A 1970s-era Ford Bronco will transport guests up and down the beach. <\/p>\n \u201cWe understand the Postcard Inn had a colorful persona,\u201d general manager Jeremy DaSilva said. \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of the same spirit and the same glow but we\u2019re doing it in a fun and sophisticated manner.\u201d <\/p>\n Other additions include a 24-hour fitness center and an on-site boutique. The property has 14,000 square feet of event space, including a 2,280-square-foot ballroom. <\/p>\n A new lobby bar and restaurant called Sundrop is cooking up Wagyu steaks, seafood towers, Chilean sea bass with blood orange beurre blanc and salmon with charred lemon. Brunch is served daily with offerings like lemon pancakes layered with mascarpone, burrata and avocado toast, lobster rolls and pressed juices. <\/p>\n Coming later this year is Baby Turtle Beach Club, a more casual poolside food and beverage option.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time the hotel has undergone a transformation.<\/p>\n It debuted in the 1950s as budget-friendly motel called the Colonial Gateway Inn. It later became part of the Travelodge chain. <\/p>\n By the 2000s, it fell into disrepair. Online reviews complained about moldy carpet and subpar air conditioning.<\/p>\n The building nearly met the wrecking ball in 2005 after New York-based Starwood Capital Group purchased the property for $37 million. The company wanted to demolish and replace it with a high-end hotel, but the city shot that plan down. <\/p>\n So Starwood pivoted. It spent $5 million on renovations and reopened as Postcard Inn on the Beach \u2014 a hip alternative to some of the more cookie-cutter accommodations in the area.<\/p>\n The rebrand was a success. <\/p>\n Postcard Inn was featured in Southern Living, the New York Times travel section and on the Today Show. <\/p>\n The owner was able to hike nightly rates to nearly four times what they were charging when it was the Travelodge and still stay booked during peak season.<\/p>\n The property has changed hands several times since then, most recently selling to New York-based LCP Group for $83 million in 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n DaSilva said the hotel\u2019s long-awaited re-opening represents a turning point for St. Pete Beach. <\/p>\n The city was badly battered by the 2024 hurricanes and has been slow to recover. Some longstanding hotspots like the Bellweather Beach Resort remain shuttered. Others, like Woody\u2019s Waterfront<\/a> and Tuttorosso Pizzeria<\/a>, have announced permanent closures. <\/p>\n \u201cThis hotel has been open since 1957 and has always evolved with the community,\u201d said DaSilva. \u201cWe wanted to be able to come back stronger.\u201d <\/p>\nPeople surround the front desk of The Luce hotel with the Sundrop restaurant in the background on Wednesday. Nightly rates range from about $260 to more than $700 during the peak spring season, according to the Marriott website. [\u00a0ASHLEY NEYRA | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
Main seating area of The Luce hotel. The property has 14,000 square feet of event space, including a 2,280-square-foot ballroom. [\u00a0ASHLEY NEYRA | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
A new lobby bar and restaurant called Sundrop is cooking up Wagyu steaks, seafood towers, Chilean sea bass with blood orange beurre blanc and salmon with charred lemon. [\u00a0ASHLEY NEYRA | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
Food from Sundrop restaurant in The Luce hotel. [\u00a0ASHLEY NEYRA | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
The Luce will focus on premium beach and pool-front cabanas with butler service and a curated cocktail program. [\u00a0ASHLEY NEYRA | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Outside patio and reception area of The Luce hotel in St Pete Beach. The nearly 70-year-old hotel was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-311748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}