Flamingo is Back

Friday, October 27th, Everglades National Park and their concession partner, Guest Services Inc., marked the end of a long process to bring the Flamingo Area of the Park back to life with dual ribbon cuttings for the renamed Guy Bradley Visitor Center and the Flamingo Lodge and Restaurant. After a series of hurricanes severely damaged both the

Flamingo Lodge and the Visitors Center, both facilities were closed and in the case of the Lodge torn down. The rebuilding process began in 2018 and stressed resiliency to storms and sea level rise, while remaining true to the Art Deco / Mission 66 designs.

The Visitors Center, which features spectacular views of Florida Bay and kid friendly, interactive exhibits celebrating the biodiversity of the Park, honors the memory of Guy Bradely. Bradley, an Audubon Game Warden assigned to the Flamingo area, was murdered on duty in 1905 while confronting poachers.

After welcoming visitors, Local, State and Federal Officials and many of the Park’s nonprofit partner organizations, Park Superintendent Pedro Ramos told the gathering, “We’ve done it, Flamingo is back to life and we’re excited about it.”

He continued, “Flamingo is now a world class destination.”

He went on to recognize the contribution of Guest Services Inc. and many individuals and organizations that came together to make both the Flamingo Lodge and the Visitor Center a reality.

State and Federal officials joining Superintendent Ramos to speak were Rodger Young, Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Mark Foust, National Parks Service South Atlantic-Gulf Regional Director and Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior. In her speech, Estenoz remarked, “Congratulations to every single person and every single organization who worked for the last nearly 20 years to get us to this day.” She added, “I think about all the young families that will come to this place and make memories the way Richard and I made memories staying in the cottages here when our kids were small.”

Also providing remarks were representatives of the nonprofit organizations that provided funds to support the rebuilding of the Visitor Center. Those organizations were the Alliance for Florida National Parks, the National Parks Foundation, the Florida National Parks Association, and the National Parks Conservation Association.

After speeches and the Guy Bradley Visitor Center ribbon cutting attention turned to the Flamingo Lodge and Restaurant. This public private venture that partners Everglades National Park with Guest Services Inc was originally projected to open in Fall of 2021. It will see its first guests on November 1st.

The 24 rooms of the Lodge, split between studio, one- and two-bedroom layouts, all have kitchenets and views of Florida Bay.

The fast casual restaurant seating around 100 patrons will open at the end of November.

Prior to the ceremonies, Nico Foris, CEO of Guest Services, told the News Leader, “We’re a concessioner that about five years ago bid on this project to bring the lodge back to life and we are at the finish line.”

When asked about the challenges that delayed the project Foris said, “Delays as a result of the health crisis and pandemic followed by supply chain problems. The containers that make up the rooms and the restaurant come in by barge to large ports. Because of work shortages in the ports there was a domino effect of getting them on site.”

He added, “When you are building in South Florida you have this thing called weather which is not always on your side. Tropical storms and hurricanes also delayed the project overall.”

The Guy Bradley Visitor Center is open from 8 AM to 5PM every day.

Reservations for the Flamingo Lodge are available at flamingoeverglades.com .

The Restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner with bar service at lunch and dinner beginning the end of November.