Historic Waterfront Luxury

The new pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale is a yacht lovers’ paradise.

This article was written by Bill Springer. Photography courtesy of Pier Sixty-Six.

Not only was it the tallest building in Fort Lauderdale when it opened in 1965, it also featured the uber-hip Pier Top lounge that rotated 360 degrees every 66 minutes, so celebrities, locals, tourists, and other Lauderdale A-Listers could gather to see the ever-changing view…while being seen at the same time.

In fact, Pier Sixty-Six has been attracting boaters since Phillips 66 Petroleum (so that’s where the name comes from!) built a marina and fuel dock on the Intracoastal Waterway to serve as a jumping-off point to The Bahamas in the 1950s. The 32-acre property even included a golf course back then, too.

But, as they say…things change. After years of neglect and damage suffered from hurricanes, the fate of Pier Sixty-Six stood in the balance, until 2016, when the Tavistock Development 
Company stepped in and committed $1 billion to improving the property and preserving Pier Sixty-Six’s legacy of stylish waterfront luxury. Since then, the entire Pier Sixty-Six property has been transformed into a modern, world-class resort with 325 guest rooms and suites as well as numerous dining and lounge options. The 13,000-square-foot Zenova Spa & Wellness center offers everything from massages and facials, including the spa’s signature feature—Via Aquae—an “immersive, multi-sensory journey that blends traditional rituals with cutting-edge therapies,” and even something you don’t see every day in South Florida: a “snow room.” 

After spending some time at the resort recently, and speaking with Marine Director Megan Lagasse, I’ve seen for myself that Pier Sixty-Six is way more than a collection of luxury waterfront amenities. It’s a warm and welcoming community in the heart of one of America’s biggest yachting hubs. 

“We want all our guests to feel like they are part of the Pier Sixty-Six family as soon as they step off their boat or give their car keys to the valet,” Megan says with a smile. “We take care of everything from booking space in the marina and making dinner reservations, to lounging by one of our three pools, or scheduling spa treatments. Everything is easy.”

That ethos is also very much a part of the new luxury residential community that has developed alongside the reimagined hotel and marina. Pier Sixty-Six Residences are the first ever residential ownership opportunity Pier Sixty-Six has offered. Three different design concepts are available in two separate condo towers (Azul and Indigo) and two additional boutique-style Resort Residences buildings. There are 88 total residences that range in price from $3.85 million to $15.5 million. And, oh yeah, the 31 Pier Sixty-Six Indigo condos are the first buildings in Fort Lauderdale to offer a private plunge pool in each condo residence.

But don’t just take my word for it. Bob Powers has owned plenty of boats over the years, including a Hatteras 75 that he docked at the “old” Pier Sixty-Six before construction began on the new development. “Our main residence is in Fort Lauderdale, right across the street from Pier Sixty-Six in the Harbor Beach neighborhood,” he says. “So we thought we’d book a table at Calusso [the restaurant that overlooks the water] to see how it all came out last winter. But, all we did was sit there and say, ‘Are you kidding me? This came out perfect.’

“And I’m not kidding when I tell you that we pretty much bought our condo there the next day! We don’t live there yet. But our condo has the same amazing view we loved at Calusso, only better since we are three floors up. It’s a great spot and, better yet, we’ll be looking at our brand new Princess X80 down in the marina.

“The thing that really flipped the switch for us is that we feel like we’re part of a community. Fort Lauderdale is great but we never really felt a sense of community because it’s so big, and we’re actually ‘country’ people, for the most part. But when we’re at Pier Sixty-Six, we’ve gotten to know people. And, we’re reacquainted with the marina folks that were there when we had the Hatteras there, too. We feel like we’re part of it.

“We like to do a lot of things in Fort Lauderdale, like dinner cruises on the boat and stuff. And now we have the best of both worlds. We’ll have the condo, the boat right there, and we can bring the boat down to the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo when we want to use it there too.” 

But Bob probably summed it up best just before we said goodbye.
“I feel like they built the place just for us.”

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