By John Hayden
From the gracious portico where the valet takes your car, to the rooftop pool with views of Wilton Drive and Fort Lauderdale, a new addition to Wilton Manors’ booming developments on Dixie Highway is coming.
Wilton Hotel & Pool Club is coming soon. We don’t know exactly when, but we do know just about everything else, all the way down to the little design touches that will make it an instant destination. With 100 guest rooms and 23 suites, the hotel will have a ‘boutique’ vibe with tons of amenities.
“I want it to be the social heartbeat of the community,” owner/developer Mark Ellert told OutClique.
The hotel will be just south of Five Points and replaces the old funeral home. Once it opens, it will have a gym, spa, an outdoor yoga deck, a ‘grab and go’ snack stand on the ground floor and a coffee bar.
But Ellert says the place to be is the roof. “This is a fun community. The idea is to create a pool experience.”
The views will be amazing, but there will be a whole lot more to do than just gazing over the horizon. The pool deck will be 4400 square feet of luxury. Dozens of daybeds and loungers will flank the pool. The Sky Cafe and Sky Terrace restaurants will seat 84 with space for another 30 at the bars. Visitors there for business will have a great time, as two large meeting spaces will fill out the roof. Talk about a nice day at the office.
Wilton Manors has been trying to lure a hotel developer for years. They changed the city code to allow for taller buildings, which makes hotel projects like this profitable. While the city wants a hotel, they don’t want just any hotel. A megaresort wouldn’t fit the city. Ellert believes he’s found the sweet spot.
“The goal is to not be so small as to be like B&Bs and small guest houses. We had to find a sweet spot, of about a hundred rooms. Also, the right style of hotel. The importance to me is to reflect the community’s character.”
A Work of Art
The hotel will stand out by blending in. Ellert is enlisting local artists and muralists to decorate the hotel’s exterior. “What better way than to take the iconic Five Points intersection and turn it into a real signature gateway for the city?”
He admits he’s a developer, not an art critic. Ellert says he’ll bring in local artists to judge submissions and work with his team to make sure the hotel is a welcome addition from day one. “Putting the art onto the building is a way to connect with the community.”
City commissioners have given their approval and Ellert’s team is working with other agencies to make sure the project aligns with county and environmental requirements. There is no date set for breaking ground. Some say a 2027 opening is possible.
