The long-awaited new Flamingo Lodge is opening in Everglades National Park. NBC6’s Ari Odzer took a look inside
Most of the scenic national parks have their own lodges within their borders.
Everglades National Park hasn’t had its own lodge since 2005, when Hurricane Wilma destroyed the old one. The park’s accommodation-less status is changing now that the new Flamingo Lodge is getting ready to open on Nov. 1.
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It feels like a chic, boutique hotel, built from shipping containers to be rock solid, and close to the city, yet so far away.
“Oh, 100%, it’s still a place to come and disconnect, from everything else in the busy real world there and to see this beautiful park in its natural state,” said the hotel’s general manager, J.J. Condella.
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“I think the biggest thing is you can experience a different side of the Everglades, a really quiet side, and also the beautiful night skies that we have, you know we’re pretty far removed from Miami down here at Flamingo,” said park ranger Riley Hays, explaining the benefits of staying overnight inside the park.
The Flamingo area is experiencing a renaissance. Along with a new restaurant nearing completion, Flamingo also has a brand-new, state-of-the-art visitor’s center to replace the one destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017.
“Now that they are reopening, they’re better than ever, we’re hoping to bring some people back to rediscover the Everglades,” Hays said.
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One of the main attractions in the Flamingo area of Everglades National Park is the abundant wildlife. Crocodiles, manatees and tarpon are usually hanging out in the marina, along with seabirds, ospreys, and spoonbills. A short drive up the road and you’re in prime alligator viewing habitat. Staying overnight at the new lodge gives visitors easy access to all that wildlife.
“Exactly, yeah, it’s about an hour and half drive from downtown Miami, but what a world of difference down here,” Condella said. “It’s a huge deal, we haven’t had lodging services here since the early part of the 2000s and so it’s been almost 20 years, and everyone’s chomping at the bit.”
Each of the 24 rooms has a terrace overlooking Florida Bay, and of course, they’re air-conditioned. It’s sort of like camping in the swamp, but perfectly civilized, so you can relax in comfort when you’re tired of communing with all that nature.
