By John Hayden
From the eastbound exit on I-95 all the way to the beach, Sunrise Boulevard bustles with restaurants, bars, entertainment, and more. But just steps away from the traffic and frenetic energy is a welcoming oasis of serenity.
The Big Coconut Guesthouse is tucked in 1021 NE 13th Ave., removed from the noise and activities of one of South Florida’s favorite destinations, but close enough to walk out the door and quickly be in the heart of the action. “That’s what I thought when I first saw it,” David Medici, Big Coconut’s owner, told OutClique. “We’re close to everything but we’re still hidden away.”
The LGBTQIA+ guesthouse is celebrating its seventh anniversary this October, but Medici has been around South Florida’s guesthouse scene for decades. He used to own Coconut Cove Guesthouse, which at the time was the closest LGBTQIA+ guesthouse to the beach.
He sold that in 2014, and instantly regretted it. A couple of years later, he saw that the motel behind the Travel Lodge was on the market. “When I found this place, I thought I had a second chance.”
Guesthouses are no exception to the main rule of real estate: location, location, location. While Big Coconut isn’t right next to anything, it’s close to everything. Big Coconut is about a mile to the beach, a mile to Wilton Drive, and a mile to downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Medici says it’s perfect. “The location has something to do with it. We’re not on the beach, which is not a bad thing because it gets so congested. And we’re not in Wilton Manors, which is good too because I wanted a certain distance from the party crowd. I can’t have drunks climbing over my fence at night.”
Put It On Repeat
Finding the new location was only half the job. Keeping the rooms filled was another matter entirely. In the guesthouse space, loyalty is key. If guests have a great experience during their first stay, odds are they’ll keep coming back.
Medici used his mailing list from the first business to let regular guests know he was opening a new place. Rooms started booking. And kept booking. Big Coconut boasts that 55% of their bookings are repeat customers. “A representative from our booking engine said he never saw a place with this much repeat business,” Medici said. “We work really hard at it.”
Property manager Tom Hazel has been with Medici since 2009 and was thrilled to join him in the new challenge. “We’ve been picking up a lot of reservations now because certain places on the beach have changed hands and they’re running them differently. Visitors aren’t happy with what’s going on down there.”
A stay at Big Coconut adds a social element to your South Florida visit. With 17 rooms, it’s big but not overwhelming. Many rooms connect, letting bigger parties book next to each other and interact. Lush landscaping and a privacy fence means guests can relax in comfort at the clothing optional pool deck.
“Everyone seems to gel,” Hazel said. “We have happy hour 5pm-6pm on Friday and Saturday. It helps everyone get to know each other. A lot of our guys become friends.”
It’s a far cry from the place Medici and Hazel took over. “It was a motel,” Medici said. “It was drive up, go to your room. There was no privacy at all. People could walk right in and you could see the pool from the street.”
Big Coconut is now a piece of paradise in the middle of everything South Florida has to offer. Once guests get to know each other, they often figure out plans for dinner, share rides, and plan their next visits together.
Medici says a lot of regular guests come for a couple nights before a cruise and stay a couple more nights when they’re back in port, a sort of two-in-one vacation.
As for himself, Medici says he doesn’t need to travel the world, because the world comes to him at Big Coconut. “I travel the world without leaving. People from all over the world come down, I talk to them about where they’re from.”
www.TheBigCoconutGuesthouse.com
