An Airline’s Florida Resort Dreams Look More Like a Nightmare

The Blue Lime isn’t serving guacamole tableside, and Shore Provisions no longer stocks fresh fruit and laundry detergent. On a weekend in late September, few guests roamed around a boutique, just off the sprawling lobby of the Sunseeker Resort, brimming with turquoise sunburst-logo hats and other branded resort wear. The 7,100-square-foot marquee fitness center was empty over a long weekend, the machines idle as if in a museum.

In the aftermath of a hurricane, a “temporarily closed” sign hung outside the Half Cracked Tiki Shack, a Caribbean-themed seafood bistro. It’s since reopened, but 6 of the 13 restaurants and shops originally in place at the southwest Florida resort have been shuttered—less than a year after the $720 million, 785-room compound made its debut.